If you've been with us for a while, you might remember the frightfully fantastic winners of last year's KCtoday Pumpkin Carving Contest. Now, we're back for another round of spooky season fun, so carve some time into your schedule and run to the nearest pumpkin patch or garden store.

Read up on the rules

There's no right way to make a gourdgeous masterpiece. Whether you plan to carve the classics or bedazzle a painted pumpkin, get creative in a way that is fun for you — bonus points for any original and locally-themed designs. (Think: local landmarks, businesses, and icons.)

When you're ready to submit:

Share a picture of your pumpkin.
Include a title, short description, your name, and email address.

Entries will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Any submissions with offensive language or artwork will not be allowed.

Timeline + inspo

Finalists will be selected by our team and announced in the newsletter on Friday, Oct. 25. Then we throw it to our readers to pick "The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town"... ahem, we mean the best jack o'lantern of 2024, announced on Thursday, Oct. 31.

Want some pumpkin art inspo before you get started? Here are a few no carve ideas as well as some pumpkin carving pro tips (Rule No. 1: don’t forget the carving kit).