"You'd think it would take intense concentration to carve a 300-pound pumpkin with a Buck knife in front of a crowd keenly judging your speed and skill. But when you've been doing it for nearly four decades, as Farmer Mike has, it comes pretty easy. Heck, you might even have time for some light-hearted fun. I'll look into the crowd, and I'll see somebody, says Farmer Mike, nickname of San Jose's Mike Valladao."
"After learning wood carving from a carousel horse craftswoman he met on San Francisco's Pier 39, Valladao knifed his first public pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival in 1986. Since then, he's become a yearly fixture at the Bay Area festival which this year runs Oct. 18-19 flourishing his blade on an elevated stage, transforming lumpy gourds into Louvre-worthy art."
Mike Valladao, known as Farmer Mike, has carved pumpkins publicly since 1986 after learning wood carving from a carousel horse craftswoman on San Francisco's Pier 39. He carves 300-pound pumpkins on an elevated stage, often modeling audience faces into his work. The Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival runs Oct. 18-19 and celebrates its 53rd year with parades, contests, races, and performances. The Great Pumpkin Parade features costumed revelers dragging the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off winner. The world record is 2,749 pounds, set in 2023 by Travis Gienger. The festival includes four stages, costume and pie-eating contests, a half-marathon and 10K, and orangish food and beverages organized by local nonprofits.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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