MANSFIELD – Kingwood Center Gardens’ annual Great Pumpkin Glow event officially ushered in the fall season on Saturday, though maybe not the fall weather.
Hundreds of families of all ages flocked to the garden grounds on Saturday evening in mild 75-degree weather. But even inclement weather in the past isn’t enough to keep the crowds away.
“We’ve come in boots and hats and gloves before, and now shorts and t-shirts,” said Jennifer Grissinger of Ashland. “This is one of our favorite fall events.”
Grissinger and her family of four have been attending Pumpkin Glow for years now, ever since their youngest, 6-year-old Anna, was a baby. Favorite pumpkin designs of Anna and her brother, 11-year-old Alex, include a pumpkin puking seeds and a starry-eyed jack-o-lantern.
“We like to take ideas to carve our own pumpkins,” Grissinger said.
Carving pumpkins is half the fun of Kingwood’s Great Pumpkin Glow. Earlier this week, the Center hosted pumpkin carving events that supplied close to 2,000 carved pumpkins to display throughout the grounds.
The carving days have become a family tradition for the Obringers from Ashland, mom Gigi and dad David, and their two daughters, 9-year-old Yanna and 6-year-old Clara. The family came on Saturday to find their masterpieces.
“I really like how you get to go early and make you pumpkin,” said Yanna. “It’s nice to see what other people do, and it’s like a treasure hunt to find your pumpkin.”
According to Holly Williams, visitor services manager at Kingwood, the Gardens expect close to 10,000 people to attend the Great Pumpkin Glow. The event is a one-weekend only spectacle, continuing from 5 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15. Tickets cost $6 online or $8 at the gate. Children 6 and under are free.
“It’s always one weekend because it’s not about time and resources, it’s about the pumpkins,” Williams said. “Once they’re cut, especially with this warm weather, they’re already melting within a few days.”
This year, Pumpkin Glow changed its route to allow for more maneuverability along the path. Guests will walk along the grounds seeing thousands of carved pumpkins, visit Scarecrow Row created by a variety of local sponsors, see the family-friendly Little Carver’s Carnival, and end with live music and food.
The best part about the Great Pumpkin Glow? For Williams, it’s the smell – that distinct, fall-is-around-the-corner scent in the air.
“We get our candles from Crossroads Candle Company, and between the fall smell, the candle smell and the jack-o-lantern smell, it’s my favorite,” she said.
