BRENDAN CONAWAY WITH HIS CREATION OF SLOTH | PHOTO COURTESY BRENDAN CONAWAY

When he was younger, Brendan Conaway dreamed of a career in musical theater. And for a couple of months each fall, his work takes on a starring role in the region.

But it’s not on the stage. It’s at local festivals, parties, breweries, museums and amusement parks — carving pumpkins. 

Conaway is the Pittsburgh Pumpkin Guy. He started carving and sculpting pumpkins professionally in 2016, and his work ranges from intricate designs and faces to creations on Atlantic Giant pumpkins that can weigh more than a thousand pounds. This fall, he’s creating his largest project ever — the first Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium.  

“Growing up, my goal was TV, movies, Broadway. I wanted to be in the spotlight, and here I am carving pumpkins,” says Conaway, 37, of Plum. “People are finally paying attention.”

Conaway loved art as a child — his grandfather painted watercolors and he spent a lot of time poring over his uncle’s comic book collection — and he took art classes at South Allegheny High School. But the stage called, and he studied musical theater at Point Park University. He met his future wife, Tara, when they were both performing at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Both stepped away from musical theater after they were married in 2015. He turned to interior house painting and wallpapering, a trade he pursues most of the year (as the Pittsburgh Painter Guy).  

He started sculpting pumpkins as a hobby, shaping the outside of the winter squash into facial features and other designs using clay-making tools — all without cutting through to the inside. He would share his jack-o’-lanterns to social media, but it remained a hobby until a friend contacted him about an entertainment business that was looking for a professional pumpkin carver. 

ONE OF BRENDAN CONAWAY’S MORE INTRICATE DESIGNS OF A DRAGON | PHOTO COURTESY BRENDAN CONAWAY

That led to demonstrations at retirement communities (he always sculpts one of the resident’s faces in a pumpkin during his show) and appearances at the Seven Springs Autumnfest, other fall festivals and an official Steelers tailgate event. He and Tara, who is the major gifts officer for a nonprofit, have also for the last several years held “Carve N’ Sip” parties to bring in extra income.

When he was carving pumpkins at the Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival in the Strip District last year, he was approached by Dr. Jeremy Goodman, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo. He ended up hiring Conaway to put on the Zoo’s inaugural Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza, which kicks off on Oct. 3. A quarter-mile path will be lined with 2,014 foam and 2,233 real pumpkins carved or sculpted in a dozen themes, such as animals, fantasy and Pittsburgh sports figures.

Until now, Conaway’s been a solo act. But for the zoo, he’s recruited about 30 carvers of various levels creating the basic jack-o’-lanterns, with some master carvers to do more intricate designs. 

Timing is tricky, especially with real pumpkins. The first don’t come off the vine until Sept. 15, so the team will have two weeks to carve the real pumpkins — all of which need to be in good shape by opening day. As the festival progresses through Nov. 3, his team will create a new set of real pumpkins each week to replace any that started to decay.

THE FACE OF PIRATES PHENOM PAUL SKENES ON A PUMPKIN | PHOTO COURTESY BRENDAN CONAWAY

He’s particularly skilled at sculpting faces. He recently crafted a spitting image of Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes, mustache and all. Has he attempted our presidential candidates? Only Donald Trump during his first term, he says. He called them Trumpkins. “He’s just such a cartoon character and he’s already orange … I mean, it’s too perfect.

“Whether he’s controversial or supported, everybody recognizes it,” he says. “Mostly, people want to recognize what you’re doing.”

BRENDAN CONAWAY CREATED T.J. WATT BURSTING OUT OF AN ATLANTIC GIANT PUMPKIN AT LAST YEAR’S PITTSBURGH MONSTER PUMPKIN FESTIVAL IN THE STRIP DISTRICT. | PHOTO COURTESY BRENDAN CONAWAY

His crown jewel, he says, was an image of Steeler T.J. Watt bursting out of a 1,600-pound Atlantic Giant pumpkin last year at the Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival. Dave Stelts, the co-producer of the annual festival who has been growing giant pumpkins at his Enon Valley farm for 30 years, says he brings in master carvers each year, but they’re from Oregon or outside the Pittsburgh area. He says it was great to have Conaway last year because he’s local and was good with the crowds. “He’s a nice, personable young fellow,” he says. “He’s got a good future.”

Conaway hopes so. 

“When I first started carving pumpkins in my dining room just for fun, I would have never imagined where it would have taken me,” he says. “Professional carving jobs don’t just fall from the sky.”

[Updated: Oct. 4: The number of pumpkins in the zoo exhibit increased as the exhibit took shape. This article has been updated to reflect the new numbers.]