Punkin Chunkin is back

Punkin Chunkin is officially coming back to Sussex County after a two year hiatus. Sunday,  47 ABC caught up with World Championship Punkin Chunkin president Frank Payton,  about how they were able to secure a home for the event.

“There’s a lot of excitement. There’s been a lot of hard work in actually finding out where the home’s going to be for 2016 and we’re very thankful for the Wheatleys inviting us back to where we last held it,” Payton said.

The World Championship Punkin Chunkin had to leave the Wheatley’s Farm in Bridgeville, Del. following the 2013 event, when someone was injured in an ATV incident and sued for damages. That leading to a series of insurance problems.

“It was said that if we were to come back to the Wheatley farm, that the Wheatley’s insurance would drop them,” Payton said.

Payton said those insurance problems have since been resolved, with Punkin Chunkin acquiring a policy that makes them solely responsible for any injuries at the event.

The news was announced Saturday, by Sunday morning the whole world knew.

“Right as you pull up Facebook and look over to the right side and see what’s going on, you see Donald Trump’s rally cancelled something about Ted Cruz, something about Splenda, but Punkin Chunkin’s at the very, very top,” Payton said.

Payton said the main motivation to bring this event back are the kids, because to him that’s who benefits most from this event.

Payton also wanted to thank Sen. Brian Petty-John for his continuous support for getting Punkin Chunkin back.