Halloween Hoorah: For Kids of All Ages

Posted in Programs and Events on October 25 2010, by Plant Talk

Anyone who thinks Halloween Hoorah—The New York Botanical Garden‘s annual celebration of all things Halloween and pumpkin–is just for kids clearly did not see the look on my fiancé’s face on a recent Saturday. Maybe it was the generous wine samples we had just enjoyed at the Edible Garden’s finale weekend, or maybe it had to do with the fact that she’s been bringing up having children more often, and more insistently.  Either way, her expression of delight as we walked through the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden was unreservedly enthusiastic, and, to a man who has been dealing with the daily headaches of having just moved into a fourth-floor walk-up, this change in mood was entirely welcome.

She had visited the Botanical Garden before, but never at Halloween Hoorah time, and we had a blast checking out the hundreds of carved and sculpted pumpkins lining the paths of the Children’s Garden. The artist who made them, Michael Anthony Natiello, must absolutely love his job. Either that, or he has nightmares of an endless conveyor belt of pumpkins.

She was eyeing the Pumpkin Playhouse, which is a bit cramped for we adult-sized folk, so rather than risk what could become an awkward playhouse extraction scene, we headed over to the cider-pressing and applesauce-making areas. I hadn’t realized we’d been eating so much, but between the Tasting Terrace and the cider and applesauce, I needed to walk it off.  So we headed off for stroll through the Native Forest to check out the foliage.

We missed the parade and the activities in the Family Garden, but I promised to bring her back before the Hoorah is over to see the world-record monster pumpkin (1,810 pounds!) that arrived Friday, so we’ll have another chance to make the rounds. There’s almost too much to do in one trip through anyway! For the full list of Halloween Hoorah activities, click here.