See Thousands of Jack-O-Lanterns in Providence

Photo by Trig Photography

Halloween is a sacred holiday, especially for New Englanders. And no spooky season is complete without scraping out some pumpkin guts to carve your own buck-toothed jack-o-lantern. But where can you go to admire other glowing gourd creations? If you’re trying to skip the mobs in Salem this year, consider taking a quick trip to Providence.

The annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo is back and ready for you to walk, dance, or fly your broomstick through a trail of thousands of top-tier pumpkin carvings. You may be wondering, how many jack-o-lanterns could there possibly be? A lot, is the answer. This year the event is sporting 6,000 glowing gourds, which is the most they’ve ever had. And they’re all lit with LED lights, so don’t worry about getting there before the candles burn out. Once you arrive at the entrance to the pumpkin trail near the bison exhibit, give yourself about 45 minutes to explore the show.

The horde of gourds are all carved by an Oxford, Mass outlet called Passion for Pumpkins, which boasts 25 years of experience in transforming landscapes into an “illuminated organic gallery.” Their skilled artists will keep carving and enhancing the displays throughout the season, so if you saw it earlier this fall, it might look a little different now. The carvers are expected go through an absurd amount of pumpkins for the duration of the show—about 20,000 pumpkins are projected to be carved by the end of their 32-night run this year.

While you’re there, be on the lookout for treats including hot chocolate, hot apple cider, fried dough, fried oreos, turkey legs, hot dogs, beer and much more.

Tickets start at $17, open daily, 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m., through Oct. 31, Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave. Providence, RI, rwpzoo.org.