Culture

See the winning pumpkin from our 2023 jack-o-lantern contest

See which pumpkins made it to the finals and which one was voted the favorite by INDYtoday readers.

October 26, 2023 • 
Nicole Hernandez, Emily Shea-Owen, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto
A person holds a jack-o'-lantern in their lap, carving out the top of the pumpkin.

Don’t forget that you can roast pumpkin seeds in the oven for a crunchy fall snack.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska via Pexels

Table of Contents
Winner: Pumpkin pup
Finalist: The evil eye
Finalist: Native princess
Finalist: Shark-o-lantern

The votes are in for our Pumpkin Carving Contest. Check out the pumpkins below, including the contest winner our readers voted for.

Winner: Pumpkin pup

We’re not surprised that this pumpkin won by 242 votes. What’s not to love about a pet portrait?

INDY_Pumpkin pup carving_OCT2023

Pumpkin Pup: a sketch of my dog, Tito.

Photo submitted by Clare C.

Finalist: The evil eye

This pumpkin will keep an eye on your packages and deter porch pirates. This pumpkin came in second place with 135 votes.

INDY_Evil eye pumpkin carving_OCT2023

The evil eye.

Photo submitted by Parisa F.

Finalist: Native princess

We loved seeing this gourd-geous Native princess + were wowed by the technique and detail of this carving. This pumpkin came in third place with 125 votes from our readers.

INDY_Native princess pumpkin carving_OCT2023

Native princess.

Photo submitted by Nikki E.

Finalist: Shark-o-lantern

Don’t stick your hand in this pumpkin. This angry shark earned 62 votes from our readers.

INDY_Shark-o-Lantern pumpkin carving_OCT2023

Shark-o-lantern.

Photo submitted by Lucy L.

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