Waiting to see what kind of epic celebrity pumpkin Paras Pumpkins creates each Halloween is a little bit like waiting for Christmas morning.
I look forward to celebrating this fun, seasonal art each year and this year did not disappoint. It will come a surprise to almost no one that I spend a decent amount of time online. When this is your job, you feel an obligation to stay up on trending topics. But there was nothing obligatory about my love of the now-famous pygmy hippopotamus, Moo Deng.
She went viral on social media last month for good reason. She’s sassy, adorable, and kind of a legend. Although her home may be thousands of miles away at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, her rise to fame went global and even caught the attention of the writers and cast of Saturday Night Live.
In a fantastic, satirical Weekend Update performance, Bowen Yang portrayed Moo Deng.
In the skit, Bowen Yang’s portrayal of Moo Deng cleverly merged the viral fame of the baby hippo with another rising star, Chappell Roan. The parody highlighted the pressures of sudden online fame, drawing parallels between Moo Deng’s skyrocketing popularity and Roan’s own battles with intrusive fans on TikTok.
Yang’s Moo Deng character humorously vented about being overwhelmed by attention, referencing Roan’s real-life frustrations with obsessive fans and the toll fame can take on mental health. The skit captured both the absurdity and the seriousness of going viral, making Moo Deng’s journey not just about internet cuteness, but a clever commentary on fame and boundaries in the digital age.
From that now-viral skit of the viral pygmy hippo, Paras Pumpkins artist Jeanette Paras created this year’s incredible pumpkin. “Moo Deng burst onto the Internet in videos and memes and seemed to own the algorithm. He was everywhere! And then the appearance by Bowen Yang on SNL’s Weekend Update put them both at the top of my list,” said Paras in a press release. “I don’t make the news, I pumpkinize it. Bowen YangKin is this year’s giant celebrity pumpkin, and he represents a nice break from the other news coming at us 24 hours a day.”
Coming in at 611 lbs, the giant celebrity pumpkin isn’t just a work of art: It’s also raising money for a great cause.
With all of the eyes that inevitably end up on Jeanette’s pumpkin, she’s using that platform to raise money for breast cancer research at the Stefanie Spielman Fund. If you want to join in, you can make your donations here.
The cause is one that’s near and dear to the artist. Jeanette, a mother, grandmother, and retired MBA is a two-time breast cancer survivor.
Nearly ten years ago, Paras underwent surgery for her second battle with cancer and just weeks after her surgery, she was already back at it, creating an pumpkin version of Donald Trump. In the last decade alone, she’s featured political figures, global superstars, iconic television characters, and more.
“I can’t help myself, I get such a kick out of seeing the reaction people have to my pumpkins,” said Jeanette. “My giant celebrity pumpkins make me laugh and, at the same time, make a lot of other people laugh too. That’s a great feeling.”
In case you’re wondering what Bowen Yang thinks of the pumpkin, he loved it. The actor commented on the Instagram post shared by Paras Pumpkins saying “this is incredible!!!!!”
To learn more about the pumpkin, or to plan your visit to check it out, head over to paraspumpkins.com.
Featured image by Paras Pumpkins (Facebook)
