WINDSOR (AP) — A pumpkin weighing nearly half a ton has taken top honors at a Maine fair’s annual giant pumpkin contest.

Edwin Pieront’s entry tipped the scales at 962 pounds in Sunday’s contest on the first day of the Windsor Fair. The second-place pumpkin weighed 818 pounds.

Pieront, who’s from Jefferson, is no stranger to giant pumpkins. The Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/19UhwNQ) reported that he’s the state record-holder, with a 1,471-pound pumpkin that he grew in 2010.

The Windsor Fair is expected to draw about 100,000 people. Now in its 125th year, the fair continues through Labor Day.