A Cut Above: How to buy, prep, carve, preserve your pumpkin

Think you know the latest tricks for carving a creepy pumpkin? The pros continue to push the barriers.

Picking that perfect pumpkin

A kid shops Sunday for the right pumpkin for Halloween in Chicago.

Local apple orchards and pumpkin farms offer favorite autumn attractions

Fall has moved in after a very unusual weather year that has not been good for apple orchards, but has helped produce some good pumpkin crops. Some area farms that open in the late summer and fall have had to make adjustments due to unusual conditions this year, but families can expect to fi…

Spreading pumpkin love

Amelia Jimenez, 4, of Portage, decorates her pumpkin at the Covered Bridge Harvest Fest over the weekend at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point.

Spreading pumpkin love

Looking a bit like a pumpkin herself, 10-year-old Isabella Schuhrke, of Lowell, competes in the pumpkin pie eating contest over the weekend at the Covered Bridge Harvest Fest at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

Spreading pumpkin love

Maddy Metros, 9 of Hobart, and Gianna Mack, 7 of South Holland, take part over the weekend in the pumpkin pie-eating contest at the Covered Bridge Harvest Fest at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

Spreading pumpkin love

Townes Auksel, 3, of Porter, bowls with pumpkins over the weekend at the Covered Bridge Harvest Fest at the Lake County Fairgrounds.

Griffith man continues reign as Indiana's pumpkin king

INDIANAPOLIS | The man Northwest Indiana thinks of when it thinks of pumpkins is once again best in the state.

Griffith man continues reign as Indiana's pumpkin king

John Barenie, of Griffith, holds the trophy he received as winner of the 2012 Giant Pumpkin Contest at the Indiana State Fair. Barenie's 1,293-pound pumpkin beat the second-place finisher by 208 pounds. The win is Barenie's second in a row and third since 2002.

Project will grow fresh produce for needy families

VALPARAISO | When the frost is on the pumpkins this fall, some of those pumpkins will be growing in the city-sponsored Garden for Others.

Fall for pumpkins

Pumpkin is a vine vegetable that is low in calories, yet full of nutritional boosters and dietary fiber. It also has no cholesterol or saturated fats.

Fall for pumpkin

Pumpkin is a vine vegetable that is low in calories, yet full of nutritional boosters such as carotenes, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber.

Fall for pumpkins

'Tis the season for pumpkins. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin hummus are just a few options to tap into antioxidant health benefits.

A delicious pumpkin pie...that you drink

Why should Thanksgiving have all the fun? Let Halloween in on the pumpkin pie action by turning the classic autumnal dessert into a punch.

Costume parade Saturday on C.P. square

CROWN POINT | Crown Point's annual Pumpkin Festival will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday on the downtown square.

Consider your child's dominant sense to make Halloween less scary

It's the great pumpkin display

Merv Barenie uses Vaseline to coat one of the pumpkin carvings to ensure it stays sealed to prevent rot. The pumpkin is part of the Barenie family Griffith pumpkin display, which has a "Cars" theme this year.

Wild vines cause pumpkin to grow in apple tree

No, it's not a tree that produces pumpkins. But somehow the pumpkin seeds Sandra Strohmeyer's 9-year-old granddaughter, Marissa Strohmeyer, planted in her backyard grew vines that climbed up a a fence and into a tree. Pumpkins are now growing alongside apples in her neighbor's tree. Here, Ma…

Pumpkin chucker is the ultimate slingshot

Nicko Savicz, a sophomore at Portage High School, gets ready to pull the trigger for the pumpkin chucker demonstration at Portage High School Wednesday afternoon. Dave Casson (left), a quality system manager at U. S. Steel, supervises the operation.