LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — When you think of Halloween, many images probably come to mind.
Monsters, costumes, candy, etc.
Arguably, the most iconic symbol of the spooky season is the pumpkin.
Specifically the Jack O’ Lantern.
Carving faces and designs into vegetables for Halloween dates back to the 19th Century.
Of course, pumpkins are the default option, a sizeable canvas for artists, amateurs, and professionals to create on.
There's undoubtedly a learning curve to pumpkin art, whether it’s the simple triangle eyes and crooked smile or more grand designs.
Just ask Travis Reckner.
It’s different than canvas, the pumpkin skin. It can take a bit to learn how to play with the ink on the pumpkin skin,” Reckner said.
“The way it absorbs it. One of the providence artists was telling me he thinks it takes three to four years for somebody to really get in the zone.”
Reckner is one of dozens of artists in Louisville who have spent the month painting and carving advanced creations on more than one hundred pumpkins.
Just a small patch of more than five thousand pumpkins picked for the 11th annual Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular.
“We hire more than 30 local artists to do this work. Our theme changes every year. The theme this year is “Wanderlust: The World is Your Pumpkin.” A trip through bucket list destinations,” Parks Alliance Louisville CEO Brooke Pardue said.
“Every year, it seems like the production company outdoes themselves from the year before. Just when you think it can’t get any better, they come out and do something absolutely phenomenal.”
The pumpkins are peppered through a quarter-mile stretch of Iroquois Park, seamlessly weaving through different themes and music.
A cohesive visual experience the entire family can enjoy.
“My favorite place to be is at the end of the trail. I love to just sit there and listen to the people coming off the trail saying, ‘Oh my goodness! That was so phenomenal. I can’t even believe it,’” Pardue said.
“Words cannot describe what this is. It’s this completely immersive experience in the woods, and you just have to come and experience it.”
The origins of the Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular lie in the northeast.
It started in Massachusetts in the late 1980s before being brought to Louisville when one of the creators moved to the Bluegrass.
Reckner is well versed in the event’s history, seeing as his father was the one who came up with it decades ago.
“My dad had a crazy idea in 1987 about carving a couple hundred pumpkins and putting them on a hillside. That was the beginning of the Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular,” Reckner said.
Kentucky is one of just three states (Massachusetts and Minnesota) where you can take in this impressive trail of Halloween spirit.
The fun is also tied to a good cause.
This event has become the largest fundraiser for the Parks Alliance of Louisville, which works to improve local parks for the health and well-being of the community.
“As the head of a nonprofit organization, folks know we are in the business to raise money for our respective charities, and I can’t think of a better way to raise money than to put on such an incredible event,” Pardue said.
Helping local organizations, assisting local farmers who source all the pumpkins, and supporting the arts community.
Organizers and volunteers see it as an all-around win for everyone.
“Every year, the artwork, I see something I’ve never seen before. You learn every year still. It’s really fun,” Reckner said.
“There’s so many talented people who don’t get to express or use their art because of whatever their livelihood is based on. This is a great way for a lot of people who work their 9-5 job to come here and geek out on a pumpkin because they just don’t get the opportunity to use their talents.”
The Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular is set up at the Iroquois Amphitheatre in Louisville and is open every day of the week through Halloween.
To check tickets and available times to go to check out the trail for yourself, click here.
