We’re thrilled to present this year’s eagerly anticipated Giant Pumpkin Carving! Ray Villafane has outdone himself with this spooky and monumental homage to the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) as a nod to FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life. The design is based on an early 20th-century satirical cartoon by the famous Mexican printmaker and illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada. See it in person at the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions, alongside our annual Giant Pumpkin Display, through November 1!
This weekend NYBG is thrilled to welcome back the Master Carver himself, Ray Villafane, who will once again lead our annual Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend with a live demonstration of his remarkable skills and daily Q&A sessions with his team of carvers—with a special twist in honor of Día de los Muertos!
This year’s larger-than-life pumpkin tableau will represent this traditional holiday from Mexico and will remain on display alongside the largest pumpkins in North America—some weighing more than a ton—as part of the Giant Pumpkin Display from October 24 through November 1. It’s all part of the first Día de los Muertos Weekend on October 24 & 25! Click through to view details about this special weekend celebration and see more photos of the programs and activities to come.
Fall brings fresh air, vibrant color, and seasonal activities for the whole family at NYBG this year as part of the final month of FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life. Come celebrate the season and experience this blockbuster exhibition before it closes on November 1 with Frida al Fresco Evenings, Día de los Muertos Weekends, and Halloween activities for the whole family—including the annual Giant Pumpkin Display!
Only five Frida al Fresco evenings remain during the last month of FRIDA KAHLO. Be transported to the world of Frida Kahlo’s Mexico City during a crisp fall evening at NYBG for an unforgettable escape. On select Thursday and Friday evenings in October, the Garden remains open until 11 p.m. with live music, cocktails, and more to enhance your experience of the Casa Azul in the Conservatory and Kahlo’s rare works in the Art Gallery.
Last weekend was our Pumpkin Carving Weekend with Ray Villafane, and the Master Carver himself executed a massive pumpkin sculpture, after his own design, with the help of his crack team. The fruits—or gourds—of his labor are on display through October 31 as part of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden.
In case you missed the opportunity to see Ray’s zombie carving come to life, we have a video with Ray himself taking you through the process of carving his pumpkin sculpture for NYBG. The end result is a bone-chilling zombie climbing out of a 1700-pound pumpkin! Check out the installation this weekend as part of our annual Award-Winning Giant Pumpkin Display, or for the full Halloween experience get tickets to one of our upcoming Spooky Nighttime Adventures and see Ray’s creation fully illuminated for the first time in his four years working with the Garden.
Ray Villafane leads his sold out Pumpkin Picasso carving class at NYBG
Ray Villafane is back at NYBG tomorrow for Pumpkin Carving Weekend. See this year’s massive zombie carving come to life after touring The Haunted Pumpkin Garden. Check out Ray’s exclusive artist’s rendering of his apocalyptic pumpkin vision here—it’s like no jack-o’-lantern you’ve ever seen! In fact, Ray is at Grand Central Terminal today until 7 p.m. beginning work on his masterpiece in a live demonstration that is open to the public! Stop by if you’re in midtown, but come to the Garden this weekend to see the finished product.
Kids are welcome to complete the Halloween fun with the Budding Masters Creepy Pumpkin Carving Adventure this Saturday, open exclusively to MasterCard cardholders. Saturday and Sunday will also feature the return of Creepy Creatures of Halloween. Erik Zeidler, the host of this popular and educational program, recently visited Good Day New York with some of his amazing reptiles to discuss his work with the Garden. Head below to check out some of the eye-popping live creatures your family can visit this weekend, along with our impressive pumpkin installation.
Kiku has only a couple of weeks left, so come enjoy a bite at our Japanese Pop-Up Restaurant while there’s still time! In the meanwhile, enjoy this Creepy Creatures clip from Good Day New York, and check out the full schedule of weekend programs.
“Pumpkin King” isn’t a title tossed around lightly (that’s a long-game pun right there). Come to think of it, Danny Elfman’s probably held the honor longer than anyone. But once each year, right around the time the leaves start wandering off their branches and the Forest takes a sudden lean toward apple reds and lemon yellows, a new monarch arrives at the NYBG to wear the crown a while—and there’s always an entourage tagging along. Big, small, squat and tall, a cadre of gargantuan pumpkins are trundling into the Garden for this year’s Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend, taking place here this weekend on October 19 and 20!
When your prized produce weighs as much as a standard sedan, no one’s going to call out your efforts for lacking heft. Still, in the hyper-competitive world of mammoth produce, every pound counts—even among the giants, one always stands above the rest, especially when the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth is involved. This year’s record-breaking pumpkin hails from Napa, California, where Tim and Susan Mathison primped and preened a young squash into a 2,032-pound behemoth that easily snatched up the world heavyweight title after a stop on the scale. Joining it at the Garden this year are two pumpkins from Dawn and Bill Northrup of New Brunswick, Canada, at 1,813 and 1,024.5 pounds, respectively; and a pair from Dave and Carol Stelts of Edinburgh, Pennsylvania, clocking in at 1,496 and 1,391.5 pounds. Just to add an extra touch of the big and bizarre, we’ll also have Chris Kent’s record-snapping, 350.5-lb. watermelon flying in from Sevierville, Tennessee; and a long gourd from Fred Ansems of Kentville, Nova Scotia, that clocks in at over 11 feetin length.
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.
