For this Halloween season, we explored where jack-o’-lanterns go beyond your typical porch-decoration and found all sorts of creations for charity fundraisers and flat-out fun for spectators. Thousands of expert carvers — including “World Class Pumpkin Carver” Farmer Mike who shows off his handiwork at the annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival — displayed ambitious art projects, and there’s no shortage of events exhibiting pumpkin-inspired artistry at a massive scale. Here are the few featured here: Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular in Roger Williams Park Zoo, The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze of the Hudson Valley, Pumpkin Inferno in Morrisburg, Canada, and Keene Pumpkin Festival in New Hampshire.

Photos from Frank C. Grace, TOTORORO.RORO, AquaOwl, Muddyrabbit, RachelWolff72, mergenhagan, joshbousel, FrankieCorrado, and Chrisser.

The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.3 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing at least 16 deaths. – Yahoo! News

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to all of you affected by the hurricane – stay safe!

Photos from scott witt, navid j, thelexiphane, j-riviere, jl_auch, falconn67, PM Breakfast, Lisa Bettany {Mostly Lisa}, and mattlindén. Discover more photos taken during Hurricane Sandy.

“Thousands of raucous San Francisco Giants fans celebrated the climax of Orange October on the streets of San Francisco on Sunday, Oct. 28, as their team swept the Detroit Tigers in the World Series to bring Major League Baseball’s championship trophy to the Bay Area for the second time in three years.” – Yahoo! News

Photos from James Larieau, < Mike >, mike dillon, mrperry, wambamashleyanne, Shawn Clover, and novas0x2a.

“Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm described by forecasters as one of the largest to ever hit the United States, is making its way toward the population-dense East Coast. Evacuations have been ordered from Maryland to Maine, where storm surges and high winds are expected to wipe out power to millions.” – The Lookout on Yahoo! News

For those of you on the East Coast: Tag your photos with “HurricaneSandy” to share the latest status of this storm from your perspective.

See more storm photos in the Hurricane Sandy gallery.

Photos from NASA Goddard Photo and Video, MTAPhotos, Scoboco, and The National Guard.

We’re coming to Austin, Texas, for an epic Flickr Meetup, along with the wonderful local photographers Lotus Carroll and Juan Gonzalez. Meet other Flickr members, take photos — no matter if you’re analog or digital, SLR or mobile — and chat with folks that work at Flickr.

We would love to see you and your camera here: Saturday, November 3, 2012, 10:00 AM Austin Convention Center, Austin TX

Please RSVP on our Flickr Meetup page: http://www.meetup.com/flickr/Austin-TX/810462/

Hope to see you in Austin next week or at any of the many other Flickr Meetups happening around the globe.

Photo from .•۫◦۪°•OhSoBoHo•۫◦۪°•.

Photos from Madame Knipse, Markus Moning, Immortal Thrill-Seeker, and Sky Noir. Discover more photos in Everknew‘s gallery Meadows and Valleys.

This photo set starts with Chuck Hilliard’s “pink and blue cave 2086” — an eye-catching shot of one stop in his excursion through the North Cascades. And after yearning for more glowing-tent pictures through Flickr explorations, we discovered terrific shots from other photographers who also keenly capture why camping is so invigorating, including this batch that covers scenery from Kilimanjaro of Tanzania and the Dolomites in Italy.

See more outdoorsy travel photos in the Backpacking group.

Photos from Light of the Moon Photography, t3rmin4t0r, a galaxy far, far away…, Bubbari85, Twisted Reflex, kmatm, and Summit42.

Venture to the Oregon Coast Range, Teton Mountains, Akita Prefecture, and British Columbia for a firsthand experience of the top landscapes featured here, where ridgelines merge into the sky in painterly steps of desaturation.

See more mountain landscapes in the Mountains Anywhere group.

Photos from benalesh1985, Todd Klassy, jasohill, Atmospherics, marcelstal, María José Carmona, Anna Ristuccia, and CatsFive.

“Kite Surfing is the fastest growing water sport in the world . It is not wind surfing, it is not wakeboarding, it is not surfing, it is not kite flying. It is the fusion of these disciplines with other influences to create the wildest new water sport for years.” – Kite Surfing group

Photos from photocillin, maurice windley, Gatria, jaime boddorff, adampop, and s0ulsurfing, and Wrinzo.

For 12 nights straight, projections and lights colorfully illuminate famous landmarks of Germany’s capital in grand fashion until October 21.

The annual festival was created in 2005 by Berliner Birgit Zander. She stated:

“Light is life, light is energy, light is able to speak all languages of the world and light connects people”

Now her concept has evolved to include “LightSeeing” tours and over 20 illumination artists crafting glowing displays that transforms Berlin into a public art installation.

See more photos in the Festival of Lights – Berlin 2012 group.

Photos from Lens Daemmi, joergschickedanz, mr172, emen49, Lispeltuut, david.bank, *sputnik, saturn ♄, frau g, Matthias (Bolle), and Charlotta Brockeye.