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A baker’s dozen years have elapsed since Jim McKelvey and Doug Auer turned a former car dealership between the Central West End and the Loop into a destination for all things glass. Naturally, a party is in the offing.
In fact, Third Degree Glass Factory throws a party on the third Friday of every month. But October’s event is always special and always spooky. This year’s is especially ghoulish, commemorating the lucky 13 years of operation.
Starting October 16 at at 6 p.m., you can watch artists spin fantastic works out of molten glass in the bright, airy space. The evening’s festivities heat up with a longstanding competition between Third Degree and Astral Glass studio, based in New Haven. Artisans from each studio participate in a Pumpkin Death Match, competing for glory. Each studio works feverishly for an hour to create the best pumpkin sculpture. Before their creations have a chance to cool down from their thousand-degree states, the audience chooses by way of applause. The winner gets glory; the loser gets wrecked.
“Whichever piece loses gets dunked into The Tank,” says Nick Dunne, marketing coordinator for the Third Degree. “Astral Glass has won the past two years, so we are determined to take them down.”
The Tank’s cold water (and sometimes gasoline) causes the losing pumpkin to experience a pretty spectacular destruction. “It’s really awesome,” says Dunne.
The Great Pumpkin is a group effort, with the artists working together to blow the biggest glass pumpkin it can before the glass collapses—which it has done in the past, to the disappointment of those who won the raffle. Two years ago, the last time a Great Pumpkin succeeded, it was about 14 inches in diameter.
The studio has a new HotShop director this year who specializes in working big, so maybe it’ll be a record-breaker. Every drink comes with a raffle ticket, so bottoms up. (If it collapses again, the fine folks at Third Degree will come up with something great as an alternate prize—maybe a glass-blowing class?)
Of course, no party is complete without eats and drinks. Mission Taco Joint will be on hand to feed the hungry masses. And try a specialty cocktail, the Anniversa-weet! The shockingly sweet tipple features birthday cake vodka, heavy cream, and crème de cacao.
The Wise Brothers will play covers and originals, and the St. Louis Fire Technicians bring flaming panache to their special “Monster Mash” performance at dark. The limited-edition holiday ornaments can be pre-ordered online.
Like every Third Friday, the event is free, open to the public, and suitable for all ages. Click here for more information.
