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N.B. man carves 100 pumpkins for 'The Great Pumpkin Walk'

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MIRAMICHI, N.B. -

The Great Pumpkin Walk is on in Miramichi, N.B., with just over 100 pumpkins displayed along the downtown Chatham business district for locals to enjoy.

John Vickers, who works for the business district, is also a pumpkin-carving connoisseur. For nearly 20 years he has been carving pumpkins across the country.

"I first began carving pumpkins out on the West Coast and putting them on my front yard. So many people came to see them, I was encouraged to put out a UNICEF box. We collected a fair bit of money, the following year, UNICEF said 'John we'd love you to keep carving,' and that's when it all started."

Since moving back to the East Coast, he has prepared over a hundred pumpkins for this year's great pumpkin walk, which people in the Miramichi can see for themselves during this spooky season.

It's really fun to be able to dress up the downtown. There are pumpkins on every pole," he said. "Each are plugged into power, so they're illuminated 24 hours a day and we invite the whole community to come down and walk through our district."

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented people from gathering this Halloween, he wanted to find a "safe way" for people to get into the Halloween spirit during the pandemic.

Spotted along Water Street, his carvings include everything from Halloween favourites to cartoon characters and famous faces including Elvis Presley.

"I carve for different age groups so typically there's something for everybody. We try to impress everyone so that the whole family when they come down to visit there is something in it for everybody."

Vickers told CTV News that it takes him typically half an hour to 45 minutes to carve one pumpkin, but he has managed to find a way to make them last.

"One of the things you realize quickly is that you can only get to about 10 pumpkins before pumpkin number one starts to collapse. So, I have discovered these polyurethane molds. They take a bit longer to carve, but the benefit is they last forever."

Vickers's creations will continue to light up the downtown Chatham area from now until Halloween.

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