The votes have been tallied and the judges have made their decisions. You, the community, voted for the Reader’s Choice and an esteemed panel of judges picked the winners in the other categories. So here we go.

The Reader’s Choice winner is Nate Johnson and his remarkable Edgar Allan Poe pumpkin, which received 100 of the 283 total votes cast. Congrats Nate! You win our main prize package – a gift card from Sabrina’s Cafe ($40), a gift card from Four Worlds Bakery ($30), a copy of BATMAN: The Long Halloween from Locust Moon Comics, and a prize from Penn Museum (two general passes to the Museum + a MAYA 2012 t-shirt + a copy of the latest issue of Expedition Magazine).

The Kids Category winner is Nadia Salamon and her Starry pumpkin. Nadia is only 4 1/2 years old and we were blown away by her non-traditional approach to pumpkin carving. She didn’t want to do a Jack-O-Lantern with a face but wanted one big star on each side and little stars around it! Very cool! Nadia wins a gift card from Lil’ Pop Shop ($30) and a gift card from Four Worlds Bakery ($30).

The Funniest category winner is Ellis M. Mumford and her Grumpy Cat pumpkin. Good job, Ellis, on using one of the most popular memes these days! Ellis wins a Green Line Cafe gift card ($20) and a goodie basket from Mariposa Food Co-op.

The Philly-themed category winner is Katrine Lvovskaya and her Zombie Ben Franklin pumpkin. Nice work, Katrine! You and Ben Franklin win a gift certificate from Honest Tom’s Taco Shop ($20) and two Curio Theatre tickets.

Finally, the Scariest category winner is Bimal Desai (our last year’s Reader’s Choice winner, by the way) and his “Halloween 1982” pumpkin featuring Michael Jackson from the “Thriller” video. Bimal’s pumpkin also finished second in our Reader’s Choice voting with 78 votes cast for it. Bimal wins a gift card from Dock Street Brewery ($20) and a gift card from VIX Emporium ($20).

Congratulations to all the winners! We’ll be contacting you shortly about your prize delivery. And thank you to all who participated in this contest! We loved all your pumpkins, but there had to be only five winners. Who knows, you could be a winner next time.

Ghosts, goblins and all sorts of ghoulish creatures were out in force last night. Luckily we were able to get a bunch of photos. Check out the costumes in the gallery below. There were some great ones, but we think the best may have been Gandalf the Grey and Gollum. We don’t have the precious, but we do have the pictures.

[wpsgallery]

Wow! We got some amazing pumpkins in this year’s Pumpkin Carving Contest. Now we need you to help us with the top prize. So below in the photo gallery are this year’s entries for the “Reader’s Choice” award. The voting is open through Friday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. and we will announce the results on Saturday.

Here’s how it works:

• Click on one of the photos in the gallery to enlarge it.

• Choose your favorite and vote in the poll under the gallery.

• You can only vote for one pumpkin and only one vote per person please.

[wpsgallery]
The poll is closed.

Get ready to show off your Halloween finest. The Annual Halloween Parade will take place in the Spruce Hill area as planned on Wednesday, Oct. 31, according to the Spruce Hill Community Association website.

Kids and parents are invited to assemble on 45th St. between Baltimore and Larchwood at 4 p.m. The parade begins at 4:30 as the crowd proceeds East on Larchwood to 43rd Street, North on 43rd to Osage, and then East to the 4200 block of Osage for treats and drinks.

To get you in the mood, check our video from last year’s parade here.

Here’s some good news for those who were planning to participate in our Pumpkin Carving Contest but had to postpone their pumpkin shopping because of the weather. We have extended the contest entry deadline for two more days! Please feel free to email your pumpkin photos to: contest@westphillylocal.com until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31.

To read more about the contest and its rules, click here.

Here’s a couple of fun pumpkin carving and decorating events taking place in the neighborhood this weekend:

“Build it Bus” for pumpkin carving at Clark Park

Saturday Oct. 27, 1:00-2:00 pm

Woodland Presbyterian Church is hosting a Fall pumpkin carving and craft time in Clark Park. The “Build it Bus” will be there too! The bus is a place where kids can come and use woodworking tools to carve the pumpkins and make crafts. The first 50 to arrive will get pumpkins to take home with them. Look for the converted paratransit bus in the parking lot by the soccer field between 1 and 2 pm.

Pumpkin Day at Vineyard Community Church

Sunday Oct. 28, 1:00-4:00 pm

If you are looking for something fun and free to do this upcoming Sunday with your family, check out the annual Pumpkin Day event hosted by Vineyard Community Church. Due to the forecast calling for rain, it’ll be indoors, in the new church building located at 123 S. 51st Street.  If by chance the weather is gorgeous, the event will be held at Malcolm X Park (52nd & Pine). There will be plenty of fun things to do that involve all things fall, including pumpkin decorating, face-painting, fall crafts, jewelry making, games and prizes, and yummy fall treats!