Carving his niche

Bryce Alderton

Comments such as “that’s awesome” and “I could never do that” filled

the air Sunday as onlookers watched Mike Valladao transform an orange

squash into a symbol of patriotism.

And that was just the first one.

The San Jose resident, who has been dubbed the World’s Most Renowned

Pumpkin Carver, entertained many onlookers as he carved an eagle and

American flag into the first of two giant pumpkins during the Orange

County Marketplace’s fourth annual Trick or Treat Festival, held at the

Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

“Pumpkins appeal to everyone this time of year,” Valladao said while

dropping pumpkin peel on the ground. “This gets people’s attention. I do

it for the smiles and faces I see in the crowd.”

The eagle and flag Valladao carved surely appealed to 13-year-old

Austin Zapata of Costa Mesa.

Austin stood and watched Valladao carve stars on the flag for 15

minutes.

“I just like it because I like to draw,” Zapata said.

Valladao wanted to reflect America’s patriotism and encourage

Americans to move forward following the Sept. 11 attacks with the two

pumpkins he carved Sunday.

“People need to get back to business and get the country going to

where it’s supposed to be going,” Valladao said.

Valladao doesn’t draw a design on paper prior to carving, but rather

lets the pumpkin dictate what he will carve because each pumpkin has its

own shape and contour, he explained.

And he doesn’t use an extensive amount of tools; he mainly uses a buck

knife, or a folding hunting knife that has a three-and-a-half inch blade.

“If the pumpkin’s shape is elongated, then it will have an elongated

nose,” Valladao said, dressed in a pair of orange overalls and a straw

cowboy hat. “Each [pumpkin] is different; it’s whatever works for that

particular pumpkin.”

Carving giant pumpkins began 16 years ago when Valladao carved one for

a Sacramento area country club that was so impressed that it asked him to

do another one.

Valladao was growing them in his Sacramento yard at the time and

decided to make the best use of them.

“The pumpkins weighed more than I did at the time. I just carved them

and went on from there,” said Valladao, a product manager for a software

company.

Known internationally, Valladao and his pumpkins have appeared in

Japanese newspapers and USA Today, and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In 1999, Valladao carved a 991-pound pumpkin, which was the largest

pumpkin on record in California.

When asked about all the acclaim, he said “I guess there’s not a lot

of people carving giant pumpkins. It’s an unusual distinction.”

Most of the pumpkins he carves are Atlantic Giant pumpkins that can

weigh 250 to 350 pounds. Each one takes Valladao about three hours to

carve.

Valladao gets his pumpkins from a variety of sources: the ones he

grows on his 2-acre yard in San Jose, from his uncle’s yard in Half Moon

Bay, and from Tom Borchard, a grower in Salinas. The latter were used

Sunday.

One of Valladao’s favorite designs were the two faces of presidential

candidates George Bush and Al Gore that he carved during last year’s

marketplace festival.

But on Sunday, all eyes were on the eagle.

Noah Delcore, a 4-year-old Fountain Vally resident, came dressed in a

green and gold dinosaur costume and was all smiles after watching

Valladao cut out some more pumpkin pulp from the eagle’s neck.

“That pumpkin is like 100 pounds,” Noah said, smiling and holding a

purple bag to use for trick-or-treating.

Marketplace vendors handed out candy to costumed children 12 and

younger on Sunday.

* Bryce Alderton is the news assistant. He may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at o7 bryce.alderton@latimes.comf7 .