Dalston’s annual Pumpkin Lantern Festival has been cancelled

Every October, more than 1,000 artfully carved pumpkins are placed around the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden and then illuminated by an enthusiastic army of flame-wielding children by night. This year was set to be the tenth edition of the much-loved east London gourd-fest, but due to The Thing That Shall Not Be Named, it’s had to be cancelled.

‘Not only does (the pumpkin festival) showcase Hackney’s creativity on a huge scale, it also brings our community, young and old, together in a big and joyful way, to share each other’s work and enjoy the spectacle,’ said the event’s organisers in an Instagram post. ‘The current situation means that an event of this scale, with hundreds of people queuing and gathering together, is just not possible.’

Londoners jonesing for a pretty pumpkin fix should not totally lose hope, however. The Curve Garden will be putting the best carved efforts of local Hackney residents on show during daylight hours. There are prizes for the most ‘creative and unusual’ ones, and they’ll all be on display throughout half-term. Are you creative and unusual? Get involved here.

Willing to go a bit further afield to see some quality orange veg? We have you sorted, with our guide to where to go pumpkin picking.

Here are ten spooky Halloween events actually happening.