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“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” ~ Emily Brontë
Fall What?
Friend’s you know I have two seasons, Christmas and Summer. Summer and Christmas. And everything else in between is just kinda, there. Don’t get me wrong, I channel my basic girl beeyatch with boots and sweaters, and I do love to go to pumpkin patches and go apple picking, but friends I am LITERALLY counting down to Christmas (less then one week until the movies start!) now that summer is over, for now, because heck it is always summer..somewhere. (see what I did there?) I have never been a huge fan of Halloween, but I feel like this year the Ghouls and autumn fairies are working hard to convert me.
I haven’t just been doing the fall staples like apple picking which I do every year. Nope, I have been helping decorate for Halloween (I know! Who AM I?) thinking up creative costumes, and the best part? Exploring ALL the decked out neighborhoods in the city. Which friends, there are some pretty impressive albite creepy and disturbing set-ups! There are also some super fun events going on and I got to partake in some of them. Who knew Halloween in the city could be just as fun as Christmas in the City? Okay, Okay maybe you Halloween enthusiasts did. But I am excited to be discovering it!
Pumpkin Night at the Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo which is a New York staple and always so much fun, has always done festive events for the holidays, with their holiday lights, but this year they decided to get into the Halloween spirit with Pumpkin Night and I got to go! From the end of September to just before Halloween every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights they have Pumpkin Night.
What is Pumpkin Night you might ask? Comprised of over 5,000 illuminated pumpkins, visitors get to take a half mile stroll through curated landscapes, learning about animals nocturnal habits and habitats, and taking in the fun pumpkin carvings which truly are works of art. They have food, music, pumpkin carving demonstrations and so much more. While it might seem like it is geared for the younger kids, it truly is fun for people of all ages!
My Experience
Tickets are necessary for entry, and admittance begins at 6 after the zoo closes. We got there right when it opened and waited in a line to get checked in. We were given orange wrist bands that they checked before we ventured onto the spooky (okay I am being dramatic) path way. The pumpkin displays are located in what use to be the dinosaur exhibit of the zoo, and where they host their Christmas light display. In fact you could tell they were already gearing up for that which begins in a few weeks, as they already had begun setting up their lighted animals. And of course I got giddy at the thought!
There was a photo station with Bronx Zoo Pumpkin Nights and an archway that let you know you had entered the walk way and then the fun began. It was so well done. The pumpkins, which many had animals etched into them, were set up like they were in their habitats. They had woodland animals in one section, insects in another, and my favorite was the ocean scapes, which had blue lights that went with them. They also had an antarctic setting that included snow, and I may or may not have shouted “It’s Christmas!” No I couldn’t help myself.
We had a blast walking through and admiring all the different animals made out of pumpkins, and ended up walking through it twice because of the singing pumpkins which were a trio of lit up pumpkins that not only sang, but told the corniest jokes, that were kinda funny. They even had a lighted up pumpkin man walking about that you could take pictures of! I hadn’t planned on it, but I even twinned with some of the leopards in my jacket, AND I found a PSL pumpkin carving! It truly was a fun event, one that I would happily do again next year! And it may or may not have gotten me into the Halloween sprit…at least until Christmas movies start!
Have you been to Pumpkin Nights? Have you done anything similar?
