By Dan Murphy
The popularity of the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, a walking attraction featuring more than 7,000 hand-carved illuminated pumpkins, has become so desirable that the online ticket reseller Stubhub now feature tickets of this must-see event for anyone in Westchester who hasn’t been.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is open for 49 nights at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton on Harmon. Meander through an 18th-century landscape and discover old and new carvings. Also, tour the brand-new Museum of Pumpkin Art, where classic paintings get the gourd treatment, see who let the (pumpkin) dogs out, listen for the Headless Horseman – and watch out for swooping jack o’lantern bats!
See the pumpkin carousel twirl and the pumpkin windmill whirl and step inside the pumpkin planetarium for a star show like you’ve never seen. You’ll certainly hold a torch for the 25-foot-tall jack o’lantern Statue of Liberty and get personal with Instagrammable signs of the zodiac. Then, stroll across the Pumpkin Zee Bridge – and more!
More than 1,000 volunteers help scoop, carve and light the pumpkins and every single jack o’lantern is hand-carved on site by our team of professional artists. All proceeds from Blaze and other Historic Hudson Valley Halloween events support the programs of this non-profit education organization.
Van Cortlandt Manor is located at 525 S. Riverside Avenue, Croton-on-Hudson. Remaining dates are Oct. 11 to 31, and Nov. 1 to 3, 8 to 10, 15 to 17, 22 to 23 and 29-30. Sunday tickets are $22 for adults and $16 for children age 3 to 17; Friday and Saturday tickets are $27 and $20. Admission is free for members and children younger than 3.
Buy tickets online at hudsonvalley.org or call 914-366-6900 (there is a $2 per-ticket surcharge for phone orders).
