Pumpkin decorating got competitive as students and faculty of North Colonie schools got together recently to show off their artistic talents for the Art Department’s sixth annual Great Pumpkin Challenge at Shaker High School.
The challenge began in 2008, when District Art Supervisor Anne Manzella presented staff members pumpkins and asked them to get original with the traditional Halloween decoration.
“This is our sixth year. The Art Department at North Colonie has been doing a creative solution for making an art show for the community. … Several years ago, I brought in 16 pumpkins and challenged staff to put their creativity to the test, and everyone loved it,” Manzella said.
Over the years, the challenge has grown to include students, as well as staff from all departments, kindergarten through grade 12. Students within the high school have begun to look forward to creating their own designs.
This year, 19 people participated, spending the time leading up to Halloween carving and painting unique, intricate designs onto their pumpkins. The pumpkins were on display in the main lobby of Shaker High School, where anyone in the community could check them out and vote for their favorite.
The display was up from Tuesday, Oct. 28, until Thursday, Oct. 30. Designs included penguins and their igloo, a tribute to Monty Python, a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a pool table, which Manzella said she spent hours creating. There was even a tribute to Hoffman’s Playland with a carousel created by Nancy Rapsard from the assistant superintendent’s office.
Shaker High senior Cara Borecki carved Peter Pan and Tinker Bell into the face of her pumpkin. She was one of a few people to have carved out her pumpkin rather than use paint.
“I liked it,” Borecki said of the challenge. “It was a lot of hard work, a lot of detailing, but a lot of fun. I’d always loved ‘Peter Pan’ as a child.”
The challenge is done on a volunteer basis. Students and faculty sign up and propose ideas to Manzella, who said she imposes no theme, but likes to make sure designs are not repeated from the previous year, although some pop-culture figures are popular, like Olaf from “Frozen,” who appeared twice this year.
“They supply their own materials. There are some gourds in it. The eagle is dried pumpkin, so that was definitely a new take. Every year, there’s something different. I ask what their ideas are. I just embrace what they want to do. As it gets closer, I ask about space and try to map it out,” Manzella said.
“It’s fun. I’ve been doing it every year. Last time, I did a tiki head,” said Shaker senior Chantel Mochom, who created a horse and carriage out of her pumpkin this year.
During the week the pumpkins are on display, students and community members are invited to vote for their favorite design with a small donation. The donations then go to the local Ronald McDonald House, as well as the viable pumpkins for in-house residents to display for trick-or-treaters on Halloween.
“We’ve been donating for the last couple of years, and we encourage small donations, just $1, to vote for their favorites,” said Manzella. “Traditionally, I offer a prize to whoever gets the most votes, like a movie card.”
Manzella said she was excited to see how the challenge has grown over the years. “We’ve been able to hook more people. It’s a range of people from different departments, and it’s transformed into a healthy representative of staff and students,” she said. “It does a lot for the just the enthusiasm in the school community.”
