LEXINGTON, S.C. — Jack-o-lanterns went 30 feet down on Saturday, Oct. 24, as scuba divers gathered on the Lexington side of Lake Murray for Carving for a Cure, a Halloween contest now in its 11th year that turns pumpkin carving into a cancer fundraiser. The event carries the name of the late Larry Ogburn.
Wateree Dive Center organizes the event at Dominion Recreation Park, which sits on the Lexington side of the dam a short drive from Irmo. The park is shut for the season, but Dominion Energy opened the gates for the day.
The schedule called for a dive briefing at 10:30 a.m., with carvers entering the water at 11 a.m. and getting one hour to finish their work while safety divers and volunteers watched. Judges then pick first, second and third place, and a barbecue follows.
Money raised this year goes to the Pledge the Pink campaign, with proceeds split between Lexington Medical Center and the Crystal Smith Breast Cancer Foundation. Since the contest was revived to honor Ogburn, the dive shop founder who died in 2015, it has brought in more than $38,000 for charities that help cancer patients and their families.
Carvers in past years paid $45, which covered their pumpkin, lunch, park admission and a rash guard. The Dreher Shoals Dam, finished in 1930, holds back the lake that defines the Irmo area.
Filed under: Irmo SC Health News
