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Halloween just got a lot brighter with the GLOW! More than 5,000 hand carved illuminated pumpkins line the 1/3 mile Jack’s Lane. There are individual carved pumpkins and groups of pumpkins carved to create iconic figures, landscapes or larger than life structures.
After getting through security the path winds toward’s the beginning of Jack’s Lane where you enter an underwater wonderland. My children were amazed by the details, shouting out all the different animals they could find.
We followed the screams to the castle. “Moana!!”, “Maui!”, “Rapunzel!”, “the Little MERMAID!” the children screamed! The windows of the Disney Castle were filled with popular characters. The screams of joy seemed contagious and I found myself yelling right along with my little ones.
The Jurassic world that followed was one of our favorites! The dinosaurs were substantial and the tree fern was a work of art.
The GLOW paid a beautiful tribute to Tom Petty. I appreciated what must have been a last minute addition.
We passed Candyland, the Carnival, Dog Portraits and the Day of the Dead inspired landscapes. The Day of the Dead was expansive with flowers, decorated skulls and skeletons riding motorcycles. The lighting also allowed my littles to see how the pumpkins were combined to make the motorcycles.
The portraits were show stoppers! The details on faces and hair were amazing! One of the carvers, Tony, gave us the inside scoop. The portrait pumpkins were made from styrofoam pumpkins using dremel tools to achieve the fine detail.
My little ones loved the Anna and Elsa pumpkin and freaked out at the snowing Winter Wonderland! The snow machine was magical and the painted white pumpkins that looked like melting snowmen were hilarious!
Sports heroes led to an illuminated garden complete with carved mushrooms, flowers and bees.
We followed the Dragons to the ‘Pumpkin Patch’ where carvers Tony and Matthew were showing off their craftsmanship and allowing amateurs to try their hand. The ‘Pumpkin Patch’ is a hill filled with jack o’ lanterns complete with four talking, joke-telling pumpkins! The talking pumpkins were created with a custom projection and programed lights that gave the impression the crowd of pumpkins were laughing at their jokes. My littles really enjoyed this area and would have stayed longer watching the ‘Pumpkin Patch’ performance and exploring the pumpkin carving demonstrations. Taking time to appreciate the art and to understand the engineering and technology added STEAM value to this fun family event!
So if you’re like me, you might be thinking you’ve got the gist and now there is no reason to go yourself. WRONG! The GLOW is an experience! It is a STEAM-tasic autumn adventure sure to have the whole family screaming with delight! The GLOW DC will be lighting up Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA until October 29, 2017. Make sure you get the Adventure Moms DC promo code before you buy your tickets!
Know Before You Go:
- Don’t pay full price for tickets! Get the Adventure Moms DC promo code!
- Get there early! It is busy and even though the parking is well directed, it can take a few extra minutes. The walk from the parking lot to the entrance can take a few minutes too.
- There is limited food available and picnic tables at the entrance (burgers, hotdogs, fries, onion rings, soda, water & snow cones).
- There are glow in the dark items available for purchase at the entrance.
- There are bathrooms available at the beginning and end of Jack’s Lane
- Parts of the pathway are gravel so plan ahead with strollers and/or wheelchairs. We recommend inflated tires or a jogging stroller.
- The GLOW allows 30 minutes in between groups, but it can take longer with kids, we took over an hour.
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