Key Largo, Florida Keys – Grinning jack-o’-lanterns surrounded by spectator reef fish are to make their annual appearance beneath the sea during the Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest hosted by Amy Slate’s Amoray Dive Resort, located at mile marker 104.5.
The annual Florida Halloween Event is a favorite for the many divers who visit Key Largo during the fall.
Buddy teams are to compete during the 8:30 a.m. dive Sunday, Oct. 25, to create pumpkins worthy of praise and prizes from the experienced judges, who double as the crew of the Amoray Diver dive boat.
Amoray provides contestants with hollowed-out pumpkins to take below the surface to a depth of less than 30 feet. Dive knives are to serve as carving tools, and prizes await the top three pumpkin sculptors.
“It’s always interesting to see what people carve out underwater,” said Captain Joe Goddard, who escorts divers to the event each year. “People come from all over to participate.”
Entry fee is the regular dive boat cost: $80 per certified diver for the two-tank, two-location dive including tanks, weights and snorkel equipment. The Amoray Dive Resort also offers specially priced multiple-dive and dive-lodging packages.
Divers are encouraged to sign up for the contest early because space is limited. At the 2008 challenge, the first-place prize was awarded to Spencer Lambeth, an 11-year-old from Fort Myers, Fla.
For more information about the contest, call (800) 426-6729 or visit www.amoray.com.
To find out about area accommodations, call the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce at (800) 822-1088 or 305-451-4747, or visit the Florida Keys & Key West Web site at www.fla-keys.com.
