If you like pumpkin carving and pop culture, you might want to drive by 124th Terrace and Nieman Road in Overland Park this Halloween season.
That’s where Daniel Taber’s light-up, hand-carved pumpkin display is now nearing 400 pumpkins.
Yes, 400.
Taber has been making his display for years as he and his family have moved around the country, from Cincinnati to Minneapolis to Sacramento to, now, Overland Park.
“There’s a reason why when we moved here, one of the must-haves for the realtor was a three-car garage. That’s all dedicated to pumpkins. I just built shelves floor to ceiling on one side that are pumpkin height,” he said.
Taber has his pumpkin-carving workspace there, too.
Sections of the display feature cereal mascots like Count Chocula and Toucan Sam, cartoons such as Phineas and Ferb and Scooby-Doo and musical bands like Metallica and the Beatles. Other themes include classic films and superheroes.
With so many pumpkins, Taber said he ran out of ideas “after the first 200 pumpkins I carved.”
The Overland Park display includes a suggestion box that he regularly takes ideas from, especially to stay on top of whatever the year’s trend is, from Bluey, the lovable cartoon dog, to smash Netflix animated hit KPop Demon Hunters.
So far, he’s added 14 new pumpkins this year, including a tribute to the recently departed Dolly Parton, and the classic 1990s cartoons Inspector Gadget and Animaniacs.
Taber started it all for his son’s first Halloween in 2011.
“I didn’t want to spend a lot of time (to carve the pumpkin) and watch it rot away in a couple of days because of how warm it was when we were living in Cincinnati,” he said.
His wife suggested foam pumpkins she’d seen at the store. Taber carved the first ones with an X-acto knife but has done subsequent ones with a Dremel tool.
In 2020, to help combat the struggles food pantries were going through, he added the option for viewers of his display to donate to a local one.
For the three Halloweens he’s been in Overland Park, he’s chosen Harvesters as the beneficiary.
For every $5 you donate, you can enter a raffle for Taber to carve you a custom foam pumpkin. Last year, he raised about $1,800, and he’s on target to beat that record this year.
The display is just pure fun for Taber, whether he’s constructing the pumpkins or watching people enjoy them.
“Even if nobody showed up, I’d still be doing this,” he said.
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