Sept. 10: Sunzilla is coming to downtown Waterbury

September 4, 2026  |  By John Malter

The annual Sunzilla contest for Waterbury's biggest sunflower is Sept. 10. File photo by Gordon Miller

The 33rd Annual Waterbury Rotary sunflower-growing contest, known as The Hunt for Sunzilla the Monster Sunflower, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10, starting at 5 p.m. at Rusty Parker Memorial Park in Waterbury.

All are encouraged to bring their amazing sunflowers and cheer on the contestants for this popular annual event.

Preparations for the contest started in the spring on Arbor Day, the first Friday in May, when Waterbury Rotarians provided trees for Brookside Primary School, Crossett Brook Middle School and the Moretown Elementary School, which students at each school help to plant as part of the celebration. Information about Arbor Day is also shared with the students.

The Rotary Club also provides students with packets of giant sunflower seeds for them to take home to plant. Additional packets of seeds are distributed to businesses around the Waterbury area to share with the public.

Approximately 20,000 seeds are distributed for this event annually. And since the first Sunzilla contest, more than half a million sunflower seeds have been shared.

Sunflowers entered in the contest are judged for the heaviest sunflower head, the largest diameter sunflower head, and the tallest sunflower, which is dubbed “Sunzilla the Monster Sunflower.”

There have been winning sunflowers over 16 feet tall, sunflower heads over 24 inches in diameter and over 6 pounds in weight. Prizes include bird feeders, birdhouses and more sunflower seeds to put out as bird food.

Beyond measuring and weighing the sunflower entries, the event also includes an almost Olympic athletic event for kids age 12 and younger: a sunflower seed-spitting contest for both distance and accuracy. Volunteer Rotarians judge that event.

And in addition to the sunflower-themed events, a second contest takes place for growers of zucchini. The Search for the Other Green Monster seeks out the longest and the heaviest zucchinis in the community. To date, the record-setting zucchini weighed in at 54 pounds.

In addition to the Waterbury Rotary Club, other sponsors include Evergreen Gardens, Goldenrod Design and Waterbury True Value Hardware. Bette Ann Libby has created a special banner for the contest (see photo).

For more information, contact John Malter at 802-244-7373.

Sunzilla 2025 banner art by Bette Ann Libby. Courtesy photo