ANOKA, Minn. — The "Halloween Capitol of the World" has a new feature: an artsy, 12-foot-tall handmade pumpkin.
Anoka Municipal Utility unveiled the pumpkin on the first day of October 2020 -- as a gift for the City of Anoka. It's made from repurposed materials... and a lot of teamwork. According to AMU, all it needs now is a name.
You can submit a name for the giant pumpkin by commenting on AMU's Facebook post by Oct. 15. The community will vote from five selected names just before Halloween.
The pumpkin's main frame is made up of reels, in which AMU's conduit is stored. The top hat is a barrel that used to hold waste -- don't worry, it's been cleaned -- and the brim of the hat is from an old cabinet used to house electrical components.
It took about 60 hours -- and a lot of planning -- to construct the pumpkin, AMU said. Local artist, welder, and "jack of all trades" Greg Pavlik spent hours working on it, and city employees helped build during lunch breaks and after work.
Right now, the 12-foot-by-8-foot pumpkin sits in front of Anoka City Hall. It'll stay there until it's time for a Christmas tree to take its place. But don't worry -- Anoka will move the pumpkin to a city park or another unique location.
