Amidst the usual hustle and bustle of Paddy’s Market in the centre of Sydney’s Chinatown, we discovered tables set up and prepped with pumpkins and all the tools we would need to carve our own Jack O’Lanterns.
Of course, though pumpkins are undoubtedly the flavour of the Halloween month there are other fruits and vegetables on hand should you choose to divert from tradition and carve a watermelon for example.
This past weekend we were lucky enough to be at one of those tables under the expert carving tutelage of a lady artist who has translated fruit and vegetables into the canvas of her choosing. She passed on some of that wisdom, first teaching us how to safely remove the tops from our pumpkins before providing us with gloves and tools to scoop out the seeds and fleshy interior.
As for the tools themselves, while the adults were entrusted with sharp scalpels, there were kid-safe options for the littles in attendance making it an entirely family-friendly affair.
Off with their heads and out with their innards – we were truly getting into the Halloween spirit – and then it was time to get creative. There were a host of paper drawings available to use as templates for our chosen carvings. At this point it was mainly up to the adults to carry out the brunt of the work and we quite literally got dug in, carving faces and ghosts and other ghoulish creations into our pumpkins.
I’ll admit I did manage to slice into my thumb during the carving process but our lovely instructor was there within seconds with a band aid and on I went. And I’m more than thrilled with the outcome. Not bad for my first time!
An annual pop-up workshop at Paddy’s Market Haymarket, I’ll be sure to book in next year and I urge you to do the same. Just remember to either drive into the city or bring something with you in order to transport your pumpkins safely home.