PCXV >> Auburn University Pumpkin Carve

Every October, something big happens at Auburn University. Something I absolutely love, and look forward to photographing and attending each year. PUMPKIN CARVE. For those who don’t know, Pumpkin Carve is a huge event put on by Auburn’s school of architecture, which lasts all day and is packed full of great events. This was my third Pumpkin Carve, and it also happened to be the 25th anniversary! In addition to the embarrassingly large quantity of hamburgers and hotdogs I consumed throughout the day (my fiance Kevin and our pal Taylor were manning the grill), I also stuffed my face with some delicious cookies, mini cupcakes, and fresh made popcorn. What can I say… it was my cheat day 😉

In between all that eating, I took the time to snap plenty of shots of all the folks carving pumpkins to be displayed later that night. Some people were there literally all day perfecting their carvings! There were raffles, pie-a-professor, a photo booth, live music, a special appearance by the one and only Aubie and one of the most unique auctions I’ve seen. The gallery next to the courtyard displayed artwork drawn by some of Auburn’s architecture professors. Well that’s neat, right? Sure… but it’s even more cool when you realize that the professors were each given a napkin and told to just… ya know… draw something. Their napkin art was up for silent auction throughout the day, and brought in tons of money at the end of the night!

After dark, kids walked the “runway” for the costume contest, all the pumpkins were lit, and winners of the carving contest were announced and the winning pumpkins auctioned off. It is truly an awesome sight to stand in the courtyard of Dudley Hall surrounded by hundreds of glowing pumpkins, with strands of lights interweaving with the giant spider webs overhead, and the whole place packed with people of all ages. If you ever find yourself in Auburn one fine Friday in October, make sure it’s the Friday of Pumpkin Carve. This is an event you do not want to miss!