Pumpkins!
Who remembers when you first saw the fantastic array of jack o’ lanterns along the Mt. Douglas Parkway?
urns out this is not the only spot. I’ve seen them along the Gorge, so I wondered about this fun little Victoria ritual. A post to the “Victoria . . . then” Facebook page brought forth pumpkins gathering much farther afield: on Veteran’s Memorial Parkway near Latoria – along Jingle Pot Road in Nanaimo – in Sleepy Hollow, between Lake Cowichan and Honeymoon Bay – in Ladysmith – on Osborne Bat Road in Crofton . . .
ack in Mount Douglas Park, the pumpkins stay for about a week, before being collected by District of Saanich crews for composting. An article in the Saanich News from 2017 says usually there are 200 – 300 wonderful jack o’ lanterns on display. It’s been happening for at least 20 years, but no one has been able to say who or how the tradition started. Someone suggested, “It started when somebody dropped off a pumpkin, and then somebody else did the same. Kind of like the bunnies at Helmcken.” Or – perhaps it is the work of the Great Pumpkin?
For more on the mystery, read the article at
Happy Halloween!
Suzanne
p.s. This weekend I’ll be part of the Art Sea Studio Tour both Saturday and Sunday, at the Fallen Tree Studio/ Russell Nursery, 1370 Wain Road.