The Annual Pumpkin Carve at 457 Lansdowne

Published on November 5th, 2009

Published on Febuary 9th, 2010

Story by Brixton Ashby Photos by Marlowe Ashby

My parents held their annual pumpkin carving contest this year at our Westmount home at 457 Lansdowne. And although it was my first time in attendance I do believe that the event went off without a hitch and good fun was had by all.

I should mention that I am only 4 months old. I can’t walk or talk and I can barely sit on my own, but I have a knack for journalism. I agreed to do write this story reluctantly because the Annual Pumpkin Carve at 457 Lansdowne is a heated event. Participants take their pumpkin carving very seriously.

The contest had a total of 10 entries from 10 participants this year, a significant increase compared to last year’s event (I’m told). Participants included Papa, Mama, Uncle Shereef, Unky Tyler, Jono, Keri, Auntie Bon, Julie, Dan and some guy named Fred who I don’t know yet. “Last year the judging caused some disputes,” says event organizer Nicole Levesque (Mama). “So we had to change things up a bit. It’s been a sore point between contestants all year.” “Personally I never understood the problem” says Michael Ashby (Papa), last year’s first place finisher. “I won that contest hands down. I had the best entry by far. But some felt it wasn’t fair because my mom was the only judge. I think it was just a case of poor sportsmanship.”

A unanimous decision was made for the 2009 Pumpkin Carve to change the format to a democratically judged event. Trick or Treaters and lingering Entourages were asked to choose their favourite pumpkin during the mad Halloween rush. But like all good pumpkin carving competitions controversy still played an important role. “First of all it wasn’t even remotely democratic,” Uncle Shereef explained to me while we played with a Thomas the train set. “Tyler was the only one counting votes for at least half an hour and somehow he was the only one to get a vote during that time. Plus, the candle in my pumpkin kept going out. How was I supposed to get votes with a burnt out candle?”

But Dan Florian, the unofficial winner this year with his rock band KISS logo entry said the judging was first class. “I just kept hearing the words KISS,” he said. “It was fantastic. What a rush to have so many people recognize your hard work. I’ve already started planning my entry for next year.”

Despite the controversy everyone had a good time and even anxious Trick or Treaters didn’t mind stopping for a moment to participate in the judging. “Best pumpkins EVER!” said Spiderman. “So Wicked!” said the Grim Reaper. “They’re really, really pretty” said the princess fairy.

Unofficial results for the 2009 Annual Lansdowne Pumpkin Carve are as follows:

1. Dan Florian: KISS

2. Tyler Hall: Something resembling Sonic the Hedge Hog

3. Shereef Elshafei: The Ghoul

Next year event organizers (Mama and Papa) are hoping to double the number of entries and offer a cash price incentive that will be donated to a charity of the winner’s choice. For this year everyone is just happy that bad weather didn’t ruin the festivities, even though there were some disappointed competitors. In the end it’s not really about who wins or who loses, it’s more about who comes out to play the game and who has fun playing.

As my brother Marlowe, who wowed the neighbourhood with his astronaut costume said: “Pumpkin Carving is Awesome!”