CL-October 2024 - 12

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
Of Light & Magic
When it comes to pumpkin
carving, Centreville's Noel
Dickover is a cut above the rest
by Laura Emery, Staff Writer
E
very Halloween, Noel Dickover
turns the front lawn of his
Centreville, Va., home into a
very Halloween, Noel Dickover
sprawling showcase of beautifully
intricate, hand-carved pumpkins,
all soſt ly aglow.
People fl ock to this suburban
neighborhood on Oct. 31 just to
be delighted by the glowing gourds
transformed by this pumpkin-carving
extraordinaire, who - thanks to
dozens of news media outlets - is now
somewhat of a local celebrity.
" I've had enough press coverage
that people come to my neighborhood
from all over the place, " he says.
Dickover rattles off a list of news media
outlets that have featured his pumpkins:
NBC, NPR, CBS, ABC, Fox News,
BBC, Th e Washington Post and the
list goes on. But if you spend some time
chatting with Dickover about his love
of pumpkin carving, it will become
evident that wowing costumed
youngsters - especially his 3-year-old
granddaughter Katarina - is what
drives his passion.
" My granddaughter loves Elsa,
so last year I had to do a blinged-up
Elsa pumpkin, " he says. " A lot of my
latest pumpkin carvings have been
more kid-friendly ones, just to get
Katarina excited about my pumpkin
carving. " He also has a 3-month-old
grandchild.
Aſt er
working as
a contractor,
independent
consultant
and nonprofi t
leader for the
10 * Cooperative Living * October 2024
SCAN THIS CODE
TO VIEW MORE SPECTACULARLY
CARVED PUMPKINS.
federal government for most of his
career, the George Mason University
graduate began working as a project
manager back at GMU in the Offi ce
of the Provost two years ago. " It's a
terrifi c place and I love working there, "
he says. In an amusing stroke of
serendipity, the Offi ce of the Provost
held a " wicked pumpkin-carving
contest " within a month of hiring
Dickover. Unfortunately, the staff
got wind of his superior sculpting
skills and wouldn't let him compete.
Dickover has spent a quarter of
a century perfecting his seasonal hobby
of pumpkin carving, and he hasn't lost
focus on why he does what he does.
" It's a way to escape the stressors
of normal life, " he says. It's also
something that continues to bring
his family together.
" If you ask my kids - my son and
daughter, who are now grown - what
their most favorite time growing up
was, they will tell you that it was
sitting around the kitchen table
carving pumpkins around Halloween.
It brought our family together, " he says.
Over the last three decades, the
Dickover Halloween yard display has
become a family aff air. " My entire
family - my wife, Nam, and my grown
children, Sarah and Justin - have
gotten to be really amazing at carving
pumpkins. Even our nieces and
nephews have learned to carve. Th ey
co-opliving.com
PHOTOS COURTESY NOEL DICKOVER

http://www.co-opliving.com

CL-October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CL-October 2024

CL-October 2024 - Cover 1
CL-October 2024 - 2
CL-October 2024 - 3
CL-October 2024 - 4
CL-October 2024 - 5
CL-October 2024 - 6
CL-October 2024 - 7
CL-October 2024 - 8
CL-October 2024 - 9
CL-October 2024 - 10
CL-October 2024 - 11
CL-October 2024 - 12
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CL-October 2024 - 15
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CL-October 2024 - 17
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CL-October 2024 - 22
CL-October 2024 - 23
CL-October 2024 - 24
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CL-October 2024 - 26
CL-October 2024 - 27
CL-October 2024 - 28
CL-October 2024 - 29
CL-October 2024 - 30
CL-October 2024 - 31
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CL-October 2024 - 36
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CL-October 2024 - 39
CL-October 2024 - 40
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