Campus Ministry Hosts Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza

Do you like carving pumpkins? How about a more colorful approach like painting? Campus Ministry hosted a pumpkin carving extravaganza in the SAC on Monday, October 30. Students at Kansas Wesleyan University put their competitive spirits to the test and participated in this event. They provided dinner for those who came on Monday night. 

Judging 

There were three categories being judged: best carved, best painted, and to keep in the heart of the Halloween spirit, the scariest. The winners in these three categories will receive gift cards.

Scott Jagodzinske and Terry Barret, two of the members of the campus ministry team, judged the pumpkins. Students did their best to impress them with their creations.  Those who left early, had pictures taken of their pumpkins so they could still be entered into the contest. They played a Halloween themed playlist to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. They announced the winners on Halloween day.

Scariest Pumpkin

Khamani Matallah and Cole Walgren decided to team up to achieve the scariest pumpkin of the batch. A vampire pumpkin impaled with pumpkin carving tools attacking a poor defenseless pumpkin will surely give you a spooky thrill and fill you with Halloween spirit.

Best Carved Pumpkin

Tomas Becerra won the title for best-carved pumpkin with his skull and crossbones design. 

Best Painted Pumpkin

Three pumpkins were deemed worthy of best painted: Courtney Beers, Rylie Moreno-Rojas, and Katelyn Botz. 

Courtney painted a scene from the classic “Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Rylie painted a field of flowers with ghosts peeking through trying to pick flowers. 

Katelyn painted a cat that wowed the judges for it’s realistic look.

Pumpkin Contest Winner Spotlight

Katelyn Botz is a sophomore majoring in both history and studio art. She was so serious about the competition she brought her own paintbrushes to use to her advantage. When asked what inspiration she took to paint she replied, ‘I chose to paint a cat because they are my favorite thing to paint. My thought was if I was going to paint a pumpkin it was going to be cat themed.” She was not planning on winning she just wanted to have fun with her friends and spend time with them.

She also talked about meeting someone new. Botz commented “My favorite part of the night was that I got to meet someone new. A freshman who I hadn’t met before sat down at my table to paint with me. She ended up being a really cool person who shared a lot of the same interests as me and my friends. If I hadn’t gone to the pumpkin carving/painting event I probably wouldn’t have met her.”

This was a memorable night for Botz. She has already said she’s planning on attending again next year and inviting others along with her. However, she mentioned wanting to see a category for carved pumpkins that also got painted for judging next year to add another category. 

Extravaganza Must Come to an End

The Pumpkin carving extravaganza proved to be a frighteningly fun night for all, with pumpkin carving and painting, Halloween theme music, food, and treats. Campus ministry enjoyed seeing all of the students’ creations and costumes. The amount of personality that shined through the pumpkins entertained the judges. 

Make sure to keep up to date on the festivities happening around campus. There are a lot of amazing opportunities to meet new people and try new things on campus. 

You can learn more about our coverage of KWU’s Campus Ministry here.