art festival festive fun glow halloween holiday lights night night lights parade pumpkins sculpture Trip Ideas outdoor lamp light darkness lighting jack o lantern pumpkin evening
Festivals + Events

America’s Coolest Pumpkin Festivals

It’s finally fall, people! And you know what that means: cozy sweaters, apple picking, and pumpkin-spice everything. Read on for the best autumn activities happening now.

Chelsea is Brooklyn-based travel writer, editor, and photographer. When not home eating her way through NYC, she's gallivanting across the globe, sailing the coast of Croatia or hiking the peaks of Peru. Her superpowers include booking flight deals and sleeping in small plane seats.

See recent posts by Chelsea Bengier

art artistic artsy Design festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights orange pumpkins Trip Ideas color red indoor organ pumpkin macro photography human body
duplicate festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights orange Outdoors pumpkins silhouette trees Trip Ideas outdoor christmas lights Christmas light christmas decoration darkness event bunch
art artistic artsy Design festive glow Greenery halloween holiday orange Outdoors pumpkins trees Trip Ideas sky tree outdoor pumpkin jack o lantern carving produce autumn gourd painted
art artistic artsy Design festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights orange Outdoors pumpkins trees Trip Ideas tree outdoor light darkness geological phenomenon christmas decoration christmas lights

Photos courtesy of the Roger Williams Park Zoo

1

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, Providence, RI

Providence’s Roger Williams Park Zoo transforms every autumn at the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, a seasonal art show that features over 5,000 intricately-carved, illuminated pumpkins. This year’s theme is "Seasonal Wonderland," so guests can expect to find depictions of fairy tales, wizards, and super heroes carved into the gourds along with themed activities on special event nights. You'll want to get there early—more than 115,000 people visit the quarter-mile display each year, so it's sure to bring in the crowds once again.

Oct. 3 – Nov. 3, 2019

Book Hotels in Providence
Trip Ideas tree outdoor Nature flower Garden flora botany plant season leaf autumn botanical garden park shrub pond bushes Forest surrounded
Trip Ideas City food public space produce human settlement orange vegetable greengrocer market flower pumpkin lined fresh
Trip Ideas tree outdoor fruit pumpkin squash calabaza produce winter squash autumn vegetable flower cucurbita gourd lined line arranged sale
2

Autumn at the Arboretum, Dallas, TX

Come fall, Dallas’ Arboretum is covered in oranges, reds and yellows—but we’re not just talking about the foliage. More than 90,000 pumpkins, squash, and gourds decorate the pathways, huts, and gardens at the Pumpkin Village. This year, the arboretum has gone all out with a Peter Pan theme titled "It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Pack a picnic and spend an afternoon out in the crisp fall air, and don't miss creative creations like Snoopy and Woodstock topiaries on top of his doghouse, Lucy's advice booth, Schroeder at his topiary piano, and—yes—a Great Pumpkin.

Through October 31, 2019

Book Hotels in Dallas
activities art Arts + Culture festive halloween lights night people pumpkins Trip Ideas person color crowd red stage nightclub chinese new year festival
activities art festive halloween lights night pumpkins Trip Ideas stage musical theatre audience auditorium window
activities art festive halloween lights night pumpkins Trip Ideas color lit performance art dark darkness light musical theatre

Photos by Jennifer Mitchell

3

Blaze, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Hudson Valley isn't a newcomer to Halloween festivities (just ask Sleepy Hollow), and while it’s always worth a day trip to see the spooky decorations, we recommend going at night for Blaze. The 18th-century Van Cortlandt Manor and its sprawling grounds are covered in more than 7,000 professionally hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns—including a massive pumpkin carousel and windmill. Remember to bring your camera for the perfect pumpkin photo op.

Through Nov. 30, 2019

RELATED: How to Plan a Romantic Weekend Away in the Hudson Valley

Book Hotels in New York State
exhibit festival festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights pumpkins scary Trip Ideas lamp indoor pumpkin jack o lantern lit carving lighting light event
exhibit festival festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights pumpkins scary Trip Ideas outdoor building City light human settlement skyline metropolis skyscraper cityscape line tower
exhibit festive glow halloween holiday lights night night lights pumpkins Trip Ideas outdoor evening bunch several

Pete Berlin (top); Selbe Lynn (bottom)

4

New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival, Laconia, NH

This New Hampshire festival is epic—even if it’s only a one-weekend event. Case in point: it's the Guinness World Record champ for the most lit jack-o’-lanterns (30,581, to be exact). Color us impressed. You can also stroll through the food and craft fair for homemade, pumpkin-inspired treats and wares, or try your hand at pumpkin bowling before grabbing a pint at the beer garden.

Oct. 16-17, 2019

Book Hotels in New Hampshire
costume festival festive fun halloween holiday motorcycle parade people road streets Trip Ideas outdoor car motorcycling vehicle police demonstration
costume Fence festival festive fun halloween holiday parade people scary Trip Ideas person child interaction
Arts + Culture colorful costume Cultural culture day of the dead dia de los muertos festival festive fun halloween holiday parade people tradition traditional Trip Ideas color carnival event colored decorated
art festival festive fun glow halloween holiday lights night night lights parade pumpkins sculpture Trip Ideas outdoor lamp light darkness lighting jack o lantern pumpkin evening
5

Spirit of Halloweentown, St. Helens, OR

It’s not All Hallow’s Eve without watching your favorite fall flicks (looking at you, Hocus Pocus), but it’s even cooler when one of your childhood classics comes to life—witches, goblins, and skeletons included. In St. Helens, the 1998 Disney Channel movie Halloweentown is reenacted in a month-long festival. Keep your eye out for some of the original cast (spotted: Kimberly J. Brown, who plays the main character, Marnie) as you dance at the masquerade ball, take a haunted tractor ride, and watch the giant pumpkin lighting.

October 2019

Book Hotels in Oregon

Want more?

Comments

comments

All products are independently selected by our writers and editors. If you buy something through our links, Jetsetter may earn an affiliate commission.