Delawareans won't be seeing flying pumpkins anymore.

After a 33-year run in Sussex County, the World Punkin Chunkin Championship announced Tuesday it will launch operations in Rantoul, Illinois, this November.

"With many other Punkin Chunkin related events going on, there needs to be a World Championship," the team captains said in a statement.

The annual pumpkin-chucking contest will take place, fittingly, in an area that was once the Chanute Air Force Base. After closing in 1993, Rantoul acquired the land.

"This property amongst their hospitality made their municipality an attractive location," officials said of the Illinois village in a statement.

The Midwest move is Punkin Chunkin's fourth change in venue since 1986. Team captains had voted on the location change, with 70 percent saying "yes" to the move.

The small town Delaware event gained nationwide coverage over the years. Discovery Channel aired its first Punkin Chunkin documentary in 2002, and it had been broadcast for several years, often on Thanksgiving night, on Discovery's Science Channel.

As it gained popularity, the chunk also grew in competition, with teams building bigger and more sophisticated pumpkin-throwing machinery for the three-day event.

The nationally televised event would attract upwards of 20,000 people annually.

Punkin Chunkin tried to gain traction on grounds in either Maryland or Delaware this year, but the event requires a good amount of land, which couldn't be found in time on Delmarva.

Briefly, Punkin Chunkin officials debated hosting the championship in Ocean City, where the gourds would be catapulted into the ocean instead of fields, as they had for decades.

The owners of its longtime venue, a 600-acre property in Bridgeville, decided not to continue to host the event. Officials said they supported that decision.

The nonprofit organization had a two-year lull while embroiled in a lawsuit after a woman was critically injured during the event in 2016, when the trap door of an air cannon exploded off the machine and hit her in the head.

A federal judge dismissed the civil suit with prejudice on Jan. 25.

While dormant in Delaware, the pumpkin-shooting organization sanctioned an event last year in Colorado, and permitted it to utilize the trademark "Punkin Chunkin Colorado."

Unofficial chunks are held across the country, but the Delaware-based nonprofit is the OG championship.

The nonprofit will continue its mission of providing funds to children. Since its inception, Punkin Chunkin has given over $1 million in donations and scholarships. Past donations have also gone to Autism Delaware, the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department and Home of the Brave, a shelter for homeless veterans.

This year's air-cannon spectacular will have its Illinois premiere Nov. 1-3. Folks can keep up to date by liking Punkin Chunkin on Facebook and visiting online at www.punkinchunkin.com.

"We want to thank everyone for their support over the years," officials said in a statement.

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Robert Kay contributed to this report.