Blue Sky Times: Professional Pumpkins, First Snow and the Return of Kevin Bacon

There are so many great things about the spooky season — Halloween, cozy weather, sweaters and Trader Joe’s fall treats. Through all of the good that comes with fall, it often also brings dreary gray skies. The news column is here to remind you the sun will still find you even if you are lost in colorless days. 

The First Snow of the Season

Chicago saw its first snow of the season yesterday morning in Chicago, according to the Weather Channel website, which predicted a 92% chance of snow and a high of 36 degrees for Oct. 31.

It’s not predicted to snow again for at least the next 10 days, according to the website, making this powder a Halloween special. 

Chicago received a total of 28 inches of snow over the course of the 2021-22 winter, according to the most recent record available on the National Weather Service website. 

Bringing Home the Bacon

After over two weeks of close encounters and near misses, Kevin Bacon — the 200-pound rescue pig, not the famous actor — has finally been captured at his home in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania, the Evening Sun reported. Owner Chelsea Rumbaugh managed to finally capture the slippery swine by simply closing the gate after he wandered into his pen Tuesday morning.

Kevin’s time on the lamb garnered national attention after Rumbaugh created a Facebook page titled “Bring Kevin Bacon Home,” which eventually amassed over two thousand followers. Rumbaugh was aided in her manhunt for Kevin by neighbors, a People Magazine article and even outreach from the Drew Barrymore Show, according to the page. 

However, the most remarkable assistance may have come from Pennsylvania native and the pig’s namesake actor Kevin Bacon. Only four days before the pig sauntered back into its pen, Bacon posted a message on Threads saying, “Bring Kevin Bacon home!”

Professional Pumpkin Carver 

New Yorker Adam Bierton has made pumpkin carving a source of income, charging upwards of $5,000 per pumpkin, The New York Times reported.  

Bierton, 40, expects to carve over 100 pumpkins this season. He has carved faces like Frankenstein’s and carved hyperrealistic art into them. Unlike most pumpkin carvings, most of Bierton’s have their guts and are not lit from inside but rather have the art featured on the outer skin. 

Bierton makes most of his money from the pumpkin carvings, working live events and getting sponsorships. This year, he carved pumpkins for Starbucks and BBC. 

Bierton told The New York Times he likes making art on pumpkins because each pumpkin is unique and not a constant medium like wood or clay. 

“I don’t usually have a design before I have a pumpkin — the size and shape leads into the design,” Bierton told The New York Times. “I also love the ephemeral part. I have to create something that I can’t keep.”

Have a great week everyone and remember as Cyndi Lauper once said “If you’re lost you can look and you will find me / time after time.”

This story was written by Isabella Grosso, Lilli Malone and Hunter Minnè

Featured Image by Lilli Malone / The Phoenix