Oakland family shares love for Halloween through annual Pumpkin Party

For many, the tradition of pumpkin carving starts at an early age. For Oakland resident Jennifer Noak, her first experience carving a pumpkin wasn’t until she was in 10th grade.

But, it’s a moment she will never forget. 

Noak traveled to a friend’s house, where she spent time with their family who learned she had never carved a pumpkin before. 

She said she felt cheated and decided she would use every year to make up for the ones she missed, starting in 2005 with the creation of her first Pumpkin Party in Winter Garden.

“I fell in love with it, and I think maybe this is why we host a pumpkin party instead of a costume party,” she said. “Ever since that, I don’t know what it was, I just loved it, and I wanted to share that same joy and excitement with others. It made my love for Halloween grow even more.”

CARVING CREATION

Noak has hosted her annual Pumpkin Party for more than 15 years and only has skipped the event a few times in instances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The central focus behind the concept is spending time with loved ones while also encouraging attendees to participate in a judged pumpkin carving contest. 

Once all of the pumpkins have been carved, Noak sets the creations up along the porch to allow guests to cast their vote for The Great Pumpkin, the best pumpkin and the Frankenpumpkin, a wild card to level the playing field between kids and adults. The Frankenpumpkin can be the ugliest, silliest or even favorite. 

After the ballots are cast anonymously on small folded pieces of paper, the winners are announced. The winner of The Great Pumpkin signs a big orange pumpkin noting the year, while the winner of the Frankenpumpkin signs the Frankenpumpkin List, which is a small black leather bound book, also noting the year. 

In addition, the event features s’mores by the fire pit, a big pot of chili, fun treats, games and more.

SPOOKY START

Although the Pumpkin Party first was held in Winter Garden, the tradition has traveled with Noak across multiple states, including Texas and Colorado, where she met her husband, Jonathon. 

“In 2005, Halloween kind of seemed like the unclaimed holiday, so I thought, ‘Why not host a Halloween party?’” Noak said. “Two or three friends and I decided to start a pumpkin-carving contest. We had so much fun with it, and it seemed to just catch on. It expanded from just a few friends to family, children, neighbors and more.”

In Denver, Noak recalls a restaurant downtown called Linger, operating in a building that had been a morgue. She gave a gift card to the eatery in the form of a toe tag for the winner of The Great Pumpkin, while the winner of the Frankenpumpkin won a Bob Ross how-to kit to improve their skills. 

Although the tradition has evolved and the prizes have been modified to apply to every age group, the spirit of the contest never changed.

“What we’ve found is that no matter where we’ve lived or what mix of people attend, it seems like everyone enjoys it,” she said. 

FAMILY AFFAIR

Noak shared she has had a love for Halloween for as long as she can remember. 

As a child, she loved the fantastical aspects of the holiday and dressing up. 

Noak remembers taking pillow cases to go trick-or-treating with her two younger sisters. The girls would fill them to the brim and then returned home to barter for their favorite goodies. 

One year, when Noak’s mother ran out of candy, the siblings were forced to hand out their own candy they had collected.

“I remember thinking at the time it was just so cruel,” she said, laughing. “As a kid, going trick-or-treating was just the most amazing thing. But now just as much, if not more, we love handing out the candy to the kids. We don’t want to hand out just one piece of candy; we want to pass out handfuls.”

Noak has lived in Oakland Park since 2017 with Jonathon; their son, Angel; and their two rescued dogs, George and Ruby. 

She said she starts getting excited about Halloween in March, although decorations have to come down immediately after the conclusion of the holiday to make way for the family’s Thanksgiving tradition of setting up the Christmas tree with only lights.

The family watches Halloween movies year-round including favorites like “The Addams Family” (the original version), “Beetlejuice,” “The Great Pumpkin” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” 

Noak loves Tim Burton and said she often jokes that George, who is missing one eye, reminds her of one of his characters. 

Although the house is heavily decorated with a giant skeleton, a flying witch, a smoking cauldron, animated figures, a fog machine, eerie music and more, Noak said she hopes to add more decorations every year and to expand the Pumpkin Party event to share the Halloween spirit with as many people as possible.