I visited New York's largest Halloween festival at a historic mansion with over 7,000 jack-o'-lanterns. Here are the coolest things I saw.
- The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in New York is the tri-state area's largest Halloween festival.
- Artists decorate the grounds of Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson with 7,000 jack-o'-lanterns.
When the Van Cortlandt family acquired their sprawling Hudson Valley estate in the late 1600s, they couldn't have imagined that it would one day host a jack-o'-lantern festival with pumpkin sculptures including a Kraken, moving windmill, and Statue of Liberty.
Dutch trader Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who served as mayor of New York City, bought the land and built the first version of Van Cortlandt Manor between 1665 and 1681, according to the National Park Service. His grandson, Pierre Van Cortlandt, was New York's first Lieutenant Gov. and added the manor's top stories and porches in 1749.
Today, Van Cortlandt Manor is best known as the site of The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze, an annual festival featuring elaborate pumpkin carvings and sculptures.
The entire estate measures around 125 acres, and The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze spans a total of around 10 acres, making it the largest Halloween event in the tri-state area.
I attended The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in September to explore the historic mansion and grounds — and, of course, enjoy the fantastic pumpkin artistry.
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze is held annually at the historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze is produced by Historic Hudson Valley, a nonprofit organization that operates and interprets national historic landmarks in Upstate New York such as the Rockefellers' Kykuit mansion. Proceeds benefit the nonprofit's preservation work and educational programming.
This year's festival began on September 13 and runs on select nights through November 17.
Prices range from $34 for a standard ticket to $77 for admission to the Gourd and Goblet Tavern, a dining experience inside the manor's historic ferry house. Blaze also offers a $129 "flex" ticket that includes a free drink and snack and is valid any day of the event, even when it's otherwise sold out.
Tickets can be purchased on Historic Hudson Valley's website, but be warned: They sell out quickly. Due to high demand, Historic Hudson Valley provided Business Insider with a timed press ticket.
Some of the pumpkins are real and some are foam, but all are hand-carved by local artists.
The organic pumpkins are grown at Wallkill View Farm in New Paltz, New York. Michael Natiello, creative director of The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze, told Business Insider that his team carves over 1,000 pumpkins each week to replace the ones that rot.
Using some foam pumpkins doesn't just help with the longevity of the displays — it also preserves the estate.
"Because we're on a historical site where there are historical buildings, we don't want to introduce more organic material that's going to mold or attract rodents," Natiello said.
Immediately upon entering the festival, I was greeted by a giant jack-o'-lantern spider web.
When the first Blaze festival was held 20 years ago, the spider web consisted of pumpkins laid flat on the ground in a web-like pattern. Today, it's a 24-foot display mounted on professional theater-grade hardware.
"We went from a bunch of history buffs to a pretty high-end production company in 20 years," Natiello said.
A rainbow flag also welcomed visitors in a variety of languages.
Rob Schweitzer, vice president of communications at Historic Hudson Valley, told Business Insider that the organization expects over 200,000 people to attend this year, including visitors from all over the world.
The 200-foot-wide pumpkin Kraken emerging from the Croton River featured a historical connection to the Van Cortlandt family.
"In the 1700s, the Kraken was believed to be real and a threat to shipping," Natiello said. "The Van Cortlandts were from the Dutch West India Trading Company. They were merchants. They traded with China. They literally had docks right on the site where ships came. And guess where we're putting the Kraken? In that spot."
In another nod to the Hudson Valley, visitors could walk across a model of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
The actual bridge connects Tarrytown and Nyack across the Hudson River.
In a play on the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Pumpkin Art contained jack-o'-lantern versions of famous paintings.
The gallery wall included pumpkin versions of The Son of Man, The Scream, American Gothic, and the Mona Lisa.
These Celtic knot carvings were all created by one artist.
A sign explained the jack-o'-lantern's origin in Irish folklore from the tale of "Stingy Jack" who carved a turnip and lit it with a candle as he wandered between heaven and hell.
Several displays featured moving parts, such as a rotating jack-o'-lantern windmill.
The windmill was surrounded by pumpkins carved with tulips and lit up in different colors.
Special effects such as a fog machine were also used to create a spooky glow.
Fog billowed out of a pumpkin blacksmith shop, also known as a "jacksmith shop."
One of the most striking, immersive displays was the pumpkin planetarium, a tunnel of jack-o'-lanterns that lit up in various colors.
The pumpkin planetarium seemed to be the most popular spot to stop for photos.
The Road to Infinity used forced perspective to make it look like The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze went on forever.
Natiello named the Road to Infinity as his favorite part of the festival.
The historic ferry house on the property was repurposed as the Gourd and Goblet Tavern, open to ticketholders only.
The ferry house, dating back to around 1730, provided overnight accommodations to travelers along the Albany Post Road.
"As you're walking through Blaze, you're walking on what was the Albany Post Road, which was the main road connecting Albany and New York City," Schweitzer said. "It's essentially an extension of Broadway that ran right through the property. That took a little longer back then than it does today. So when folks were on that journey, this was a good stopping point to get some food, get some rest, and continue on the way."
I could imagine weary travelers in the 18th century finding refuge in the inn's cozy atmosphere.
A man in 18th-century period dress checked my ID and crossed my name off a list before admitting me to the Gourd and Goblet.
The drink menu featured alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
I ordered a glass of apple cider, which came in a Gourd and Goblet Tavern cup.
The server then brought out a warm pumpkin empanada with a dipping sauce.
The table also had a bar snack mix to nibble on.
As I got up to walk the rest of the festival's path, my server asked, "Don't you want your apple cider doughnuts and hot chocolate?"
I hadn't realized just how many courses Gourd and Goblet offered.
Tickets with admission to the tavern cost an extra $43. To put things in perspective, a souvenir cup of apple cider alone costs $10 at the Blaze concession stand, so the refreshments help offset the price.
It's a nice spot to bring a date or sit with a group of friends, especially as nights get colder, but I think the event would be just as enjoyable for those who skip it.
I left the historic tavern and continued along the Blaze trail, where a series of New York-inspired jack-o'-lantern sculptures lit the way.
At the foot of the jack-o'-lantern Statue of Liberty, pumpkins were carved with American flags and lit up in red, white, and blue.
The jack-o'-lantern subway stop looked convincing to me.
Everyone around me was delighted to discover that the display included a Pizza Rat jack-o'lantern, a nod to the viral 2015 video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza down the steps of the New York City subway.
At last, the path arrived at Van Cortlandt Manor, which came to life with a sound and light show.
The manor itself is temporarily closed for restoration work, but its balcony was lined with smiling jack-o'-lanterns.
Pumpkin graves commemorated members of the Van Cortlandt family who once lived at the manor.
Pierre Van Cortlandt fought in the Revolutionary War and served as New York's first Lieutenant Gov. from 1777 to 1795. His son, Philip Van Cortlandt, served as a New York representative in Congress from 1793 to 1809.
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze is a great way to learn about the history of the Hudson Valley and get into the Halloween spirit.
I'm not usually one for spooky Halloween outings (though I have visited some purportedly haunted places in the name of journalism), but to me, The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze felt more like an art show than a haunted house.
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