For 52 nights this fall, 10 acres of the Van Cortlandt Manor historic site in Croton-on-Hudson will be transformed by the Historic Hudson Valley creative team into the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze – a half-mile of 24 programmed displays using 7,000 illuminated pumpkins. What draws as many as 125,000 visitors from around the county and across the country to celebrate the Halloween season here?
We asked Rob Schweitzer, vice president of communications & commerce at Historic Hudson Valley exactly what kind of an experience is being created at the Blaze that garners such popularity. Says Schweitzer: “It’s a layered experience – artistic, immersible, a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it kind of thing. We wanted to be different from haunted houses—infused with the Halloween spirit but not designed to scare people.”
The Blaze wasn’t always 52 nights. As a matter of fact, it was originally eight. So, how did it grow to such a huge event? Schweitzer offered some background, “It started out very local. Sleepy Hollow has always had the Halloween cache. But particularly after COVID, we saw the impact of pent-up leisure travel. Sleepy Hollow was now on bucket lists. And social media created a boom from outside the area. So, we tested demand: would people come to Croton-on-Hudson after Halloween? With the growing interest in Halloween as a season, something to celebrate for more than one night, the Blaze gained popularity not just for couples with kids but friends on an outing, a date night, people in their 20s, a variety of audiences – the model changed.”
It’s not surprising that this could happen when you do a quick Google search of “events in Hudson Valley for Halloween.” The first result of a search is an AI entry calling the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze a “must-see” attraction. Tourism sites like TripAdvisor, social media influencers, YouTube videos, Facebook postings, travel articles in national publications such as USA Today, the itinerary for the American Cruise Line’s Fall Foliage trips – the word is out in a big way. Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown and the Lower Hudson Valley in general have become a preferred destination from mid-September to early November.
All that activity takes a lot of planning at the Blaze: “We have a core team – members of all departments, senior management, a production team, the Building and Grounds Department. Everyone has a stake in it,” says Schweitzer, including the Village of Croton. “They’ve been an outstanding partner. We’re really appreciative of that and careful about capacity, making sure we avoid lines of traffic. In all our welcoming messages, we promote local businesses, restaurants, and shops to contribute to the village’s economic development.”
How displays evolve from an idea to an attraction takes multiple, thoughtful steps. “Display ideas come from anywhere,” says Schweitzer. “An idea may germinate over a couple of years, then it progresses from sketches to prototypes where we ask ourselves: Will this work? What style of carving will it require? How about the lighting? Where will it be located on the route? What is next to it: Is it obvious to the visitor that this is a fire-breathing dragon? Can the integrity of the pumpkins be maintained? Does it ‘read’?”
Carving whole pumpkins and pumpkin pieces can take the local artisans from just a few minutes to hours. A Celtic Knot pumpkin, for example, takes a full day. “We are grateful to the nearly 1000 Girl Scout and Boy Scout troop members and corporate groups who volunteer to scoop out all the pumpkins and place candles,” Schweitzer added.
The path of the Blaze begins to be laid out in August. No longer are there miles of extension cords. Now, with fiber-optic networks and back-end infrastructure, the intrusion of equipment is minimized, and the magic happens—-music, lights, action.
How does the Blaze keep it fresh every year and attract repeat visitors? When does a display get retired? Says Schweitzer: “We check out other organizations in the area and across the country to find out what’s the latest in immersive experiences. And we monitor whether people are posting photographs of a particular display. The dinosaurs continue to be popular, and sometimes we take a year off with a display, then cycle back with it in a different configuration. The Pumpkin Planetarium, which surrounds people on all sides and is synchronized with lights, shows no sign of reduced popularity. One year, we had idea for an elaborate castle-like structure, created a prototype, but couldn’t get it to ‘read.’ We haven’t given up on it.”
The mission of the not-for-profit Historic Hudson Valley, of which Van Cortlandt Manor belongs, is to “interpret and promote historic landmarks of national significance in the Hudson Valley for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.” How does the Blaze fit into this mission, in addition to being a good photo opportunity with friends and family and a gateway to learning about the history of the area? Schweitzer offered this final thought: “The Blaze puts the world on pause. It’s an antidote for real life!”
New this year at the Blaze: a wide variety of New York State landmarks that everyone can recognize. Two of the displays will be the Brooklyn Bridge and West Point. Can you guess the others? Another new display this year features a video game. Can you guess what it is from the accompanying sketch?
For tickets and more information, visit https://hudsonvalley.org/events/blaze/.
