Each year, Terror Dave Albaugh’s Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island, puts on their premiere Halloween fundraiser ala’ Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular! I first saw this event two years ago and would go on to cover it both on this site (along with my Brookfield Zoo’s Creatures of the Night that year HERE) as well as in an issue of Scary Monsters Magazine. I would return the following year and find myself equally mesmerized.

Visitors return to the zoo at night to walk a trail laced with an assortment of carved pumpkins; your (pardon the pun) garden variety along with some that are so detailed you have to remind yourself that they were once pumpkins.  Amid these amazing sights is fun music (often tailored to match the scene of whatever group of pumpkins you’re perusing) along with Fall treats like pumpkin beer & cotton candy.

Sadly, this year I’ll be missing out as I had a zoo-related trip to North Carolina with my AAZK (American Association of Zoo Keepers) chapter in September with the Terror Daves agreeing to meet up again in March.  It was a tough decision as I’d gone to New England the last three years and really enjoy that region this time of year with this event as the highlight.  Still, with David’s affiliation to Roger Williams Park I’m still able to at least feel like I’m there courtesy of photos (many of which I shall now share with you) sent to me almost daily. I should also note that another advantage of him being there all the time is that I get of all the new additions. These pumpkins ain’t plastic, folks, and aren’t going to survive the duration of the event,  What makes this event so neat is that they often replace those specimens with entirely new designs making frequent trips worth the effort. And so, let’s check out the first set of photos…

What’s particularly neat about Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular is that it incorporates cutesy/family friendly creations with more terrifying ones. They always have a theme and this year it was “America” (gee, I wonder if they did a government shut-down pumpkin?).

They also feature pumpkins that pay homage to those that have died this past year…

Of course my favorites are those that feature the scarier aspect of Halloween…

Coming up…more great pumpkins from Roger Williams Park Zoo’s “Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular” including a Zombie Zoo!!!

Dave Fuentes

Photos David Albaugh