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Showcase your creative carvings and participate in a contest to win fun prizes! Sign up here :www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0C49A8A82DA7FECF8... We will have two age classes: 14 and under, 15 and over. Carved pumpkins will need to be dropped off at the James Bradley Center at Infirmary Mound Park from 4pm - 6pm on Thursday, October 2nd. The pumpkins will be displayed at the Harvest Moon Festival on October 4th, where the public will vote on the winners! Pumpkins may be used during a pop up night hike the following week. Pumpkin Carving History: You’ve probably been carving pumpkins since you were a child – but how did this tradition even get started? Pumpkin carving started by the Celtic cultures and was widespread in Irish culture. In fact, the term “Jack-o’-Lantern” is from an old Irish folk tale where a man named Jack invited the Devil to share a drink then tricked him into paying. Upon Jack's death, he was cursed to wander the Earth at night for eternity as punishment with a small light he put into a hollowed-out turnip, and so people began to call him “Jack-o’-Lantern” for short. To keep Jack away, the Irish carved and lit pumpkins to guide good spirits instead. When many Irish families immigrated to America in the 1800s, the tradition spread.
