Encinitas is getting ready for Halloween in a spectacular way. Monks from the Self-Realization Fellowship are carving more than 100 pumpkins that will line the downtown portion of Coast Highway 101 for the Safe Trick-or-Treat walk on Halloween night.
The pumpkins weigh up to 50 pounds, and sport intricate carvings of super heroes, Disney characters, and other delightful or spooky images.
Carving a giant pumpkin can take from an hour to two days, depending on the design’s complexity, said Brother Tejananda of the Self-Realization Fellowship.
“We have a total of about 25 monks carving the pumpkins,” Tejananda said. “The process can take anywhere from one hour, to eight hours, to maybe even two days. If you’re going to do an image let’s say of Snow White that’s pretty simple. But if you’re going to do Godzilla tearing down the city, that’s a little more complicated. So that takes a couple of days to do a big one like that. And we have both.”
Downtown merchants take part in the Safe Trick-or-Treat walk by passing out candy to 15,000 children and spectators.
“It’s a wonderful thing for the community,” said Dody Crawford, Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association executive director. “The whole family comes down here dressed up. It’s an amazing night.”
The annual event began over 25 years ago, and was originally held on the fellowship grounds located on Coast Highway. It included a festival, and Halloween queen who passed out candy and granted wishes to awaiting children.
When the event grew too big to accommodate on its grounds 14 years ago, the fellowship partnered with the Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association and continued to carve the pumpkins.
Yearly preparations begin in June. Fellowship monks plant and grow the giant pumpkins in summer, and harvest them in September. In mid-October they draw on designs, and carve them out. The final step is taking the meat and seeds out of the pumpkins the day before Halloween, so they can be illuminated for display.
“It’s just a really fun place to bring your family, and your children,” Tejananda said. “This is like the whole city of Encinitas, all of Encinitas, is throwing a Halloween party.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the fellowship partnered with the city. In fact, it was with the Encinitas 101 MainStreet Association.