Pumpkin head display for teen’s band a real hit
They don’t make any noise, but a band of pumpkin heads is drawing lots of fans on a quiet Paradise road.
The display at 34 Tyrell Dr. was created by homeowners Russ and Pamela Molloy, who went all out to depict The Brandon Bowen Band, starring the accordion playing 13-year-old from Conception Bay South.
“Oh my gosh, we’re just blown away at how much attention this has been getting,” said Pamela Molloy, whose Facebook photo of the display in the front yard has gone viral.
“There’s been a steady stream of people coming to take pictures. We never imagined how much it would just take off.”
The display includes the other band members, Russ Molloy — the guitar player and Bowen’s cousin — along with bass player Dave Spurvey. There are also two dancers in the display, which is illuminated with plenty of lights at night.
Molloy cut the wood to form the pumpkin head figures’ bodies and their instruments. He used a folding chair and bicycle tires to make Brandon’s wheelchair and even used each of the members’ actual clothes. Much of the dancing couple’s clothes, including the female’s boots, came from a second-hand store.
As the group gathered on the front yard for a photo, many cars were passing by and slowing down to catch a glimpse.
“There are people taking pictures day and night,” said Russ Molloy, who added that he and his wife took less than a week to make the display. “It looks pretty cool in the nighttime because we’ve got the disco light shining on ‘Brandon.’”
When asked what he thought of the display, Spurvey joked, “I was missing all my clothes,” prompting laughter from the group.
“I was looking for my shirt and it was gone.”
Brandon was all smiles when he saw it.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “It was actually really funny when I saw the couple in the corner.”
The Molloys are old hands at such pumpkin head displays.
They got the idea over a decade ago when they lived in Nova Scotia. After seeing a display during a drive through the Annapolis Valley, they decided to try it themselves.
They created pumpkin head displays for many years, took a break when they lived in Ontario, but got back into it when they returned to Newfoundland almost 10 years ago.
Some of their themes included male figures in a dory, and a father and son sawing wood, with a sawhorse and a wheelbarrow full of wood.
Pamela Molloy said the band setup is a Thanksgiving/harvest display. Their Halloween setup will be even more elaborate, they say, as it’s been in previous years.
It — along with the great chocolate treats from Nestle Canada, where Russ Molloy works — helped attract close to 400 trick or treaters last year.
“It’s going to be just as busy this year, I’d say,” Pamela Molloy said. “But we just love it. It’s fun for us and it puts smiles on people’s faces. It just makes us feel so good.”
Meanwhile, the real Brandon Bowen Band was scheduled to entertain for real Thursday night. The group was opening for the High Kings at Holy Heart Theatre.
“I’ve been practicing since the summer,” Brandon said, as he played a few notes on the accordion. “I’m really excited.