Archive for October 19th, 2012

This Weekend: The Great Pumpkin Carving!

Posted in Programs and Events on October 19th, 2012 by Matt Newman – Be the first to comment

It’s an early weekend update today! This Saturday and Sunday, the NYBG plays host to an event that never fails to have us bouncing off the walls with anticipation: the Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend. But before we set up New York’s most original Halloween horrors here at the Garden, Ray Villafane and his crew of sculptors are taking their talents–and one or two giant pumpkins–to midtown. Naturally, we’re not about to let them gallivant through Manhattan without us, so a few of us from the Plant Talk offices are picking up and shipping off to join in on the fun.

If you happen to be in midtown through this afternoon, you’re welcome to stop by! We’ll be setting up shop at Grand Central Terminal this morning outside the west entrance, just off Vanderbilt Avenue. You can watch as Ray’s team carves up a display pumpkin of gargantuan proportions, while Ray himself works on the centerpiece of our Halloween spread–the pumpkin patch zombie. Each sculpture will then shuffle its way to the Garden proper to become part of the main event this weekend.
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Morning Eye Candy: Maneater

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on October 19th, 2012 by Matt Newman – 1 Comment

Nope, it’s not a scene from the as-yet-unreleased Little Shop of Horrors 2. Ray Villafane and his team have been working since Thursday to prep these monstrous pumpkins for this weekend’s Great Pumpkin event, and today they’ll be at Grand Central Terminal for the kick-off. If you happen to be around midtown this morning or afternoon, feel free to stop by and see Ray whipping up the stuff of nightmares from nothing more than….well, a few thousand pounds of pumpkin. And remember: the big event goes off this weekend here at the NYBG!

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen