The record-breaking pumpkin mosaic (Credit: Guinness World Records/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

A massive pumpkin display at Sunnyfield Farms in the United Kingdom set a new world record for the largest Cucurbita mosaic on October 22, 2023. Cucurbita includes squashes, pumpkins, zucchinis, and some gourds. The 2,081-square-foot (193 square meters) artwork was created to mark the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton's animated movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

It recreates a clip from "Jack's Lament," one of the film's most famous and well-known songs. In the iconic scene, the movie's hero, Jack Skellington, is seen on a mountain with a stunning full Moon in the background.

Ian and Louise Nelson, who own the farm, say the idea for the design came from their social media followers. But bringing it to life was no easy task. It took the family and ten farm workers about five hours to complete the masterpiece. They used orange pumpkins for the hills and white ones for the Moon. The green outlines were made with Gem Rolet Squash, while the sky comprised Crown Prince squashes.

The Nelsons create pumpkin mosaics every year (Credit: Sunnyfield Farms Facebook Page/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

To break the previous record, the mosaic had to measure over 1,076 square feet (100 square meters). The Nelson masterpiece, made using 10,000 pumpkins and gourds, was almost twice that!

"We weren't intentionally doing it to get the record, as each year we build a big display, but we realized it would qualify and went for it," Ian told the PA News Agency.

The farm's previous pumpkin displays include Cinderella's Carriage and Paddington Bear. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they made a jack-o' lantern mosaic wearing a mask.

Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, BBC.com, CNN.com