Pumpkin Pete brings family-inspired ‘Jack O’Lantern World’ to life at Paulus Park

LAKE ZURICH, Ill. – Paulus Park in Lake Zurich has been transformed into “Jack O’Lantern World” just in time for Halloween, featuring a stunning display of intricately carved pumpkins and massive gourds.

“We just had the U.S. National Championship Pumpkin weigh off,” said event organizer Peter Starykowicz, also known as “Pumpkin Pete.”

The grand prize pumpkin tipped the scales at an impressive 2,048 pounds. Several giant pumpkins are on display, with some featuring intricate carvings.

“That is part of the excitement,” said Pumpkin Pete. “We got over 4,000 hand-carved, standard-sized jack-o’-lanterns, and part of the allure is we got these giant pumpkins as well that we’ll carve into jack-o’-lanterns.”

He said the inspiration for the event came from home.

“I have four children and what I think about is, what are they going to get excited about? Everyone wants to celebrate Halloween. Everyone loves October, and so we’re working with local farmers to bring in these real pumpkins,” he said.

Pumpkin Pete shared that some of the more intricate carvings can take up to 30 hours to complete. While visitors can see classic witch and skeleton jack-o’-lanterns, there will also be a “Hall of Presidents” — a pumpkin Mount Rushmore featuring hand-carved likenesses of Donald Trump, Joe Biden and more. 

Additionally, there’s a “Great Wall of Pumpkins” adorned with pumpkins carved with Chinese characters.

The event runs through the end of the month, open only from Thursday to Sunday.