By Dinah Alobeid

The third annual Pumpkin Carving Contest sponsored by Dining Services was held on Thursday in the Levine Marketplace.

Deb Fantasia, who does the marketing and managing for Dining Services, ran the event and said she was enthusiastic about doing something fun for the Northeastern students.

“It’s just like a pumpkin patch. The kids can come in, choose their favorite pumpkin, grab a carving kit which also has carving designs in it and get to work and have fun. It’s nice to be able to give the students here a break from studying and to get into the autumn and Halloween spirit,” Fantasia said.

The selection process for the top three pumpkin winners happened the following day. The pumpkins were put on display by Fantasia and the Dining Services staff. Over three hours, students eating at the Levine Marketplace placed their votes for the top three pumpkins.

After over 600 votes Britton Cofgrove, a junior criminal justice major, took home top honors and a $100 award in the carving competition with a rendition of Sponge Bob Squarepants. Justin Reifs, a junior architecture major who carved the Red Sox socks, earned second place and a $50 prize and Jacqueline Chesney, a senior American Sign Language major who carved Tinkerbell, came in third place and pocketed $25. The final number of pumpkins entered in the contest by the end of the night was 29. The top three winners were asked back next year to defend their titles.