What began as a Halloween activity for fun at the Halls’ home at 3709 Capri Drive three years ago is now in its third year as a pumpkin-carving extravaganza.
Three rows of jack-o’-lanterns grace the front of the San Roque residence on specially made bleachers, the result of a three-day carving party that resulted in no less than 170 of the carved gourds.
If you ask Kevin Hall, he’ll tell you he didn’t expect the tradition to get so huge, when he put out a call three years ago for the pumpkin-carving artists in his circle of family and friends to get out their saws, scoops, drills and stencils.
“We were doing it totally for fun,” he said. But after the first Halloween of 130 jack-o’-lanterns, the tradition took on a life of its own, and Hall and company saw an opportunity to raise money for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.
“We’ve raised almost $1,000 in donations in the past few days and collected hundreds of pounds of food for the Foodbank,” he said. This year’s participants included some of the old regulars, plus new additions from his kids’ classes at Monte Vista School and some from his colleagues at Goodwin & Thyne.
Hall intends to keep the tradition going every Halloween, although it might entail a few more bleachers, by the looks of it. He might even need another green waste container, although he says there are going to be some lucky pigs in town that might get to feast on the approximately one ton of pumpkins come Thursday morning.
Hall and company will continue to accept donations of food, cash or checks for Foodbank through Nov. 1.