For a gourd cause: Halloween displays raise money

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This article was published 20/10/2021 (1808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 800-pound pumpkins in Chris Okell’s garage won’t turn into carriages. Still, he’s using them to improve people’s lives.

For eight years, Okell has transformed Atlantic Giants into jack-o-lanterns to raise money for the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation. He said this year’s gourds are on the smaller side, but they’ll do the trick.

“When I take out an eyeball, it’s probably 50 pounds,” said Okell, who’s used to carving 1,400-pound pumpkins, which are donated to him by farmers who participate in the Roland Pumpkin Fair.

All day on Halloween — from 7 a.m. to roughly 1 a.m. — Okell is outside his house with his gourds, a donation bin, and plenty of yard decorations. He’s raised around $31,000, collectively, from people who stop by and drop off donations.

“If I raise $500, that was $500 we didn’t have for CancerCare,” he said. “Whatever’s raised, it’s raised, and I’m happy.”

Okell loves Halloween because of his mother, Marietta, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010. He said she used to plan festive events in old Eaton’s stores for inner-city kids.

Later in life, Okell made a mission of entertaining neighbourhood children by finding large pumpkins and carving them at his home (39 Baisinger Dr.).

“You can’t go too crazy (carving) because they’re so big,” he said, adding he sticks to carving eyes and a mouth.

Marietta’s death caused Okell to convert his tradition to a fundraiser. Since he made the switch, hundreds of people have visited and donated money on Halloween.

“Everyone’s been affected by cancer,” Okell said. “If they haven’t — I hate to say it — they probably will.”

Okell’s pumpkins (there are usually two) are lit by red floodlights and include fog machines. It takes up to an hour to carve each one with a knife; using a chainsaw is “an absolute mess,” Okell said.

Kids in the area suggest faces. Last year, Okell made Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Sometimes, young cancer patients show up at the displays.

“That’s why I keep doing it,” Okell said. “There’s families out there… They need this little glimpse of some happiness, that someone else is working for them.”

Randy Smith, Okell’s longtime neighbour, said he sees Okell’s friends come by to help haul the pumpkin from a truck to his garage each year.

“I think it’s a worthy cause,” said Smith.

Okell also loads a carved 500-pound pumpkin onto his truck and drives around Manitoba, stopping at places such as dog parks and corn mazes to collect money.

People who can’t make it to Okell’s home can donate on CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s website (http://wfp.to/H32).

“We are extremely grateful to Chris for his time and dedication in running this event every year,” Laura Curtis, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s marketing and communications director, wrote in an email.

Andrew Royal’s house, at 20 Highbury Rd., is a five-minute drive from Okell’s. He has erected a Siloam Mission donation bin near his display of skeletons, tombstones and fake guillotine marking his front yard.

“People would come by, and they’d stop and take pictures,” Royal said. “(My wife and I) thought, ‘Well, why not set up a donation bin?’”

Last year, people dropped off 17 garbage bags’ of clothing and three cardboard boxes of toiletries.

Royal resurrected the donation bin Sunday and checks for new items nightly. It brings another layer of joy to his favourite holiday.

“Being able to help others and take donations, it’s fantastic,” Royal said. “We can spread (Halloween) out over a few weeks, instead of just having one night.”

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com