{"id":67703,"date":"2022-08-16T01:33:46","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T01:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?post_type=check&p=67703"},"modified":"2022-10-06T14:35:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T14:35:15","slug":"pumpkin-festivals-worth-traveling-to","status":"publish","type":"check","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/check\/pumpkin-festivals-worth-traveling-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Must Do Pumpkin Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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John Reckner didn\u2019t grow up dreaming to one day become \u201clord of the gourd,\u201d but it\u2019s an earned title he doesn\u2019t take lightly. Some three decades ago, Reckner, at the time living in Vermont, laid his eyes on a copy of Yankee Magazine<\/em>. On the cover of the New England-centric publication was a photo of a few dozen pumpkins, all brilliantly aflame for a Green Mountains fall harvest spectacular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Passion For Pumpkins founder and \u201cLord of the Gourd\u201d John Reckner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From just the image alone, Reckner felt a calling to go, and it was an event just as internally luminous for him as those gleaming pumpkins. \u201cAfter I saw them, I was taking my dog for a walk,\u201d Reckner says. \u201cI thought about those pumpkins. I thought about more detailed, intricate images on them and putting them in an attractive landscape setting. And, that was the origin of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u201d is the more aptly described lifelong pursuit Reckner has been on to carve the world\u2019s pumpkins in stunning detail for shows across the United States thanks to Passion For Pumpkins<\/a>, his multimedia production company that’s been transforming landscapes with illuminated designs for 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThirty-four years later, I never thought I\u2019d be doing this,\u201d he says. Now, one of his most widely-known shows is the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, an event held annually at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, which in 2021 attracted a record 170,000 visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a job Reckner doesn\u2019t take lightly, plotting out themes years in advance, creating just the right music playlist, recruiting artists (Reckner has a preference for tattoo artists thanks to their unique skill set), and ensuring he has enough supply on hand for the thousands of pumpkins needed to sustain the event for an entire month. But it\u2019s all in a day’s work for Reckner, because he believes in the deeper power of a seemingly simple fall festival. He believes in its power to bring people just a little joy in an otherwise chaotic world. \u201cWe just try to do our best,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for festivals both near and afar? Check out these five pumpkin festivals around the world that will truly light up your night.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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