Pumpkin carving contest open to all at Birmingham’s Halloween Market

Anyone who fancies their skills at pumpkin carving can bring along their creations to enter a fun contest as part of a Halloween Market planned for Birmingham city centre next month.

The seasonal event, organised by Southside BID in partnership with the Birmingham Hippodrome, takes place from 10am on Saturday 12 October in Hippodrome Square on Hurst Street.

The winners of the pumpkin carving contest will enjoy a 4 tickets to the Peter Pan pantomime production, which runs at the Hippodrome from 21 December to 2 February 2025.

The Halloween Market will feature various food and craft stalls, including a new range of chocolate from trader Marshall and Co to mark the start of UK Chocolate Week.

There will also be live music and lots of free Halloween activities for children.

Julia Robinson, manager of Southside BID, said: “The Halloween Market will be a lively event packed full of fun for everyone, including families with young children.

“We’re particularly looking forward to seeing everyone’s efforts at pumpkin carving, and seeing all the spooky goods and activities organised by the market traders.

“The whole purpose of our regular markets is to bring a great deal enjoyment to Southside in the heart of Birmingham city centre, highlighting it as a place that welcomes everybody.”

The Halloween Market is the second in the series of Southside's themed Saturday markets that are partly funded by the UK government.

The first one was the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival held on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, which saw an impressive 65,557 visitors flocking on Saturday alone – a 45% increase on just over 45,000 in the area on the same day last year.

After the Halloween Market on 12 October, the next two street markets on Southside will be Pride on 16 November and Christmas on 14 December.

Project funded by UK Government, Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority.