6 Giant Jack-O'-Lanterns Coming To Anne Arundel County For Halloween Weekend

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Artists will carve six giant pumpkins Friday in downtown Annapolis. The future jack-o'-lanterns weigh 900 to 1,400 pounds each.

The carving starts early Friday, and the jack-o'-lanterns will be done by 5 p.m. that evening.

The displays are a great photo backdrop, so the Downtown Annapolis Partnership is running a pumpkin picture contest through Halloween.

Anybody who posts a video or a photo of themselves at the pumpkins with the hashtag #GreatAnnapolisPumpkins will be entered to win gift cards to local restaurants, shops, attractions and accommodations. Contest planners will hold random drawings throughout the month.

The pumpkins are located along the Graduate Annapolis hotel, the Visit Annapolis Visitors Center, St. Anne's Parish, Main Street, Market Space and Maryland Avenue. The pumpkins are all nestled among straw bales, mums and corn stalks.

Erik Evans, the executive director of the Downtown Annapolis Partnership, loves watching families take pictures with the pumpkins.

"Our goal is to provide a fun, safe way for individuals of all ages to enjoy fall in Annapolis," Evans said in an Oct. 4 press release. "While they may come for the Great Annapolis Pumpkins, we'll encourage them to stay for the dining, shopping, and events the Annapolis area has to offer this season."

Evans suggested attending the Halloween All Saints Concert this Friday and Saturday at the U.S. Naval Academy or the downtown Day of the Dead Festival on Saturday.

Evans also pointed to haunted Annapolis tours like:

• Walking Ghost Tours (Daily through Monday)
• Special Historic Hauntings (This Thursday through Saturday)
• Colonial Annapolis & U.S. Naval Academy Walking Tour (This Friday through Sunday)
• Annapolis Scarecrow Stroll (Daily through Nov. 4)
• Special Historic Hauntings (Sunday)

Annapolis will additionally host a Halloween Bike Ride on Thursday, the Hammond-Harwood House Museum Pumpkin Walk on Friday and a Halloween Drag Brunch on Sunday.

For a full list of Halloween events in Anne Arundel County, visit Patch's spooky holiday calendar.

Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Executive Director Kristen Pironis said fall is a beautiful time to explore the state capital. That's why her organization became the lead sponsor for the Great Annapolis Pumpkins.

"We wanted to do what we could to help spread the word that now is the perfect time to visit," Pironis said in the release. "Being outdoors with family and friends, taking in the sights and sounds, and exploring the beauty of nature is what the season is all about. Add the magic of six giant pumpkins and you have a combination that’s hard to beat!"

Bumper Moyer, who leads the Eastport "Neat Streets" initiative, found the pumpkins at a weigh-off in Western Pennsylvania. He negotiated a price with farmers Kevin Snyder and Lee Zappa.

Moyer arranged pumpkin transportation to Annapolis earlier this month and coordinated the surrounding fall decorations from Garden Girls Landscaping. City of Annapolis public works crews used a forklift to unload the pumpkins and place them around town.

After Halloween, the city will take the jack-o-lanterns to the Truxtun Park pumpkin composting site.

Related:

• Ghost Tours, Street Festivals: Fall Events Around Annapolis
• Inflation Affecting 2022 Pumpkin Prices At Anne Arundel County Patches