Giant reed and tissue jack-o'-lantern luminary installed over the head of Seattle's infamous Lenin statue

From 2022 through 2024, during the month of October, the Lenin statue would be temporarily transformed into the "Headless Horseman", and every night the "Jack-o'-Lenin" would light up and shine its festive orange glow, like an autumnal beacon, throughout the streets and alleyways of downtown Fremont, helping Fremonsters celebrate the season all month long in anticipation of Halloween night.

Handmade by BLACK JAR FOLLIES, the Jack-o'-Lenin was a giant jack-o'-lantern luminary, installed over the head of Seattle's infamous Lenin statue in the neighborhood of Fremont, with the help of volunteers from the Fremont Arts Council.

The JackoLenin made its first dress rehearsal appearance at the nighttime lantern art festival Luminata in 2022. My very first time ever doing reed, cheesecloth and tissue luminary sculpture construction was making the JackoLenin at the Powerhouse for Luminata (but the Lenin statue was always the intended target).

The JackoLenin installation project combined my love of Halloween with an opportunity to participate in the longtime local tradition of decorating and mocking the Lenin statue.

To my surprise, it became an annual Halloween tradition for three years, and received overwhelmingly positive response from the community.

I think there are a lot of people in this town who are hungry for more and better Halloweenery here, like I am and always have been. I'd love for Fremont to become the center of the Halloween universe every October, and maybe reigniting the annual JackoLenin tradition can help make that happen.

Sadly, at the end of 2024 the JackoLenin experience was marred by theft and vandalism by a known party... that damaged the JackoLenin beyond reasonable, easy repair. More than that, though, some creative and personal relationships associated with this project were also damaged as a result, which unfortunately is why the JackoLenin didn't make an appearance in 2025.

A kind person rescued the JackoLenin from threats of destruction. It's currently being stored somewhere, as far as I know. I haven't seen it in a long time.

A postering and online campaign was started by another kind person (and fellow Halloween artist) in 2026 to bring back the JackoLenin and restart this beloved Halloween tradition (though the FAC is not currently participating).

To be continued... Long Live the JackoLenin!