Fall Festival’s First Pumpkin Carving Contest

The annual Fall Festival at Bowers School Farm brought sunny skies, big smiles, and lots of fun festivities. Each year seems to bring something new and exciting to the festival grounds, and this year was no different, with the first annual pumpkin carving contest.

Special guests were invited to team up against each other for this 30-minute competition. 

Team 1: the Amazing Awesome Academy, made up of Bowers Academy Administrator Aileen Myer and Teacher Consultant Katie Knapp; Team 2: the Boo-ing Black Hawks, made up of BHS Superintendent Rick West and Communications Director Karen Huyghe; and Team 3: Team Rockstars, made up of Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dani Walsh and Treasurer Michael Shostak.

After teams determined which farm animal to carve, Louise Kavanaugh, Bowers Farm Camp Coordinator, directed the six contestants through various instructions and tasks, all while they did their best to empty pumpkin guts and employ creativity.

Student judges brought another level of fun to the contest! Five students (Poppy Burke, grade 1 at Eastover; Tharun Narendran, grade 4 at Way; Olivia Ryles, grade 2 at Lone Pine; Eden Silverman, grade 1 at Conant; and Winston Truszkowski, grade 2 at Eastover) were chosen to be the guest judges and charged with choosing the winning pumpkin. They watched intently as the teams crafted their designs, taking everything into account, even their sportsmanship. When one team took more than their share of the craft materials, one judge said that would factor into who would win. At one point, two of the teams won an opportunity to ask the judges a question. When asked if the judges preferred a happy or a scary pumpkin face, they replied with a resounding, “SCARY!!” Then, when asked how to win, one of the sweet judges answered with complete sincerity, “Just try your best.” 

The contestants worked on their pumpkin carvings until the last minute, when they had to drop their tools and craft supplies. The judges were unanimous in their decision. The winners were the Boo-ing Black Hawks and their cow pumpkin!

Thank you to all of the contestants, judges, their families, and the creators of the Pumpkin Carving Contest!