Last year around this time I attended Roger Williams Park Zoo’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular which celebrated musical artists. This year’s theme was television, paying tribute to 75 years of broadcast entertainment. Being the serious couch potato that I am, and appreciating vintage television as I do, I decided to actually get off the couch, head down to Rhode Island, and see what was on the Zoo’s boob tube.
Like last year, the professionally hand-carved pumpkins by Passion for Pumpkins of Oxford, MA were intricate and exquisite. The 5,000 illuminated pumpkins were sensory overload for my eyes. In the background, soundtracks to various television shows enhanced the effect.
The pumpkin displays were grouped by decade starting from the 1950’s through the 2000’s. As with last year’s musical theme, there were glaring (my opinion) omissions. No Simpsons pumpkin (yet there was a Futurama pumpkin!), no Friends, and no Brady Bunch pumpkin. Pumpkin blasphemy!
Interestingly, Elvis was overtly MIA in last year’s display despite being a major musical icon, yet he was represented in this year’s television theme with an Aloha from Hawaii-carved pumpkin.
Then there were the noggin-scratching pumpkins like the Benny Hill pumpkin. Benny Hill? Really? The Benny Hill Show wasn’t even a US television show! The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Bob Newhart Show, The Odd Couple, or Sanford and Son would’ve made more sense.
I’m a big fan of vintage so I especially appreciated The Twilight Zone, The Honeymooners, Bewitched, I Love Lucy, MASH, The Jeffersons, Cheers, Good Times, All In The Family, Batman, Star Trek, Mr. Ed, and The Golden Girls pumpkins (there was also a pumpkin dedicated exclusively to Betty White). There was even a Max Headroom pumpkin.
“…the professionally hand-carved pumpkins by Passion for Pumpkins of Oxford, MA were intricate and exquisite.”
Game shows and public television were also represented like the classy Jeopardy pumpkin and one each for Mr. Rogers and happy little tree painter, Bob Ross. However, I don’t remember seeing one for Wheel of Fortune or Sesame Street.
Not surprisingly, the show with the most carved pumpkins was a show about nothing- Seinfeld. There was one each for Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer, and all very nicely done.
Television wouldn’t be television without commercials. I think it would have been fun if the display had sprinkled in some classic television commercial pumpkins like Coke, Life Cereal, Oscar Mayer Wiener, Alka Seltzer, and StarKist Tuna to name just a few.
I also wouldn’t have minded seeing a couple of “news pumpkins” like one for Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow, or perhaps even Mike Wallace.
If you’re in R.I. or planning a trip this month, The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence continues through the end of October. Tickets can only be purchased on line. For the more adventurous, there’s a zip line ride and illuminated swan boat rides. I’ve included a link to their site below as well as a link to my Instagram page so you can see more of my prodigious pumpkin pics. Happy Halloween.
Trivia: During the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular’s run, Passion for Pumpkins will go through 20,000 pumpkins to keep the displays looking fresh.
Links:
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