Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze brings 7,000 pumpkins to Old Bethpage this fall
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze has opened at Old Bethpage Village Restoration. Credit: Beth Whitehouse
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze has opened at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, with more than 7,000 pumpkins crafted into three-dimensional sculptures such as a fire truck with firefighter dousing flames, a spider web big enough the trap a human and a replica of the Statue of Liberty.
Many of the sculptures give homage to Long Island, with a lighthouse and pumpkins with streaming jellyfish tails symbolizing our coastal roots, a circus train with LIRR carved into it and a Hall of Fame area with portrait-like carvings of Long Island musicians Billy Joel, Maria Carey and Joan Jett. Themed music guides walkers through each area.
The entrance to the walk is lined with real pumpkins lighted from within with LED lights; the more intricate sculptures are crafted from foam pumpkins and are also lighted with LED lights. A star tunnel toward the end of the walk is made from real pumpkins lighted with individual tea-light candle flames.
New this year is a sale of refreshments including cider, popcorn and doughnuts; there’s also an expanded shop selling T-shirts and souvenirs. This is the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze's third year on Long Island.
The event runs through Nov. 6. Entry is by advance registration only; ticket prices range from $32 to $40 for adults and $24 to $32 for children ages 3 to 17 depending on day and time of entry. Children 2 and younger are free. Old Bethpage Village Restoration is at 1303 Round Swamp Rd., Old Bethpage. Buy tickets at pumpkinblaze.org.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
