Road trip worthy: Louisville's Jack O' Lantern Spectacular
As soon as we caught wind of CityMom Dara's plans to visit the Jack O' Lantern Spectacular in Louisville, we were all "Can we tag along?" She may not have had enough room in her car for all 350+ CityMoms, but we did get to follow her visit virtually {bless you Instagram!}. And now she's spilling all from her mid-week trip... including why this Halloween-themed road trip is worth packing up the car for.
According to their website, "The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular began in Oxford, Massachusetts in 1988. The Louisville event, celebrating its 6th year in 2018, is held in Iroquois Park with 5,000 carved pumpkins lining a ¼-mile walking trail, illuminated at night as an art show.”
First, let's ask Dara what she, her husband Kyle and their little guy Jackson thought:
We had an amazing night in Louisville last night. Our tickets were at will call waiting for us. Once inside there we over 5,000 carved pumpkins. You could spend all evening there and not see them all. But with a one year old we were only able to see a quarter of them. We will be making this a family tradition!
Second, here's what we know:
The Louisville Jack O' Lantern Spectacular is a fundraiser on behalf of the Louisville Parks Foundation and draws crowds from far and wide to visit. It may be a 2-hour drive from Indianapolis, but there are may benefits to adding this to your watchlist during Halloween, including:
As Dara mentioned above, there are over 5,000 different carved pumpkins on display for visitors to ogle!
All of the pumpkins are lined up along a 1/3-mile trail inside Iroquois Park in Louisville, and visitors wait their turn to walk the trail and see them along the walk, in trees and hidden in the wooded areas.
Music is used for ambiance and props also add to the theme.
According to WDRB, each pumpkin takes 4-12 hours to draw/plan, and another 3-6 to carve.
The 2018 theme is "Night at the Library" so many gourds were plotted and carved with this in mind.
Lines can get long. Dara's family visited on a Thursday evening and waited over an hour just to get in. So come with your patience pants on, plenty of snacks to stay full and entertainment for the wait.
Tickets can be purchased on the Jack O' Lantern Spectacular website in advance or at the gate, but Dara recommends coming prepared with your prepaid tickets printed and ready to go.
HOT TIP: Weekend crowds can lead to an extended wait time {up to 2 hours!}. Skip the lines and plan your visit for a weekday instead!
NEED MORE FALL FUN? How about 50 Bucket list items for the fall season?
Finally, let's set eyes on some of these incredible jack o' lanterns! Here's what Dara shared with us:
So in your final week of Halloween fun, Dara recos the trip to Louisville for this 'spectacular' display of pumpkins! You just may discover your family's new fall tradition.
MORE INFO: The Jack O' Lantern Spectacular runs through Sunday, November 4, 2018. Hours are 7:15-11pm Sundays-Thursdays and 7:15pm-midnight Fridays-Saturdays. Tickets begin at $10/pp and can be preordered online. Visit jack-o-lanternlouisville.com/ or visit the Jack O' Lantern Spectacular Facebook page for additional details.
