Hundreds of Jack-O-Lanterns Light Up the Old Morrison Steps of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky

Hundreds of Jack-O-Lanterns lit up against the night sky as they perched upon the “Old Morrison Steps” in Lexington, Kentucky, for the 12th Annual PumpkinMania Festival at Transylvania University. The lighting of the pumpkins takes place every night from October 23 through October 27, 2022, after which the pumpkins will be collected by local farmers for feed.

Most of the pumpkins will be collected Oct. 28 by local farmers, who’ll use them for animal feed. Some of the carved gourds will make their way to McConnell Springs for Lexington’s Jack-o’-lantern Trail. While this means the display won’t be up through Halloween this year, recycling the pumpkins before they’re unusable is in line with the university’s commitment to sustainability.

These grinning gourds were provided by Black Soil, an organization that seeks to connect black farmers in Kentucky with their agricultural roots.

The mission of Black Soil: Our Better Nature is to reconnect black Kentuckians to their legacy and heritage in agriculture. By bringing together urban families with rural and urban-based black farmers/growers/producers across the state, we help introduce opportunities in agriculture that promote self-sufficiency, encourage healthy living, and activate cooperative economics.

The university uses the gorgeous sight of these pumpkins in a recruiting video.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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