P.E.I. man honours Tragically Hip's Gord Downie with carved gourd

A Summerside, P.E.I. man, Chris Gilfoy, is honouring Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip, with an intricately carved gourd. 

The carving is of Downie singing at one of his recent concerts on the Man Machine Poem tour. 

"I've been a fan on theirs since the early '90s," said Gilfoy. "Knowing what Gord is going through right now, I just felt it would be a fitting tribute this year."

Gilfoy picked up the skill on his own and has been carving for about a decade. "This year in particular, you know, I felt like I really wanted to do something of Gord Downie. I'm a huge Tragically Hip fan," he said. 

Hopes Gord sees the gourd

Gilfoy has seen The Hip in concert seven times including the most recent tour date where he traveled to London, Ont. 

He usually prints a picture on paper and draws on the paper where he wants to cut and then applies it to the pumpkin. 

Gilfoy says he does get questions from people who question whether the pictures of his carvings are Photoshopped.

"I get a lot of questions about how real it is. I usually end up having to send them a few other pictures of it that show the more detail of the pumpkin itself so that they believe me," said Gilfoy.  

Gilfoy has tagged the band on Twitter and Facebook with a picture of his masterpiece hoping it gets to Downie. 

You can see more of Gilfoy's carvings on Open Farm Day on September 18 at Kool Breeze Farms in Summerside. 

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