N.B. man carves 100 pumpkins for 'The Great Pumpkin Walk'
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.