About 15,000 people are expected at the annual Howard Fire Company fundraiser, the “Punkin’ Chunkin’ Fall Festival.

This year the Howard Volunteer Fire Company’s Punkin’ Chunkin’ Fall Festival is kicking off things with a bang.

The Howard Fire Company has been using a wooden, trebuchet, similar to a catapult. But it’s been aging out, and they had the opportunity to get this air cannon, which has been used in Punkin’ Chunkin’ World Championships.

“This is our new baby, we are very proud of this machine, it is an air cannon, capable of shooting a ten pound pumpkin four thousand feet,” George Demchak, Vice President of Fund Development for the Howard Fire Company, said.

Due to limits at Joseph Foster Sayers Lake, pumpkins will only be launched two thousand feet.

More than ten different punkin chunkin teams from different states will come to the festival on saturday and compete in a friendly competition against this air cannon.

“Air cannons, really put on a show to shoot these things out,” Mark Ott, President for Howard Fire Company, said. “It’s just great to see, it’s a big puff of error vapor comes out on the end, hits the lake hard.”

The Saturday event can raise as much as $22,0000 to support the Howard Volunteer Fire Company.

“Pumpkins fly, if you have not seen that yet in your life time, you just haven’t live,” Demchak, said.