Days of Pumpkins Past- Last Years Blaze Review

     What a great time we had in Historic Hudson Valley this past Columbus Day weekend!  We arrived on Saturday and enjoyed lunch and a dip in the pool, and prepared ourselves for the night ahead. True to form the Great Pumpkin Blaze was very well organized. We arrived for the 7:30 showing and the parking attendants led us to a spot. We walked through the awesome pumpkin arches and into the tent where we stood in a line that went super fast up to the gates of the BLAZE. That is where they scan your tickets and the tour begins!

    As you walk up the winding path, with mouth open wide letting all the flies in because holy WOW the pumpkins are laid out everywhere!  Funny faces, scary faces, anything you can think of spread across the whole lawn as you make your way over to the house itself all lit up. There was a whole new set up and new additions from last year when we went so it was fresh and new to our eyes. We passed pumpkin tombstones, pumpkin bats hanging from the trees, there was a ghostly bonfire in front of the historic house, and as you waited to go down the path by the house (that is a bit narrow) the pumpkins on the house had timed lighting to the blaze original sound track. Really great. After the bottle neck walkway you encounter a museum of dinosaur bones which was my son’s favorite part hands down. To be perfectly honest every

  Every year I say the same thing, and I stand by it. For fun filled fall and Halloween events for the whole family Historic Hudson Valley is the place to be. This year the season starts off on Sept 30th and we cannot wait to get our butts over there! Read all about what they have going on this season!



*The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze®, the Hudson Valley’s biggest all-ages Halloween extravaganza, will continue for a record 32 selected evenings through Nov. 13.
   Read our review from last years event. Spoiler alert- it was great! 

     The walk-through experience lights up the wooded pathways, orchards, and gardens of historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., where a small team of artists hand-carves more than 7,000 jacks and elaborate pumpkin sculptures. This year visitors will delight in Blaze favorites, such as eight-foot-tall working jack-o’lanterns-in-the-box and life-size dinosaurs, and be dazzled by more pumpkin power than ever before! New additions include a plus-sized color-changing star show at the Pumpkin Planetarium, a Pumpkin Promenade, and an 80-foot-long Pumpkin Zee Bridge — complete with a sea serpent swimming in the Croton River.

Read our review 

*Horseman’s Hollow takes Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to its most terrifying extremes. Visitors will walk a haunted trail where creatures lurk in the shadows, ready to strike fear into the hearts of those who dare to wander. Professional actors, award-winning feature-film makeup artists, and state-of-the-art special effects make the Horseman’s Hollow experience all too real. This 14-night, interactive haunted attraction at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Historic Hudson Valley Presents: Lightscapes! Our Review

                         Historic Hudson Valley Presents: Lightscapes!    

       Historic Hudson Valley is known throughout the state for hosting spectacular events all year round.   For the last two years they have started a new tradition, similar to their infamous The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze that is hosted every fall.

Brighter than ever, LIGHTSCAPES opens April 29 in Croton

Brighter than ever, LIGHTSCAPES opens April 29 in Croton

                     Expanded by popular demand to 20 nights; ideal for all ages

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY (April 5, 2016) — Enormous ‘’Live’’ Luna Moths, a 40-foot-long centipede, and a pulsating River of Light are some of the new artistic elements visitors will encounter when LIGHTSCAPES returns for its third year to historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

     From the creators of The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, this otherworldly experience of awe-inspiring illumination and all-original sculpture opens April 29 and runs for 20 evenings, Thursday through Sunday, plus Memorial Day: April 29-30, May 1, 5-8, 12-15, 19-22, 26-30. The first entry is 8:15pm (8:30pm the final three weekends) and the last entry is 9:30.

     Ideal for all ages, LIGHTSCAPES is a walk-through, land-art experience. Visitors enter through a pulsating-light Bubble Tunnel and emerge into a world of wonder spread throughout a historic landscape.

    

  Sleepy Hollow is a place filled with beautiful sites that welcomes great people with even greater food.  Unfortunately, when you visit Horseman's Hollow you may end up on the wrong side of the dinner plate.  In this picturesque historical town there lies a house of horrors and all are warned-- but welcomed to attend.   

 

Historic Hudson Valley's Great Pumpkin BLAZE Review!

     What a great time we had in Historic Hudson Valley this past Columbus Day weekend!  We arrived on Saturday and enjoyed lunch and a dip in the pool, and prepared ourselves for the night ahead. True to form the Great Pumpkin Blaze was very well organized. We arrived for the 7:30 showing and the parking attendants led us to a spot. We walked through the awesome pumpkin arches and into the tent where we stood in a line that went super fast up to the gates of the BLAZE. That is where they scan your tickets and the tour begins!

    As you walk up the winding path, with mouth open wide letting all the flies in because holy WOW the pumpkins are laid out everywhere!  Funny faces, scary faces, anything you can think of spread across the whole lawn as you make your way over to the house itself all lit up. There was a whole new set up and new additions from last year when we went so it was fresh and new to our eyes. We passed pumpkin tombstones, pumpkin bats hanging from the trees, there was a ghostly bonfire in front of the historic house, and as you waited to go down the path by the house (that is a bit narrow) the pumpkins on the house had timed lighting to the blaze original sound track. Really great. After the bottle neck walkway you encounter a museum of dinosaur bones which was my son’s favorite part hands down. To be perfectly honest every

Horseman Hollow Coming Soon To the Historic Hudson Valley!

    

  Sleepy Hollow is a place filled with beautiful sites that welcomes great people with even greater food.  Unfortunately, when you visit Horseman's Hollow you may end up on the wrong side of the dinner plate.  In this picturesque historical town there lies a house of horrors and all are warned-- but welcomed to attend.   

   

      This yearly endeavor attracts thousands of scare lovers and thrill seekers into attendance and there's good reason for that- you may just poop your pants.  Start off wandering through a corn maze that will have you on edge of the cob the entire time- random acts of The Terrifying will attack you as the undead pop out and scare you to your final destination. No, it is not a sanctuary, but a terrifying house filled with the ungodly creatures of hell! (Dun dun dunnn).  

     Three cackling and Shakespearian-like witches cast spells over a  rambunctious feline once you enter, setting the mood for this terror filled trip.  You pass a haunted school room, a cannibal enjoying a midnight snack, and other ghastly scenes. But what was truly remarkable were the statuesque creatures that were expertly painted to blend into the walls or simply  act as innocent busts of angelic figures. With these terrifying yet beautiful works of art hiding around every corner you never really knew if you were alone or if that harmless statue was going to jump out at any moment.

 

       Movie-like makeup and costumes along with the ominous soundtrack transport you to a horror movie rather then just a visit to upstate New York, and I would absolutely come back again next year- maybe wearing a diaper!

    Tonight is the last night to attend for the year- do not let the rain stop you! 

http://www.hudsonvalley.org/events/horsemans-hollow

  Thank you to Historic Hudson Valley for letting us visit- this is not intended for the pregnant, the weak of heart, or children. No animals were harmed. 

Submitted by Peter T.

LIGHTSCAPES Come Back To Historic Hudson Valley!

     CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY (April 20, 2015) — LIGHTSCAPES, an immersive, family friendly walk-through experience featuring sculpture, light, music, and special effects, returns for its second year to historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.