A giant pumpkin gets a Baby Yoda makeover for Halloween. How much does it weigh?
Every year, a woman in Ohio “pumpkinizes” a celebrity and places it on her front porch for the Halloween season.
This year, Jeanette Paras turned a pumpkin into the beloved Baby Yoda from the hit Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.” She revealed the finished product this week.
Even cooler? The pumpkin — affectionately dubbed Baby YodaKin — weighs a whopping 451 pounds.
Paras said she hopes her Baby YodaKin provides a temporary escape from reality.
“I want people to look at Baby YodaKin, smile, appreciate his cuteness and enjoy a moment away from everything going on in the world today,” Paras said, WSYX reported. ”To me, Baby YodaKin represents the mental-health break we need.”
Paras, who lives in Dublin, said the pumpkin was grown by Scott Kulpa in Galena and that the finished product is almost 10 feet from ear to ear.
Paras, a breast cancer survivor, has been painting giant pumpkins for more than 30 years, having decorated upwards of 80 since 1988, she said on her website.
In years past, Paras’ pumpkins have been turned into characters including The Hulk, The Joker and a Minion.
She’s also tackled political figures including President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. Celebrities include Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and Betty White.
“When I crack up because of one of my giant celebrity pumpkins, that’s when I know I’ve picked the right subject,” Paras said, according to WSYX. “It’s so much fun to do this every year. I love the reactions I get from my neighbors and people who stop by our house.”
While it depends on the size of the pumpkin, Paras said it typically takes her between 50 and 70 hours to complete a project, from research to set-up, according to her website.
The pumpkins typically last around three months since they haven’t been pierced or carved, she said. Before a pumpkin is retired, she harvests the seeds to return to growers in an effort to grow another generation of huge pumpkins.
“We can all use more Baby Yoda…and less of everything else,” Paras said in a Facebook post.
