Research Guides: Pumpkins: Once Upon a Pumpkin

October: Once Upon a Pumpkin (Employees)

Once Upon a Pumpkin: No-Carve Decorating Contest

2025 Theme: Books! Libraries, Books, Stories, & Characters.

Winning Pumpkin Team — 2022 winning entry by Records & Advising

Who:

This contest is open to all full- and part-time employees (staff, faculty, administration) at LSC-UP (including student workers). You can participate as part of a team (intra- or inter-departmental) or solo!

2025 Dates:

Sept. 17: Sign up period to reserve a pumpkin begins.
Oct. 3: Pick up your pumpkin from the library.
Oct. 20: Pumpkins are due in the morning! Voting will start today and end on Oct. 28.
Oct. 29: Winner announced at the Haunted Open House! (Noon, in the Teaching Gallery, B12.805)
Oct. 31 - Nov. 1: Take your pumpkin home.

Rules:

No carving. You may use pins or staples to hold things in, but no cuts.
Your pumpkin should be a visible part of your design. If you could take the pumpkin out and it'd still be basically the same, you don't have enough pumpkin.
Pumpkins must adhere to the year's theme. You can be creative in your interpretation, but there must still be an apparent connection. (e.g. if the theme were "cars," a cat-styled pumpkin would not belong. On the other hand, the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro could!)
Pumpkins must be work-appropriate.