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Flashback: Local landmark gets a Halloween makeover

This 35-year-old Halloween prank has stuck with locals all these years later.

It was so mischievous, it will probably go down in history as “Campbell River’s greatest prank,” the Museum at Campbell River says.

In October 1986, Les Antonelli and Steve Pitman transformed one of the city’s best-known landmarks, ‘Big Rock’, into a giant jack-o-lantern.

In doing so, the pair utilized three sewing machines, 238 garbage bags, and a mile of sewing thread, plus help from eight other people, the local museum recalls.

A post on the museum’s website dives into the details:

“The rock was surveyed by Darrell Enger and Steve Pitman, who determined from the height and circumference that the cover would need to be 70 feet by 72 feet. Next, the team spent $100 to purchase the materials they needed. After exploring a few options, they decided to sew together orange garbage bags. Three machines took 22 hours to sew the bags together. Two rope cans were wrapped in green garbage bags to be the stem at the top of the pumpkin. Then, in the dead of night, a crew of dedicated pranksters climbed on the rock and carefully lifted the cover over it. The installation took about 90 minutes. When Campbell River awoke the next morning, they were greeted by a smiling orange Big Rock.”

Today on Facebook, the museum shared a flashback photo of the prank, which begs the question: Do you remember waking up one morning to find ‘Big Rock’ sporting its jack-o-lantern attire?

Museum at Campbell River/Facebook
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