There’s nothing quite like the invigorating air of an October evening in the Northeastern region of the United States. The brisk tingle of fall fills your lungs and dances atop your skin making butterflies swirl about your tummy in excitement. The wait is over; the holidays have begun!
You peruse the internet, looking for that perfect activity, something that will enhance the glorious crackle of excitement that is already flickering throughout your body. Something that will stimulate the mind’s quest for the ever new, yet will also satisfy the eyes’ perpetual need for beauty. Something that will set your inner child racing free through a fantastic world built with unbridled imagination.
Then you find it. The Glow, a remarkable Jack O’Lantern display like none you’ve ever experienced before. This Halloween attraction features over 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins artfully arranged along a 1/3 mile loop that is located adjacent to Philadelphia’s famed Mann Music Center at 5201 Parkside Avenue in West Fairmount Park. The festive display runs Thursday through Sunday evenings throughout October and tickets, which are sold in 30 minute intervals, start at just $16. Additionally, there is no cost for parking at this rain or shine event.
Before you line up at the gates to begin your stroll through the incredible, take a moment to enjoy your surroundings. Browse the food trucks, watch a trio of animated characters at the pumpkin theater, purchase some double take worthy illuminated outerwear, have a chat with a professional pumpkin carver to learn secrets even Pinterest doesn’t know, and make friends with Jack, The Happy Skeleton.
After you’ve explored the preliminary amenities, it’s time for the main stage magic. The path through the realm of orange is dark. Other than a few strategically placed courtesy lights, the only glow comes from the pumpkins themselves. On your journey, marvel at the ingenious alternate universes where it’s not the atom that is the basic building block of reality, but the pumpkin. See a pumpkin graveyard, a pumpkin carnival, pumpkin flowers, Universal pumpkin monsters, pumpkin sharks, a castle filled with pumpkin princesses, a pumpkin biker gang, the lost world of Jurassic pumpkins, and more. If you pay close attention, you might even run across a few legendary Philadelphia icons.
Your family friendly adventure ends with a trek through an expansive pumpkin patch that features some of the most enormous specimens you’ve ever seen — seriously, a few of these just might be bigger than the smallest member of your clan. And the price of these monstrosities can’t be beat!
The Glow is an atmospheric wonderland of fantasy and delight that is sure to leave your whole family wide-eyed and grinning.
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