The 2009 WPCC is now open for business....

Well folks it's that time of year again, the leaves are turning, the rain is coming, the knifes are sharpened and the pumpkins... well apparently the pumpkins came early this year! Silly pumpkins, what were they thinking? It's not like Halloween is a flexible holiday like Easter, it doesn't move around all willy-nilly not thinking of how no one will ever be able to figure out what day you get off the Monday or the Friday? Nope, it's always on the same day, no matter if it's a Tuesday or a Saturday, if it's snowing sideways or the Swine flu has taken over, the show still goes on!

And so despite the moderately tardy starting date, we figure we will give you until midnight of whatever time zone you are living in on Sunday November 1st to get your entries in because lets be serious, Halloween is on a Saturday this year, and I hope to be doing a little drinking and knives and beer just don't mix. It's like eating the apples you get in your trick-or-treat bag, its something your mother wouldn't approve of!

The theme this year is going to be a little more specific due to some previous claims of judge bias... blah blah blah. So to mix it up and try something new we are all going to carve the same thing this year, or at least your own variation of a more specific theme than spooky or wicked was, this year we are all going to carve a CAT.

There will be complaints I'm sure, please feel free to make a comment on the old blog here, or just shout through a tin can phone if you want to, first you have to get me to hold the rope tight though don't you?! Get creative, get thinking and most importantly get carving!

As per usual the following rules apply and guide the general competition:

1. The theme this year is "CAT", and can be whatever your interpretation of "CAT" is. Please keep in mind however that your design must be ORIGINAL. It is ok to get ideas from other people but you can't just copy someone else's directly and you definitely CANNOT USE A STENCIL...something about it has to be your own.
2. You are only allowed to use 1 pumpkin (any shape you can find) and toothpicks are ok too, but no other decorations.
   
3. You can use any carving tools you want.
4. You may only send 1 picture of your pumpkin, (keep that in mind when carving) to Leanne or Sarah and we will send it out to the judging panel.
   
5. To avoid anyone voting for their own pumpkin, or voting for a friend's pumpkin, we will have an entirely autonomous judging panel voting for their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices.
   
6. Photo's must be received by Sunday November 1st at midnight in whichever time zone you happen to be living in. Pictures will then be mailed to the judges, votes will be collected and the winners announced ASAP.
7. No late entries will be accepted, we're engineers people, not artists.

The trophy is a bit like the Stanley Cup in that it has a keeper (two actually) and they are currently escorting it back across the country from Guelph Ontario to Vancouver BC by car. They are probably only touching it with mittens on too, but likely because it's friggin cold outside not because they are worried about finger prints! So on top of the pride you could also have the chance to keep the WPCC Trophy on your mantle for the duration of the year! Just like Chris Turnbull, last years winner!
So Happy Carving folks and may the best pumpkin win!

Sarah and Leanne