MANSFIELD – Childhood whimsy wafted through cold air, intertwining with the smells of hot coffee, chocolate and pumpkin guts.
Approximately 1,000 jack-o’-lanterns are featured this weekend at Kingwood Center Gardens’ Great Pumpkin Glow. The annual event runs Oct. 16 to 18, 4 to 9 p.m. The pumpkins are carved by school groups, families and other community members, lining the trail of the main glow.
Kingwood members receive a discount to admission, tickets running $10 for ages 13 and up, $5 for ages seven to 12, and anybody younger being admitted for free. For non-members, it’s $12 for ages 13 and up and $6 for ages seven to 12, though still free for kids six years old and younger.
All manner of fall favorites are in attendance along the main path, from Scarecrow Row to the Fluorescent Forest and the Greenhouse Glow.
At the main courtyard, immediately upon entering, visitors are met with dining halls, treat stations and tables in the center for talking, carving and decorating pumpkins.
Among the pumpkins lining the path through the gardens, walkers see a combination of traditional jagged-tooth faces, cartoon characters, animals, and more adventurous creations involving heavy paint and sometimes multiple pumpkins per design.
There are also scarecrows, ghosts, spiders and other whimsical creatures all along the path. It’s Halloween on steroids.
Carving pumpkins, Director of Development and Marketing at Kingwood Center Gardens Brenda Nelson said, is a yearly tradition for some families.
Pumpkins come from a number of sources, most local, like farmers and growers, but the gardens also receive donations, including from Meijer.
It’s not just pumpkins, though.
Kingwood Center Gardens offers a kids’ carnival, live DJ, food trucks, family activities and more for enjoyment of all ages. The kids’ carnival is sponsored by Brightspeed, Buckeye Imagination Museum, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland and more.
Food trucks in attendance include Bruisers BBQ, V&M Kitchen, Zubricky’s Certain Ethnic and more, with some only in attendance on specific days. Snacks & Sips in the courtyard also offer wine, beer and other treats.
A full list is available on Kingwood Center Gardens’ website.
Part of the magic that keeps families coming back year after year is the inherent year-to-year variation in pumpkin carving. No set of 1,000 pumpkins is going to be the same, with yearly trends and cultural phenomena often shifting what designs get made.
From start to finish, though, one thing is constant: the smiles Kingwood staff and volunteers hope become infectious for each and every visitor.
Photos by Logan Adams
