Pumpkins After Dark is a really cool event that runs from the end of September to early November in Milton, Ontario. I love all things related to Halloween – so much so I convinced my now husband into having a Halloween themed wedding on a year Halloween fell on a Saturday (2015).
So what is Pumpkins After Dark?
I love the tagline the website uses to describe it “it’s where jack-o-lanterns come to life”. Held at Country Heritage Park in Milton, this one-of-a kind outdoor pumpkin art exhibit is displayed along a ¼ mile path. More than 5,000 hand-carved jack-o-lanterns are used and created by over 100 artisan-crafted pumpkin sculptures. They use lighting and sound effects against music making the pumpkin sculptures come to life.
5 Things You Need To Know Attending Pumpkins After Dark.
- You can buy your tickets online ahead of time. There’s a group discount when you purchase 4 or more tickets at the same time. We purchased ours through wagjag (groupon has them too) at a discounted rate of $16.95 (regular $20).
2. All proceeds from Pumpkins After Dark go directly to Habitat for Humanity which is kind of cool. When I find out an event helps raise money for a local charity I’m more likely to attend especially if there are crowds.
3. If you want to avoid crowds, or view Pumpkins After Dark with a lot less people, book your ticket for a later time. When we went we got there at 8:30pm. It was still pretty crowded with families. By the time we left after 9pm the lineups had disappeared.
4. Have a lot of patience when getting to Country Heritage Park which is located north on Tremaine Road close to the 401. |That particular part of Tremaine Road is rural with only one lane so it cannot handle the crowds of people for this event so be prepared to wait your turn to get in. I think we waited 20 minutes before we entered the parking lot. We booked our time for the viewing to be 8:15 but didn’t get in until 8:30. The organizers are aware of this and it was non issue. See my above point again if you want to avoid crowds.
5. This isn’t a scary Halloween event making it ideal for children and grandkids. There isn’t someone that is going to come out and jump out at you trying to scare you nor are there people walking around as zombies. Pumpkins After Dark is more of a visual experience of talented pumpkin carvers. My personal favourite sculpture was the ouija board.