With the season of spooks being limited due to the pandemic, the community had to find a way to ensure residents could still take part in Halloween fun at home: through the power of pumpkins.

Dozens of talented residents carved and painted their autumn gourds and sent them to be judged either through a contest co-sponsored by Dartmouth Parents 14.0 group or through the Dartmouth Public Library’s first ever competition.

Children’s Librarian Christie Phillips said the town’s libraries “had a great showing” for its inaugural pumpkin contest, boasting 19 participants. 

Entries were split into two categories: carved pumpkins and decorated pumpkins. After a vote on the Dartmouth Public Library Facebook page, Phillips said there were “two clear winners” — Wyatt Aevazelis in the carved category and Savannah Woodall for decorated.

“All the entries were very creative and clearly a lot of work went into them,” she said.

Meanwhile, judges are still tallying votes for the pumpkin carving/decorating contest co-sponsored by Dartmouth Parents 14.0 group.

While winners have yet to be determined, here’s a sneak peak of some of the contenders.