It’s back again! From September 26 to November 2 the Roger Williams Park Zoo (RWPZ) will host the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular: Trivia – 2nd Edition. In addition to the thousands of illuminated pumpkins throughout the zoo, brain busters posted on the trails provide a trivia challenge.
While some illuminated pumpkins hanging in the trees are inorganic, the pumpkins along the trails — most from local farms — are intricately carved and each is a masterpiece in its own right. They are carved by over a dozen devoted volunteers, who, depending on the weather, may have to redo some of them three, four, or more times throughout the event.
The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is open nightly, rain or shine, from 6:00 to 10:30pm. All tickets are time-slot specific and must be purchased online. Special evenings include: Members Preview Night (9/25), Family Fun Nights (10/8 – 10/9), Sensory-Friendly Nights (10/22 – 10/23), and Adults Night Out (11/2).
The proceeds from the event support the zoo’s ongoing animal care, education programs, and conservation initiatives.
2001 – year the Spectacular event began at the RWPZ
15-25 – volunteer carvers
5,000 – carved pumpkins in 2024
399 – total volunteers for the event in 2024
176,330 – visitors attended the Spectacular in 2024
300-500 – average number of seeds in a pumpkin
30-60 minutes – length of time to carve a pumpkin at home
2,465.5 lbs – weight of the heaviest pumpkin grown in Rhode Island in 2023
2,749 lbs – weight of the heaviest pumpkin set at the World Championship Pumpkin Weight-Off in 2024
28 – pumpkin patches offering Fall and Halloween-themed events in Rhode Island
Sources:
https://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/RIpumpkins.php
Nini Stoddard is a proud Providence resident. After living abroad as the child of a US diplomat, she returned to the United States to attend college. She lived in Connecticut and enjoyed working as a librarian, as a director of a regional non-profit, and as a prospect researcher. Nini moved to Providence in 2006 to work at Brown University as a senior prospect researcher. Now retired, she loves local history and volunteering.
Want to comment? Click!