For the third year, Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns guides Denverites through a trail of over 7,000 fascinating pumpkins adorning Littleton’s Hudson Gardens.
Guests are immersed in a variety of scenes throughout their journey: under the sea, the fictional town of Encanto, a circle of singing witches in 1693 Salem, and Hogwarts to name a few. Visitors are even sent back to the Mesozoic Era, where pumpkin-saurs walk the earth. This is only the start of the themed magic guests get to explore on a visit to Magic of the Jack o’ Lanterns this year. There are both real and synthetic pumpkins featured at the event, and they are all hand-carved or hand-painted.
“It’s spooktacular!” said excited guest Levi Cortright from Parker, Colorado. He and his six friends attended for the second time and brought along two first-timer guests this year to enjoy the fun.
Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns is a family-friendly event, and the trail fills up on any given night with wide-eyed children of all ages, as well as with a few not-so-little kids!
“We’re really channeling our inner children,” said 20-year-old guest Alex, who attended Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns with his partner, Leslie, also 20. “We drove from an hour away just to be here, because this one loves Halloween so much!” Alex was referencing a grinning Leslie.
“It’s true!” she said.
Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns involves fantastical musical and lighting elements to fully immerse guests, including music from “Hocus Pocus,” the Harry Potter series, Disney’s “Encanto” and more. Visitors will also see a range of familiar faces artfully carved into the pumpkins, like Michael Myers, Scooby Doo, Taylor Swift, Wonder Woman, Frankenstein, Tim Burton, and a few notorious Jacks: one from “The Night Before Christmas,” and Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Folks may even see a few ghouls roaming around and lighting up the night along with the pumpkins.
The magical pumpkin depictions don’t stop at pop culture icons and movie characters. Takes on famous works of art decorate the event as well, from “The Scream,” to “American Gothic,” to Frida Kahlo’s “Self Portrait,” all made with pumpkins!
Food and hot drinks are also served at the event to keep guests fueled while they take in the fairytale wonder of the trail. There’s nothing quite like delighting in some spooky, magical art while sipping apple cider or hot chocolate!
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the night is the source of the pumpkins themselves. Though the pumpkins certainly look to be hand-carved, and the Magic of the Jack o’ Lantern’s site describes local and out-of-state artists carving some of them up to several months in advance—the synthetic ones, of course!—not a soul at the event seemed to know exactly who the artists actually were, including the employees. Maybe some tricky ghosts brought them in!
Regardless of whose mysterious hands crafted these mesmerizing jack-o’ lanterns, a particularly fascinated little one at the event said it best:
“We could spend all night here with these magical pumpkins!”
