A man from Rhode Island is raising money for a great cause and in a very unique way.
Tim Perry, of Cranston, found a creative way to set up about 1,000 carved pumpkins on his front lawn at 46 Elm Dr. He says it is his House of 1000 Pumpkins.
Perry is doing it for fun but also to raise awareness for people who are battling cancer, including his wife, Sue.
"My wife was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. She had two surgeries and is cancer-free, thankfully," Perry told The National Desk during an interview outside his home, adding that he is empathetic to anyone who has cancer or knows someone who is fighting the disease.
"Cancer is so wide-spread," he said.
According to the American Cancer Society, one in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. The non-profit's goal is "to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. They strive to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer."
Perry has been carving pumpkins for almost 20 years. This is the fourth year in a row that he's gone all out with the display.
"They are craft pumpkins, so I can save them and add more every year,” Perry said.
He started with 500 pumpkins, then 660, and reaching 1,000 last year. This year he went up to 1,400!
Perry begins with the designs and then carves the pumpkins.
"When I first started, some of them weren't even my patterns," he said, adding that he originally found patterns online before developing his own. "And then once I started creating my own patterns, that's when I went nuts," he said.
It normally takes him about three hours per pumpkin. The more detailed ones take a bit longer, including one that honors the Day of the Dead.
"It's super intricate," he said.
The pumpkins feature the usual Halloween ghouls and goblins, as well as some of his favorite rock stars, such as Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Prince, Freddie Mercury, and more.
"I'm big into rock music, and rock bands, and heavy metal, especially," he said. "And then, of course, I love horror stuff," he said.
You'll see also villains like Jason and Freddy Krueger, along with child-friendly characters from movies and shows like "Hotel Transylvania," as well as judges from popular reality TV shows, such as "America's Got Talent" and "The Voice."
The display also features festive props, including two 12-foot skeletons and a giant spider. Also, there's a 9-foot zombie, as well as a skull tower and a grim reaper playing guitar.
"My friend, who's in a band, created this music for me to play," he said, noting that the band's name is Jump the Fall. They are based out of Massachusetts.
There are at least 100 mini-pumpkins surrounding the property. Each one is illuminated.
"I create the lights for them, also, by soldering wires into little battery lights," he said. "There's probably 5,000 feet of wire in my yard."
The display is lit every night until 11 p.m. Perry enjoys meeting visitors, as well as the process of crafting the jack-o-lanterns.
"I work on them basically throughout the whole year because I just love carving pumpkins," he said. "This is what I do for fun."
Source: WJLA