5000 hand carved, illuminated Jack O’Laterns carved by a team of talent artists and guest celebrities, featuring whimsical creations and carvings of well known celebrities. That alone should be enough to illicit the purchase of some online tickets, a quick fill of the good ol’ family truckster and a chance to take the kids to an event that amazes young and old alike. But where most events merely expand at one location, the Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns have grown from their original east coast location in New York, to three completely separate locations here in Southern California: Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, and The San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido.
A visit to their website allows a family to pick a date and an entry time. A very nice way to insure that the Jack O’Lantern trail isn’t too crowded for the little ones. Because advanced tickets are required to attend they encourage early online purchases with limited amounts of discount tickets available. (No additional admission from the Descanso Gardens, or San Diego Zoo Safari Park are required , but the ticket is only good for RISE admission) Children 2 and under are admitted for free as well.
When you and you family arrive you will set off along a 1/3 mile walking trail featuring more than 5,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns in creative displays, set to an original musical score. This year in addition to many returning displays they are adding a safari with larger-than-life animals, a classic car auto show, and a dragon that measures over 50 feet in length. You will also have the opportunity to see their resident and guest celebrity artists carving new creations at a special live carving station.
They use a combination of fresh and foam pumpkins so they are constantly updating and re-carving some of the creations so you never know what you might see coming to “life” before your eyes.
Ticket prices vary and availability is limited, so if you want to visit this unique family-oriented art show, first visit: Rise of the Jack O’Laterns Website
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I was so disappointed in this last year. They claim it takes about 45 minutes to walk through, but we we walked very leisurely and stopped to take pics and it was maybe 20 minutes. Plus, one of the displays was of the Kardashians.
My family and I went last year to Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge and had a fabulous time. This year we decided to go to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia to see all the beautiful pumpkins. We were so deeply disappointed. It was held in the race track parking lot. No ambiance, no flare most of the pumpkins that were live looked moldy and disgusting. Between the parking lot lights and all the generators running it was so bad.
We love rise of the jack o lanterns but I highly recommend NOT going to the one at the Santa Anita Park.