Pumpkin spectacular an annual smash at zoo

If there’s going to be an ode to “Gone With the Wind,” in the form of an elaborate, eye-catching artistic display, you’ve got to have the kiss.
The dramatic kiss between characters Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler in the classic 1939 film is but one of many iconic movie scenes being carved, painted or etched onto thousands of pumpkins for this year’s Jack O’Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo.
“ ‘Gone With the Wind’ has to have that sort of classic look and [then] there are certain things where artists are given some license to come up with their own things,” said George Nickolotoulos, one of 30 carvers, about 24 of whom are artists responsible for the more intricate designs, working to put on the “All the World’s a Stage” themed show running through Nov. 3 at the zoo in Providence.
Now in its 24th year overall – and eighth year at the zoo – the annual Halloween-centered event is attracting national attention, including a spot on a Travel Channel broadcast and website video, a mention in Martha Stewart Living magazine and a designation from the American Bus Association as one of North America’s best events for 2013.
“The exhibit itself is frankly so unique,” said Jack Mulvena, director, Roger Williams Park Zoo and executive director of the Rhode Island Zoological Society. There really isn’t another event like it in the country tied to Halloween or any other time of year.”
The event, begun by John Reckner, a retired postal worker, in 1988 as a one-night community event in Oxford, Mass., is expected to draw over 100,000 visitors the zoo, where it has lit October nights since 2009 around its wetlands trail and pond.
[The event also was held at the zoo from 2001 through 2004.]
It will feature 5,000 illuminated jack-o-lanterns decorated to depict scenes from famous movies, Broadway hits and television shows. In addition to “Gone With the Wind” there are displays honoring “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Hobbit,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Titanic.”
“I’ve been wanting to do this particular theme for a while now, but I held it up waiting for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic [sinking],” Reckner said. “[The event] is doing pretty well every year [at the zoo], weather-permitting.”
The ‘Titanic’ display features a 1,200-pound pumpkin with Titanic engraved on it that is placed on water.
The Jack O’Lantern Spectacular runs rain or shine most nights from early October through early November. This year the event is open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. with the last admission at 10 p.m.
Mulvena said families dominate the early hours and then there is a switchover to mainly adults throughout the second half of the evening.
“After eight, it’s date night at Roger Williams Park Zoo and it’s really great,” Mulvena said.
Reckner, who gathered approximately 300 spectators at the first display, said the show, which has been held in various venues, including McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, throughout the years, really picked up steam in 1999 when the Library of Congress designated it as one of the nation’s Local Legacies: Celebrating Community Roots, a project meant to celebrate the country’s diverse culture.
A number of artists and carvers, including Nickolotoulos, from Cambridge, Mass., have been with the event for about a decade and come from across the country to take part.
“There are artists who basically drop everything they’re doing for a month and a half and come in and focus on the pumpkins,” Mulvena said.
“We’re all about family experiences and getting families outdoors,” he continued.”This gets them out. … We get visitors who come and because the event is in the zoo suddenly see how beautiful the zoo is and come back for day trips.” •

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