Most people just carve faces into pumpkins this time of year. But a man named JR Hildebrandt has taken the Halloween spirit to a whole new level.
Most people just carve faces into pumpkins this time of year. But a man named JR Hildebrandt has taken the Halloween spirit to a whole new level—this year, he’s bought a giant, 760-pound pumpkin, and carved it into a boat with room enough for himself, a chair to sit in, and a propane heater.
This floating gourd isn’t simply a celebration of the spooky holiday, however—Hildebrandt is setting off on an eight-day cruise down the Wisconsin River in his boat, in order to raise money for a charity that pays for special trips to kids with special needs.
“We’ve sent children to Disney Land, or Disney World. We’ve sent them to NASCAR races, we’ve even sent one little girl to Jamaica on a cruise and I wanted to take it a step further,” Hildebrandt told the Telegraph.
Strangely enough, Hildebrandt is no stranger to transport by pumpkin: He’s won the Nekoosa Great Pumpkin Race in Wisconsin for several years running, paddling a 300-yard course within 10 minutes. Though his new venture is a significantly longer ride inside the pumpkin than he’s used to, Dildebrandt believes he’ll reach his goal, but that “the smell may get bad for a while.”
We’re glad to see someone helping children in such a creative way, but as far as pumpkins are concerned, we’ll probably skip the boat and just keep them for jack ‘o lanterns and pies.