Thousands flock to Dalston Eastern Curve Garden for pumpkin lantern spectacle

More than 4,000 pumpkin carvers and their families queued around the block to get sight of their lanterns lit up together for the annual festival of light at the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden.

Children, adults and young people flocked to the garden in Dalston Lane over the course of the weekend to take part in the free two-day carving marathon ahead of Sunday evening’s spectacle.

Marie Murray, who has organised the festival for the past nine years, said: “We loved welcoming so many Hackney creative carvers who had all contributed to this spectacular community art work.

“All carvers had been given VIPP (Very Important Pumpkin Person) invitations to the first lantern light-up and we were delighted that Dalston ward councillor Soraya Adejare helped greet them all.”

She thanked the Gazette for helping hunt down a giant pumpkin for this year’s centrepiece.

It was donated by Hackney grower Ian Dick and transformed by ‘carver in residence’ Eco, with illustrations of fairy tales. She will be at the garden every evening this week to meet visitors and talk about her pumpkin-carving inspiration.

The garden is open to the public from noon and candles will be lit from 6pm to 10pm every night until Sunday.