Hunt for Sunzilla crowns 13-foot bloom

September 19, 2020 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

Sunflowers dot the landscape and streetscape in Waterbury this summer. Union Street has some near every utility pole. Waterbury celebrates sunflowers with the annual Hunt for Sunzilla organized by Waterbury Rotary. Photo by Gordon Miller.

Rotary volunteers Al Lewis and Phyllis Berry carefully gather data during the 27th annual Hunt for Sunzilla contest Sept. 10 at Rusty Parker Park in Waterbury. Photo by John Malter.

Rotarian Justin Blackman weighs a sunflower head. Photo by John Malter.

The annual Hunt for Sunzilla is a favorite contest among Waterbury youngsters. Photo by John Malter.

Al Lewis measures in the zucchini category which has become part of the Sunzilla tradition known as "the other green monster." Photo by John Malter.

Rotarian Al Lewis takes his role as Sunzilla contest judge very seriously as he measures a sunflower head. Photo by John Malter.

Sunflower seed-tossing was the next-best thing to seed-spitting this year. Rotarian Tami Bass (left) checks in contestant Maya Mutchler while dad, John (right), looks on. Photo by John Malter.

Zander Ernstof displays his winning zucchini with his prizes. Courtesy photo.

Sunflowers tower over the public gardens near Hope Cemetery along Winooski Street. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

In a demonstration of “normal” last week, Waterbury growers and casual observers of backyard gardens made their annual pilgrimage to Rusty Parker Park for the 27th annual Hunt for Sunzilla. 

Wearing masks and keeping their distance, Waterbury Rotarians and participants alike met for this rite of late summer where weeks and months of watering, feeding and weeding make it to the finish line. Some contestants come bearing unwieldy intact sunflowers with stems more than a story tall. Others carefully carry heavy, full sunflower heads larger around than a dinner plate. Literally in a category of their own are those who resisted the urge to pick every zucchini and instead allowed a deep-green summer squash to thrive on the vine until the last possible minute. 

Waiting for them were eagle-eyed Waterbury Rotary volunteers with tape measures and scales to record the results and ultimately declare the winners. 

Contest organizer John Malter provided the results: 

Sunzilla Grand Prize: A sunflower measuring 13 feet tall, entered by Julia Tomas and Anna Wulff. 

Largest Diameter Sunflower Head: Measured 18.25 inches across and was grown by Hadley Gilson.

Heaviest Sunflower Head: Weighed in at 6 pounds 14 ounces and was grown by Mason Henchen. 

Longest Zucchini: Measured 21.5 inches long grown by Zander Ernstof. 

Heaviest Zucchini: Weighed just over 8 pounds and was grown by Ariana Chenette.

This year altered the sunflower seed-spitting contest due to public health concerns and instead the event featured a seed-tossing event. The winner was Hadley Gilson whose winning toss landed beside the bullseye. “We look forward to resuming sunflower seed-spitting next year,” Malter said. 

The Waterbury Rotary Club thanks the 18 future farmers/gardeners for their entries and 17 future Olympic sunflower seed-tossers for their participation as well. 

Sponsors of the event were Evergreen Gardens, Sunflower Natural Foods, and Waterbury True Value Hardware. They provided  Start bird houses, bird feeders, sunflower seeds, gift certificates, reusable bags and books on composting. 

The Rotary invites all to plan next year’s growing strategy in anticipation of the 28th Annual Hunt for Sunzilla.