Playful Pumpkins: Judges reveal winners of SR’s annual Halloween coloring contest

There were pumpkins aplenty. Some were gorgeous gourds, others spooky squashes.

The judges had a tough time picking their favorites from the 220 entries in this year’s pumpkin coloring contest.

But pick they must.

Our youngest artists, ages 0-4, choose bright and sparkly designs.

Elise Swanstrom decorated her pumpkin with a sunny patchwork of colors, while Hudson Grimm showed he could stay in the lines with his diagonal tricolor design. Paisley Berend went with a glam, tradition look with orange, black and glitter. All three winners are 4 years old and live in Spokane.

In the the 5-8 age group, Charlie McVey created a pumpkin pirate, complete with eye patch and peg leg. Charlie is 7 and lives in Hayden.

The other two winners in the category went for more seasonal vibes. Spokane Valley’s Reylen Rodman, 7, was thinking spring with his brightly colored gourd featuring a rainbow, tree and flowers. Ryan Clever’s mixed media masterpiece features leaves, paint, glitter and dinosaur stickers. He’s 5 and lives in Coeur d’Alene.

Our oldest winners were all very detail oriented.

Eleven-year-old Josie McLaughlin drew judges’ attention with her simple yet complex black and white pumpkin and beautiful calligraphy. Josie lives in Valleyford. Kytalin Craner, of St. Maries, mixed a witch, broom, cat and cauldron into an exquisite orange pumpkin. Kytalin is 12. And 9-year-old Evelyn Mortlock, of Spokane, put a black cat in a charming autumnal scene.

The winners each won a Mobius gift certificate and many of the entries are on display at Mobius Children’s Museum, in the lower level of River Park Square.