Last year’s best new event in Ontario, is even bigger and better this year.
October 10 area media and dignitaries were led through the 2013 Pumpkinferno display at Upper Canada Village, to see the bigger and better display.
In its sophomore year, even before the display welcomed its first visitors for the 2013 season, officials already knew that what they had to offer was an improvement over their first year event, which was hugely successful, attracting over 35,000 visitors.
“The display is 25 to 30 per cent bigger,” said St. Lawrence Parks Commission CEO Darren Dalgleish. He explained that not only are there more carvings on display, the display is spread out over a larger area of the village.
The layout of the display had been changed, alleviating many of the congestion issues seen last year.
“This is a unique one of a kind event in Canada. And, the success of last year’s event suggests that this is something that people haven’t seen before,” said Dalgleish.
He is exceptionally proud of Pumpkinferno, which has won many awards, and broken all St. Lawrence Parks Commission attendance records. He takes a great deal of pride in the estimated $4 million economic impact this event has had on the area.
“Re-establishing Eastern Ontario as a tourist destination involves more than just the St. Lawrence Parks,” said Dalgleish. “Being connected to our community is an important priority for us.”
Geoff Waycik, Upper Canada Village General Manager, after just the opening weekend was pleased with attendance, saying that this year’s opening weekend was already larger than last year’s opening weekend.
Waycik spoke about the impact of Pumpkinferno locally last year, with Tim Hortons running out of coffee cups and the local McDonalds this year getting special permission for additional staffing.
“Pumpkinferno’s impact has definitely been felt locally, and we’re very proud of that fact,” said Waycik.
The walking paths are wider to allow people to take more time to enjoy the 7,000 carvings.
They have worked to improve the entry process, but with the event’s growing popularity they are strongly recommending that visitors purchase their tickets online to speed the process.
The House of Horoscopes display (pictured right) is a great unique addition to the display that provides a unique star-gazing opportunity.
The young artist’s pumpkin patch features carvings by area school children. This year 800 young artist participated, which doubles the number involved in the program last year.
Pumpkinferno runs select nights October 4 to November 2.
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