Now that election season is winding down, I figure that I better let you know who won our all-important pumpkin carving contest! I'm so sorry that something went wrong with the polls on the side of my blog after so many people voted. I'm not sure what happened! Despite that problem, we still received 42 votes for each category via e-mail. We were thrilled to have 33 total submissions this year!!!
Without further ado, here are the results!
Adults (with stencil)
I was surprised that I eeked out a win this year with 13 votes for my pumpkin, Gone Batty! (I got more votes than Mike which is always my main goal and the reason we even started having a pumpkin carving contest a few years ago. We're both a tiny bit competitive!)
Second place (with 10 votes) goes to Drew G. from MA for his carving, Family Dog.
The other submissions in this category included (in alphabetical order):
Hot Head carved by Jim S. in MA
Squirt the Cat carved by Tanya S. in MA
Trick or Treat Batcat carved by my cousin, Megan, in CA
Adults (without a stencil)
My friend, Chris L., won this category with 13 votes with her clever M and M Guy!
My friend, Chris L., won this category with 13 votes with her clever M and M Guy!
There was a three-way tie for second place in this category with 8 votes each.
Bat Signal carved by Rachel C. in MA
Scar "In Your Face" was carved by my husband, Mike. He claims that he didn't get many votes this year because the lighting wasn't good enough. Excuses, excuses...!!
Flying Fairy was carved by Patrick M. from CT.
The final pumpkin in this category was Scary Skull which was also carved by Patrick M. from CT.
Kids (with adult assistance)
The Lorax won in this category with 13 votes. It was drawn by Sienna P (age 7) and I carved it for her. She dressed up as the Lorax for Halloween this year, so she stuck with a theme.
The inspiration behind the pumpkin!
As they have the past three years, my friend, Mindy, in WI and her god-daughter, Eliza A (age 8) worked together to carve an award-winning pumpkin, The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin! This year they came in second place with 9 votes!
Eliza is working hard transfering her stencil!
Bat- chosen by Luke F. (age 7) in MA and carved by his dad, Mark.
"Batman" -carved by Bonnie Y. in MA under the direction of her 3 year old, Alexander.
Batman Outline-carved by Mindy in WI with the help of Eliza's younger brother, Ian (almost 5).
Confused Pumpkin-designed by Miles B. (age 5) in MA and carved by his mom, Kristen.
Curious George-carved by Mike's cousin, Rebekah, in FL. She carved this for her nephew, Joshua, who just turned two.
Drury Pumpkin-carved by Eric T. in WI with his son, Ben (age 4). The name came from The Muffin Man (who lives on Drury Lane) from Shrek.
Jack-carved with help by Willy (age 7) in FL.
Mr. Scary Head-Elijah (age 4) drew this pumpkin's face and Isabella (age 9) carved it for him.
Panda Pumpkin-Lauren L (age 7) in MA chose this stencil and her mom, Chris, helped her carve it.
Spooky Pumpkin- designed by Aaron T. (age 8) and carved by his dad, Ben.
"Superman"-another pumpkin carved by Bonnie Y. while following the explicit instructions from her son, Bennie (age 4).
The winner in this category, Black Widow, received 9 votes and was carved by Hope L. (age 9) in MA! This was a great first submission to our contest by Hope!!
A close second (with 7 votes) goes to Cal L. (age 8) in MA for his carving, Super Awesome Lego Jail. Cal's pumpkin was as creative as ever!!!! I love to see what he comes up with each year. Check out his submissions from previous years: Japanese Beard Guy, Alien Explosion, and Submarine Face.
The other artfully carved pumpkins in this category included:
70's Smiling Face Afro Dude- designed and carved by Collin L (age 9) in MA.
Bearded Pumpkin- Carved completely independently (for the first time) by Quinn B. (age 8) in MA.
Dracu-lantern- Drawn and carved by Sarah L. (age 9) in MA.
Mr. Bushy- Isabella P.(age 9) also designed and carved this pumpkin all by herself.
Owl- Maddie S (age 8) in MA used a stencil but did all of her own carving.
Polar Bear with Big Cheeks Under the Bright Big Moon-Apparently this is the abbreviated title for Ellie L's (age 6) pumpkin! This was also Ellie's first year of designing and carving by herself!!! Way to go, Ellie!!!
Spider-Carved by John F. (age 9) in MA.
Zombie-Stenciled and carved by Ben S. (age 6) in MA.
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In addition to a bunch of new participants, we had a lot of returning carvers!!! Thank you to everyone who submitted a pumpkin and to all those who voted (twice)!!!! Start thinking about your carving for our 6th annual pumpkin carving contest next year!!!
For last year's winners, click here.
To see submissions and winners from previous years, click here and scroll all the way to the bottom for other links.
