PREVIEW

Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang and the internet's favourite pygmy hippo Moo Deng have been immortalised in pumpkin form by Ohio artist Jeanette Paras. Her latest creation follows Paras' previous years' Halloween offerings including pumpkin art depicting Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, and even Baby Yoda. The 'Bowen YangKin' is a tribute to Yang's role as SNL's parody of Moo Deng, the three-month-old pygmy hippopotamus from Thailand who became a viral star thanks to her cute, boisterous antics.

It was fully unveiled on her porch in Dublin, Ohio on Tuesday - and she is especially proud of this year's effort and its hilarious hippo subject. “Moo Deng burst onto the Internet in videos and memes and seemed to own the algorithm. She 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. “I don't make the news, I pumpkinise 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.”

The 611 lb. pumpkin was grown and donated by Rita Waits of Galena, Ohio. “It's so much fun to do this every time; I love the reactions from my neighbours and all the people who stop by to take pictures,” she added. When Jeanette is serious about her pumpkin painting she puts on her pumpkin socks and gets going- it takes her around a week or two to nail the design. October is also breast cancer awareness month, which is important to Paras a two-time breast cancer 'thriver' as she terms it of nearly 20 years.

Paras' pumpkin creations also raise money for a good cause. She has partnered with the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC). You can donate at www.give.osu.edu/ParasPumpkins. Paras will match the first $2,500 in donations dollar-for-dollar.