Seniors earned first place in the annual pumpkin carving contest, followed by the juniors, frosh and sophomores in the Halloween-themed spirit competition in front of Manzanita Hall on Wednesday during lunch. 

Each class crafted a themed display with preselected pumpkins and during only one lunch period.

The Class of 2026 named their work “Oh, the places you’ll ghost,” a play on the title of a Dr. Seuss book. Featuring miniature white pumpkin ghosts flying out of a main base carving, their creation aimed to capture the idea of carrying on their memories and lessons from Harker through new opportunities after graduation.

“It depicts the potential futures and pathways that we’re going to take by the end of the year,” senior pumpkin-carver Minal Jalil said. “It’s particularly special and pretty heartfelt and sentimental for the seniors. We still have a long way to go in terms of colleges and what our future will look like, but there’s generally excitement about it. With this pumpkin, we capture that spirit as well as our Halloween spirit.”

Juniors sculpted their pumpkin into a house on 27th Street, a nod to their graduation year. They arranged miniature pumpkins inside, including one painted with a rubber duck, their class mascot. 

To craft their three-pumpkin display, sophomores drew inspiration from their fall spirit theme, space. They nested their creations to depict an astronaut eating a pumpkin.

As first time participants in the event, the frosh came together as a team, stacking their pumpkins into a tower complete with a cyclops jack-o-lantern and a Harker eagle carving.

“Even though at the start we had only three people carving, we were able to get a lot of people at the end,” frosh pumpkin-carver Arun Banerjee said. “We collaborated really well. We didn’t have an idea at the start, but we pulled this together, and I’m proud of it. We’re building our class spirit and togetherness.”

Visual Arts department chair Joshua Martinez, Speech and debate teacher David Kilpatrick and Assistant to Dean of Students Kelley McCoy judged the pumpkins based on creativity, execution and connection to class themes.

“Usually the judges are administrative assistants, and it serves the purpose of bringing people from our community into the process that don’t normally get to be a part of it,” Director of Student Organizations Eric Kallbrier said. “People who normally are answering the phones and doing all the work that makes this school run so well get to come out and be a part of the fun for once.”

Last Friday, Harker Spirit Leadership Team and Student Activities Board visited Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch to select the pumpkins that would be carved during the contest. Each class chose pumpkins that fit their design plans while staying within a $20 budget.

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Eva Cheng

The Class of 2026 pumpkin, named “Oh, the places you’ll ghost,” featured miniature white pumpkin ghosts flying out of a main base carving.

Currently, the juniors hold the lead in overall spirit standings, followed by the seniors, sophomores and frosh. While Harker’s pumpkin carving tradition is competitive, as the points awarded will contribute toward the spring spirit championship, it also aims to provide an opportunity for students to bond and destress from schoolwork.

“My favorite thing to see is people having fun, not thinking about homework or tests or grades and just getting to enjoy the high school experience together,” Community Service Director and Activities Coordinator Kerry Enzensperger said. “I’m excited to see there’s a large group of people out here having fun and coming together as a community, working together in grades.”