"Farmer Mike" carving a megagourd masterpiece

The “Picasso of pumpkin carvers” will meet his biggest challenge yet at this year’s Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, October 17-18. For more than 20 years “Farmer Mike” Valladao has created whimsical characters from 200-400–pounders as the festival’s official pumpkin carver. This year, however, he will turn his talents to one of the megagourds that tip the scales at the much-anticipated Weigh-In at more than 1,000 pounds.

In his signature overalls and straw hat, Farmer Mike will get to work as the festival opens on Saturday at his carving stage in the Coastside Water District lot (766 Main Street). “It will take most of the day,” he says. “I start by seeing a vision of something in the pumpkin, and then I etch the general characteristics and features.” He does most of the work with a simple folding buck knife and finishes the details with a variety of carving chisels.

The heftiest pumpkins are always the Atlantic Giant variety (Cucurbita maxima ‘Atlantic Giant’), which have an extremely thick shell, giving Farmer Mike a truly 3-D canvas for his masterpieces. An important part of his job is selecting an ideal specimen. He looks for a form that isn’t perfectly round but has some character, and inspects the structure for telltale indentations that may be a sign of internal cracks.

“I always start carving in the area where I’ll make the deepest cuts—the nose— because it will protrude the most,” explains Farmer Mike. “Then I continue with the style that I call ‘pumpkin carving in the round,’ finishing one area and moving on to the next.”

Farmer Mike mesmerizes festivalgoers with his skillful artistry and is happy to answer questions and talk about his craft.

A self-taught pumpkin carver who began growing his own pumpkins “as a lark,” Valladao has deep roots in the Half Moon Bay coastside. His family came from Portugal over 150 years ago as farmers and opened the area’s first feed and seed store. He has gained national attention, demonstrating his talents at the State Fair of Texas, the San Diego Zoo and on The Tonight Show.