The first floor of the ERB Memorial Union smelled like Halloween festivities on Monday. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” provided the perfect backdrop for an afternoon of pumpkin carving, apple cider, and sugar cookies in the Crater Lake North room.
The Halloween atmosphere was thanks to the event that the Center for Student Involvement and the Craft Center teamed up for: free pumpkin carving for students.
Mandy Chong is the program director for the Center for Student Involvement, and Diane Hoffman is the program director for the Craft Center. Together they coordinated the pumpkin carving event.
For some students, Halloween is the first major holiday of the school year and they’re not at home to celebrate it like they’re used to.
“Every year my family has a carving competition,” said UO sophomore Taia Lucas. Lucas said she felt like she was missing out on home with Halloween coming around and not having a pumpkin, and this event really made a difference in her Halloween festivities.
Lucas said that even though her roommates didn’t want to “do any of this,” she’s much happier looking towards Halloween after this event. Lucas is also very excited to bring home her completed pumpkin to show her roommates what they missed out on.
Emma Benson carves waves into her pumpkin to reflect her love of the beach. The UO Craft Center holds a free Halloween pumpkin carving event on Oct. 30, 2017.
The Center for Student Involvement and the Craft Center will possibly continue to hold this event annually, according to Chong. The amount of students that request to have the event is what next year relies on, explained Chong.
The event came together after many students had come to the Craft Center looking for Halloween festivities, according to Hoffman.
As far as pumpkin carving goes, this has been “kind of the first year,” said Chong, since the Center for Student Involvement has done the event “sporadically” in the past, Chong explained.
The event featured hollowed-out pumpkins for students to carve in whatever way they chose. There was also apple cider and Halloween themed sugar cookies provided as snacks for students while they worked on their masterpieces.
Many students didn’t come to the event with a huge group of friends, but instead bonded with fellow pumpkin carvers over each other’s designs.
Holding the event every year depends on the student population, and what events the students would like to see happen, according to Chong.
Yuxin Cheng carves an intricate face into her pumpkin. The UO Craft Center holds a free Halloween pumpkin carving event on Oct. 30, 2017.
