This Weekend: The Haunted Pumpkin Garden is Back!
Posted in Programs and Events on September 19 2014, by Lansing Moore
The countdown to Halloween has officially begun with tomorrow’s debut of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden! From now through October 31 the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden will be taken over by eye-catching pumpkins and spooky fun for all ages.
Kids can join in Halloween Parades every weekend at 1 and 3 p.m. and enjoy a whole variety of pumpkin-themed activities. Starting tomorrow, the Creepy Creatures of Halloween will visit NYBG every weekend. Get to know some of the oddest critters around and learn how they live in the wild. Explore the full program schedule for The Haunted Pumpkin Garden, including upcoming events with Master Carver Ray Villafane and our Spooky Nighttime Adventures! Read on for this weekend’s lineup, including which creepy critters you can expect to see.
Saturday, September 20
Bird Walk – 11 a.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden offer visitors a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with an expert to learn about bird-friendly habitats, migrating species, and birds that make a permanent home at the Garden.
Creepy Creatures of Halloween – 12 & 2 p.m.
Part of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden
At the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions
Some of the animals that make us scream are actually the coolest animals around. Meet some new critters from our big backyard and beyond during this live presentation and discover the unique adaptations that help them survive in their habitats.
A selection of featured creatures (may vary each weekend) includes:
- Native NYBG reptiles (such as our snapping turtles!)
- Dwarf Caiman
- Large Albino Python or Boa Constrictor
- Tegu Lizards
- Small snakes
- Sulcatta Tortoise
- Panther Chameleon
About the presenting organization:
New York Wild! was created to give urban NYC residents more opportunities to experience nature up close. Erik Zeidler, founder of New York Wild!, has a lifelong passion for wildlife and nature, especially reptiles. This is an interest he has been pursuing since he was four years old while growing up in the Bronx, a seemingly unlikely setting for a naturalist. His company brings opportunities to the youth of New York City so that they too can be involved with wildlife. His programs have a profound impact and have changed the way many people feel about snakes and other misunderstood animals.
Aquatic House Tour – 12:30 & 2:30 p.m. (with ASL interpreter at 12:30 p.m.)
Meet at the entrance to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Explore aquatic habitats found within the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, an acre of plants under glass. Take an eco-tour through these distinct biomes, with one of the Garden’s tour guides.
Sunday, September 21
Creepy Creatures of Halloween – 12 & 2 p.m.
Part of The Haunted Pumpkin Garden
At the Clay Family Picnic Pavilions
Some of the animals that make us scream are actually the coolest animals around. Meet some new critters from our big backyard and beyond during this live presentation and discover the unique adaptations that help them survive in their habitats.
A selection of featured creatures (may vary each weekend) includes:
- Native NYBG reptiles (such as our snapping turtles!)
- Dwarf Caiman
- Large Albino Python or Boa Constrictor
- Tegu Lizards
- Small snakes
- Sulcatta Tortoise
- Panther Chameleon
About the presenting organization:
New York Wild! was created to give urban NYC residents more opportunities to experience nature up close. Erik Zeidler, founder of New York Wild!, has a lifelong passion for wildlife and nature, especially reptiles. This is an interest he has been pursuing since he was four years old while growing up in the Bronx, a seemingly unlikely setting for a naturalist. His company brings opportunities to the youth of New York City so that they too can be involved with wildlife. His programs have a profound impact and have changed the way many people feel about snakes and other misunderstood animals.
Native Plant Garden Tour – 12:30
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Join a tour guide for an insider’s view of the newly designed Native Plant Garden. Enjoy a mosaic of nearly 100,000 native trees, wildflowers, ferns and grasses designed to flourish in every season.
Rose Garden Tour – 2:30 p.m.
Meet at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden.
Immerse yourself in the fragrance, color, and beauty of the award-winning Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden on a tour with a Garden Tour Guide. Learn the differences between Heritage and Modern roses and between floribundas and hybrid teas as well as facts about rose history, cultivation, and folklore.
SOLD OUT Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs – 5 p.m.
Tickets are sold out for our two remaining al fresco Family Dinners, presented by MasterCard® Priceless® New York. But don’t despair! Tickets are still available for the Edible Academy Family Picnic with Mario Batali on Sunday, September 28! Chef Mario Batali and his co-host from ABC’s The Chew, Carla Hall, will lead an exclusive family picnic and cooking demonstration, with all proceeds benefiting the Garden’s Edible Academy, hub of the children’s vegetable gardening program. Tickets are going fast for this exclusive special celebration, so get yours now!
Ongoing Children’s Programs
Family Adventures: Focusing on Nature – 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Children will explore the art of garden photography and will even have the opportunity to become garden photographers themselves. Through a series of stops within the Garden, they will see the world through a new lens as they learn how observations in science and nature have been recorded throughout time. They will also receive tips about perspective, scale, and framing when taking photographs.
Dig, Plant, Grow: Pollinator Palls: Bees and Butterflies
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
The Family Garden is buzzing in late summer! Join us to learn about important pollinators: our honeybees and the monarch butterflies passing us by on their way to Mexico.
Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens – 1:30–6 p.m.
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Kids can explore with Mario’s Menu Mystery game, featuring favorite vegetables and herbs from nine of his restaurants’ kitchens, including Otto and Del Posto.
Cooking Demonstrations – 2 & 4 p.m.
At the Whole Foods Market® Family Garden Kitchen
From late spring into early fall, learn to cook up flavorful new recipes using garden-fresh ingredients, twice a day on Wednesdays and weekends in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.
Sponsored by Whole Foods Market and Viking
