"Winds and rain destroyed the Pumpkin Wall here on Oct. 27, 2025, but the people of Elizabeth persisted and, like a phoenix from the ashes, the wall was rebuilt."
That's the text of the plaque Axios Charlotte photographed on Greenway Avenue last Halloween week. The Great Elizabeth Pumpkin Wall lights again on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 6 p.m. at 2017 Greenway Avenue. That plaque explains why the tradition has lasted. The wall is a wooden structure that neighbors build, fill, repair, and sometimes put back up after it falls. Over the same years, the word lit above it has moved from a presidential candidate's name to the name of the neighborhood.
A Frame Built by Neighbors Who Liked Woodworking
The wall started in 2004. A small group of neighbors who were into both politics and woodworking built the posts and shelves, and they called themselves "The Woodpeckers," WFAE reported in its coverage of the wall's 20th anniversary. Architect Jeff Dalzell, who now lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, drew the design. He told WFAE he doesn't take credit for the idea: "Good architects borrow, but great architects steal." He took the concept from a Chicago neighborhood where he used to live. Neighbors there stacked pumpkins on wooden boards and cinder blocks and stuffed them with twinkle lights.
From a builder's point of view, the design is simple: posts, shelves, and enough length to read from the street. WFAE called it a 60-foot wall in 2024. It has stood in front of different homes in the neighborhood over the years. Since 2022 it has gone up at 2017 Greenway Avenue, in the front yard of Rob and Dale Hall. Rob Hall told WFAE the address is now pinned when you Google the "Elizabeth Pumpkin Wall," and that he isn't the one who pinned it.
The neighborhood also supplies the pumpkins. In 2024 the Elizabeth Community Association provided roughly 200. Kids picked them out in Independence Park while a bluegrass band played, and a man with an electric saw cut the tops off before the carving started.
How the Word Changed
The Woodpeckers used the wall to make a statement. In 2004, big letters outlined in blue lights spelled "Kerry," for presidential candidate John Kerry. The next years read "Truth," then "01/20/09" in 2007, then "Obama" in 2008. In 2013 the group gave the wall to the neighborhood association, and the words since then have been things like "Together," "Community" and "Vote." John Short of the Elizabeth Community Association described the current approach to WFAE: "The word is typically something that celebrates the community, is about togetherness (or is) an inspirational message."
Here are the words of the year we could confirm:
| Year | Word on the wall | Who chose it |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Kerry | The Woodpeckers |
| 2007 | 01/20/09 | The Woodpeckers |
| 2008 | Obama | The Woodpeckers |
| 2022 | Harmony | Elizabeth Community Association era |
| 2024 | Thrive | Neighborhood vote |
| 2025 | Elizabeth | Elizabeth Community Association era |
The last two rows are linked. Neighbors voted for "Thrive" in 2024, and WFAE reported the runners-up as "Elizabeth" and "Forward." A year later, The Charlotte Ledger reported that 2025's word was "Elizabeth," so the second-place pick won the following year. Twenty-one years after it first held up a candidate's name, the wall held up the neighborhood's.
The Week It Fell
The 2025 word didn't stay up long the first time. Axios reported that heavy rain on Monday night soaked the ground and knocked the wall over, along with about half of its 180 carved pumpkins. Soaked soil is exactly the kind of failure a builder would expect for a tall frame set in a front lawn. Once the rain stopped, organizers spent the day rebuilding. Axios posted an 11 a.m. photo of the work and a 7:30 p.m. photo of the wall lit again under green letters spelling ELIZABETH.
The association's own write-up says it simply: "Mother Nature knocked the wall down but the Elizabeth neighborhood rallied and rebuilt it, better than before." That page still describes the 2025 wall. Its "21st year" and October 26 date are last year's details, and the 2026 schedule comes from this year's event listing.
The plaque has a practical message too. If you come by on a breezy night and the wall looks a little crooked, that is part of its history.
What's Confirmed for 2026
The current listing from Charlotte on the Cheap calls 2026 the wall's 22nd year. Since the first wall went up in 2004, that number reflects how the listing counts the years. Here's what is published:
- Lighting: Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 6 p.m.
- Location: 2017 Greenway Avenue
- Carving: Elizabeth residents carve the pumpkins. The carving party is for residents, but anyone can add a carved pumpkin to the wall.
- Run: Lit every night through Halloween
- Teardown: November 1
Some things haven't been announced. The 2026 word wasn't in any listing we reviewed, and neither was a public location or time for the carving. The listing also says nothing about parking or street closures. So if you're bringing a pumpkin, carve it at home and bring it already lit up with your design.
That puts the wall up for seven nights, Sunday through Saturday. The lighting is the night with the countdown and the crowd. The weeknights after it are quieter, and a dog walk down Greenway after dinner works any of those evenings.
Lighting Day Starts on Hawthorne Lane
On the same Sunday, a few blocks away, St. John's Baptist Church at 300 Hawthorne Lane is holding a free Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat from 3 to 5 p.m., with a craft and bake sale. It ends an hour before the lighting, so families can go from trunk-or-treat to dinner to the countdown on Greenway without driving across town.
Dinner Before the Countdown
Every place below is on East 7th Street or Elizabeth Avenue, within the same small grid as the wall.
Taj House, 1535 Elizabeth Ave. This is the newest option on the list. Axios Charlotte reported the Indian restaurant open by July 21 in the former Big Ben and Carpe Diem space. For a lot of neighbors, lighting week will be the first time they've walked past it after dark.
Customshop, 1601 Elizabeth Ave. It reopened this summer after a renovation that brought new seating and decor, a redesigned bar, and kitchen changes. Chef-partner Andres Kaifer added new dishes, CharlotteFive reported in August. If you haven't been back since the work, the room is noticeably different.
Viva Chicken, 1617 Elizabeth Ave. Viva Chicken offers both dine-in and takeout at its Elizabeth Avenue location. Takeout before a 6 p.m. lighting with kids is the low-effort option.
The Crunkleton, 1957 E. 7th St. It serves dinner and brunch and takes reservations through its site.
The Fig Tree, 1601 E. 7th St. It's the formal choice for the evening. Its events page lists the Annual Wild Game Dinner for Monday, November 9, and Tuesday, November 10, at 7 p.m. That's about a week after the wall comes down.
The Wall Runs on Volunteers
The 2024 pumpkins came from the association. The structure has lasted from 2004 through a handoff in 2013 and a collapse in 2025. Members of the Elizabeth Community Association can vote at its annual meeting, according to the association's events page, and that page is also where neighborhood traditions like the wall and the Merry Meander are posted. The wall comes down on November 1.
Last October, Elizabeth neighbors stood a 60-foot frame back up on wet ground in a single day. If you'd like a builder's eye on your own Elizabeth house, from how water drains off the lot to what the older framing and finishes are telling you, Real Estate Layne can walk it with you and help you decide what's worth a closer look from a licensed inspector. Let's Connect.
