COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Meet Taylor Swiftkin, a 399-pound pumpkin grown by a central Ohio woman who for 35 years has decorated pumpkins to look like celebrities.
Jeanette Paras, 68, of Dublin, Ohio, unveiled Swiftkin this week with hair made from more than nine wigs, ears made from sweet potatoes and a football pumpkin by her side dedicated to Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
For more than three decades, Paras has captured pop culture through her giant celebrity pumpkin creations.
“With so much going on in the news today, much of it disturbing, Taylor SwiftKin stood out. I considered ‘pumpkinizing’ others, but Taylor is a bright star in today’s pop culture,” Paras said. “And then, when she was romantically linked to two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce, that certainly made her more interesting. As I like to say, I don’t make the news, I pumpkinize it.”
Paras’ pumpkins typically range from 200 to 400 pounds, but she has created pumpkins as large
as 1,200 pounds. In 2021, Ted LassoKin tipped the scales at 705 pounds and was the largest display on the Paras porch. Her other creations include Donald Trumpkin in 2015, Pump-Kim Jong Un in 2017, Rudykin Giuliani in 2019 and Baby Yodakin in 2020.
A two-time breast cancer survivor, Paras has partnered with the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Donate here, and Paras will match the first $2,500 in donations dollar-for-dollar.
“I’m hoping that the attention that my displays get, will encourage and create awareness for women,” Paras said.