How Artists Create The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular At The Zoo

There is a very cool and unique event that is going on right now at the Minnesota Zoo It's the annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular with over 5000 carved pumpkins on display. It's crazy. There are so many very unique pumpkin carvings included in this display. There are also the more "regular" type of pumpkins as well as everything in between. It's really something to see.

CRAZY CARVINGS

But it does sort of beg the question - how do they do that? It goes much further than just getting one of those stencil kits that you can get and create some fun carvings on your own pumpkins. I have done that and sometimes they are fairly involved and intricate. Bu this is SO MUCH MORE!

ANNUAL EVENT

Each year there is a theme for the pumpkin trail. This year it's "Things that go bump in the night". And most of the pumpkins try to go along with that theme. They are family friendly, I mean, they are pumpkins, but some of the images come from some not so family friendly movies such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. More for big kids than the littles.

KARE 11 did a deep dive to see how they go about making these pumpkins come to life every year. And it's pretty cool.

Apparently the planning begins in September. The pumpkins are sketched with a design, and then carved. This is before they are even scooped out. Yes, they carve out the design ahead of the cleaning out of the "guts", which seems opposite for what most of us do with our own pumpkin displays.

NOT ALL DONE AT ONCE

There are actually a couple of rounds of pumpkins that are on display. That is because the display goes on for longer than one month, and the pumpkins get a bit squishy after a time, so they have to switch them out from time to time. This is one of the reasons why they wait to scoop out the insides. They last longer until that happens.

The pumpkins weigh in at 50 to 120 pounds and are a special variety called “Prizewinner.” Christensen says they have a smooth surface with fewer ridges, and their skin is softer for carving. The artists start by drawing and painting using black ink. Then they do something called relief carving -- using tools like sharpened bobby pins on wooden dowels -- somehow creating entire scenes by making highlights and shading using nothing but the pumpkin for color.

So, yes, sometimes the tools that are used are just hand made tools that are pieced together for the best effect. The tools they use gives it that "glow".

TICKETS

You can purchase tickets now for this event. It lasts now through November 2nd. The tickets must be purchased in advance, and they are staggered so that there is less of a chance of a bottleneck with everyone going at the same time. If you are interested in checking out this display, probably buy your tickets soon as they sell out every year.