I was at Blaze over the weekend and saw Vern!!! it was truly a thrill for my family. Vern actually shook hands with all of us. He is a great carver and a world class representitive for Blaze. Is it possible he could be awarded the title " Ambassador of Pumpkin land"?

BB, can someone fix Vern's picture. It's cut off.

Blaze was fantastic and so was Vern. Our kids got to sit right up front and watch the master artisan at work. Vern also read a poem from his new book, which we had to buy from the gift shop. I wish I got it autographed.

wow, vern is so dreamy.

I "saved as" and opened in my pictures, it worked. thanks.

Hi Louise,

I figured out how to see Vern. I right-click on the small portion of the picture that says "Vern!" I save it in My Pictues, and when I go into My Pictures and open it I am able to see the entire photo. Hope this helps!

Two pic's are still not coming thru on my computer, is everyone having that problem? when my mouse is over it, it says Vern, but I can't see him, please fix photos. Thanks, a fan.

We were at blaze on Sunday night and LOVED it. We were a little disappointed that Vern wasn't carving that night, but the artist who was carving was fantastic. She's very, very talented.

As we were walking through Van Cortlandt Manor looking at the great pumpkins displays, my son turned to me and said, "there's Vern". Low and behold, there he was on the path talking about the pumpkin designs. He looked at us, said hi and asked if we were having a good time. It was such a big thrill to see him up close.

I saw Vern in the ShopRite by Van Cortlandt Manor. He was buying fruit. I didn't have the nerve to go up to him and say hi. I was so nervous. It was like seeing Brad Pitt in the supermarket. I was suprised to see him by himself. No entourage, no fanfare, no nothing. Just Vern buying some fruit.

I just wanted to share this with my fellow Vern fans.

Hey blazers.......... Vern is da man. Nobody carves like Vern. He's like a surgeon and the pumpkins are his patients. I got to meet Vern in person last year... and even got to shake his hand. He's a true celebrity carver. Vern is such a charismatic person. When you meet him, you feel like you've known him your entire life.

We'll be at blaze on Saturday. We sure hope Vern will be there at the carving stage.

Everyone needs to go to blaze and climb aboard the Vern Train for a creative carving experience.

Mr. BlazeBlogger,

Who is this Vern person that people are talking about? Is he one of the featured attractions at the Blaze? Will we be able to see Vern on Saturday? Is there an additional admission price to see Vern or is he included in the ticket price?

This Saturday will be my first time to see the pumpkins. I guess I'm a blaze newbie.

I hope I don't sound like I just crawled out from beneath a rock.

Blaze was more amazing than last year. Our favorite were the pirates and the big stonehenge blew us away. It gets better every year!

We were hoping to buy some bottles of country cider and fresh picked apples at Blaze, but unfortunately they didn't have any. We are from Manhattan and only come up to the country area for Blaze. It would have been nice to bring some back to the big city.

I thought the prices of the food were a little over-priced for a family event.

We did buy some great Blaze clothing from the gift shop.

Blaze is bigger and better than ever! Love the dinosaurs. It's like a jurassic park right here in Westchester. Not sure if there was a Dilophosaurus stomping through the Van Cortlandt woods, but the T-Rex was awesome.

As I walked through the "big" tent, I noticed a large gathering of people in the corner. I made my way into the crowd and guess what, Vern was there carving away. He was featuring his "4D" carving design. That's right, 4D. The pumpkin looked like an owl with an extruding beak and ears. Only Vern's creative genius could conceptualize a 4D jack o'lantern. In the front of the crowd, there were lots of small kids sitting on the floor watching Vern create another masterpiece, while their parents were taking pictures and video. I snapped a few photos myself of this creative icon.

If you haven't been to Blaze yet, you gotta go. I've been there every year since it started. Come see Vern in person and be part of the "Vern Nation" experience. The larger-than-life man is the Michelangelo of pumpkin carving.

I'll be back at Blaze two more times this year.

Chad Bebo
Vern Nation - Fan Club
President & Founder

I can't view the Vern photo. It's cut off. Please fix it. He's definitely the most handsome carver in the Hudson Valley. My girlfriends and I will be going to Blaze on opening night. We'll be on the lookout for Vern. I hope the gift shop will be selling a Blaze/Vern t-shirt!

Will the great Vern be carving in the big tent this year? If so, when? He drew such a large crowd last year. I couldn't get close enough to even snap a photo. I hope to see him this year and shake his hand and have my picture taken with him.

Jon