Jack-O-Launch

Last Saturday I needed to get out! I didn't even care that it was below freezing and snowing outside. I didn't care that the time it took me to prepare to leave my house would be longer than the time I could actually be away from my house. It didn't matter, nothing mattered I was getting out!

So I got online and did some research. What could be going on in Denver? I wondered. Then I came across the 10th annual Jack-O-Launch! An actual competition where people spend hours and days and maybe months to create contraptions just for the sake of shooting pumpkins out of them. I thought this sounded quite hilarious. Aaron thought this sounded seriously cool.

Here is how it went:









It was cold... but it was fun!

The catapults came in all shapes and sizes... air compressed cannons, traditional trebuchets, and some sort of motor driven tower that was surprisingly powerful. Distances ranged from 20 feet to over 2000 feet... seriously. One of the air compressed cannons was so powerful that if you blinked, you missed it. Teams received different awards for style, distance, and creativity... not that we stayed for the awards. Between being weak and it snowing, we couldn't stay long.

Besides the main event Jack-o-launch there were traditional fall festival events like a pumpkin patch, scarecrow making, brewing apple cider, etc. Even a live country band to liven up the atmosphere (although with the weather there were about 3 people dancing to it). It really would have been a great event if the weather had cooperated. There's always next year, - we'll see you at Aurora's next Jack-o-launch.