World Pumpkin Pie Eating Championship, pig racing & funny face pumpkin drawing contest at The Great Pumpkin Farm

How many pieces of pumpkin pie can a professional eater - or food warrior - consume in a short amount of time? Find out this weekend at the Great Pumpkin Farm's Fall Festival.

Professional eaters from around the country will try for a new world record - and compete for cash prizes - in the seventh annual, officially sanctioned Hands-free World Pumpkin Pie Eating Competition, held in conjunction with All Pro Eating Promotions. The event begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23. A similar competition for amateurs takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The World Pumpkin Pie Eating Competition is a favorite with fans and contestants, because hands cannot touch the actual pieces of pie, only the paper plates. And the stakes are high, as contestants try to beat the current world record of 47 pieces of pie (15.25 pounds) consumed in 10 minutes - set last year by Molly Schuyler - to gain the glory of taking their place in history as one of the country's greatest competitive eaters, along with the title of "World Hands-Free Pumpkin Pie Eating Champion."

Prizes totaling $1,800 will be awarded, including the $1,000 grand prize.

Will Schuyler, currently ranked the No. 1 female independent competitive eater in the world (according to her Facebook page) - or someone else - beat her record this year?

Last year's winner, Molly Schuyler.

Another Fall Festival tradition - pig races - will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with five post times each day: 11 a.m. and 12:30, 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. The races will feature dachshunds - also known as "wiener dogs." Guests of all ages will delight in this hilarious, fast-paced event.

The little ones - ages 3 to 14 - can enter the funny face pumpkin drawing contest between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. both days.

For a full list of events taking place at Fall Festival, visit www.greatpumpkinfarm.com/WeekendSix.asp.

About the Great Pumpkin Farm and the Fall Festival

Since 1996, when it first hosted the World Pumpkin Weigh-off and was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for the first 1,000-pound pumpkin, the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence has grown. Its annual Fall Festival is Western New York's largest fall family event in the region, and includes popular events such as "OINKtoberfest," New York State's Official BBQ Cookoff, the Pumpkin Catapult Contest and the Pumpkin Farm Olympics. For more information on the Great Pumpkin Farm and its Fall Festival, visit www.greatpumpkinfarm.com.