We’re happy to announce the results of our 5th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest.

Many thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite pumpkin. We received a record number of votes this year – over 400! This time around, there wasn’t a clear winner from the beginning; the winner pumpkin beat the second most favorite pumpkin by only seven votes (75 to 68). So here is the Readers’ Choice winner (drumroll…):

“Spooky Trumpkin” carved by Nate Johnson:

Congratulations, Nate! Many folks, including us, appreciate your pumpkin carving skills and your sense of humor. You will receive our grand prize: a $35 gift card from Renata’s Kitchen, a $25 gift card from a local business of your choice, and two Curio Theatre tickets ($50 value).

Just because it was so close, we also would like to mention Kathryn Kamowski whose “Skull” pumpkin finished second. Amazing work, Kathryn! We’ll also send you a prize.

Scariest Pumpkin

This one wasn’t easy to choose as there were a few good candidates, but our jury had to select one. So here it is:

“The Reaper” pumpkin carved by Dyresha Harris:

Congratulations, Dyresha! Great work, and we were scared to death by your Jack-o’-Lantern! You win a $25 gift card from one of our sponsors.

Best Philly-Themed

The winners in this category are Krista Guerrieri and Greg Vallette who carved:

“Liberty Bell” pumpkin

Congratulations, Krista and Greg! You will also receive a $25 gift card.

Kids Category

We received some great entries in the Kids category this year. It wasn’t easy for our jury to select the winner because they liked all the pumpkins carved by our young neighbors. The winner in this category is 11-year-old Jadyn Wagner and her:

“I’m Trapped!” pumpkin

Congratulations, Jadyn! Amazing work! You will receive a $25 gift card from Lil’ Pop Shop.

Since there were no good candidates for the Funniest Pumpkin category, we decided not to select one this year.

All the winners will be contacted shortly with more details about their prizes.

Many thanks again to all who participated in this year’s contest and to all our sponsors who provided prizes: Greensgrow West, VIX Emporium, Lil’ Pop Shop, Mariposa Food Coop, Curio Theatre, and Local 44.

We’re looking forward to next year’s contest!