Carving for fun and money

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on October 20, 2023

Crowds gather around the carving areas to see the pumpkins lit up after being carved.

For the Chadds Ford Historical Society, The Great Pumpkin Carve is about raising money. After all, the carve is the society’s biggest fundraiser. For everyone else, it’s for fun.

As CFHS Board President Randell Spackman said, “We put the fun in fundraiser.”

Linus knows the Great Pumpkin Patch is in Chadds Ford. (Carved by the Santoleri family.)

The annual event kicked off on Thursday evening, Oct. 19, and will continue through Saturday, Oct. 21. There were 70 pumpkins this year and there were 70 carving teams scheduled to cut, eviscerate, shave, whittle, chisel, and do all kinds of things to the giant gourds. All the carving was done Thursday but the pumpkins remain on display until Saturday evening.

Spackman said the Historical Society would like this year’s event to raise about $100,000, and he’s optimistic.

“I think the energy this year is fantastic. We’ve changed things around so it will be less congested. It will be more flowing, people will be able to shop, eat and drink, and enjoy all the creative pumpkins, and really get a sense of community,” he said.

The configuration in the big carving area has carving areas spread farther apart so visitors can move around with little jostling. In short, Spackman said, “It’s more user-friendly.”

Love is in the air for all, including Frankenstein’s monster, during The Great Pumpkin Carve. (Carved by Deb Parry and her crew.)

For the carvers, many of whom keep coming back, and for the same reason, it’s fun.

Consider Heidi Brennan who has been taking part for 15 years.

“It’s so much fun. It’s such a good community thing, and I love carving with my sister and my friend. It’s just a great community get-together,” she said but added there’s another level of importance.

“The Historical Society does have fundraisers but that’s so they can keep history alive in the Chadds Ford area. That’s important because history is being lost in a lot of places,” Brennan said.

And then there’s Deb Parry, a carver for 21 years. She, too, comes back for the fun of it all.

“I love it. I love the people. It’s amazing. I see all my customers [from the Pocopson Ace Hardware Store]. And Halloween is actually my favorite holiday.

And then there’s Chris Belton. She’s only been doing her thing at The Carve for 16 years. She got started in 2007 when a friend told her about it.

“I showed up one day and thought, ‘Hey, this is fun,’” she said. I have a job where I’m teaching art all day, and that’s fun. But this, The Carve, is just joyous. And it’s for a good cause,” Belton said.

The pumpkins will be on display from 4-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, and from 3-9 p.m. Saturday. About 3,000 visitors attended the opening night.

If you’re an artist who’s not carving, you paint the event, as Jacalyn Beam does.

Renowned sand carver Chuck Feld creates his own version of a pumpkin patch in sand.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.