
Erik Tormoen
More than 5,000 pumpkins jostle in the trees, side-eye each other, and exhale so much LED light: It’s the Minnesota Zoo’s second annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, open through November 3.
They flank a looped trail that takes 40-50 minutes to complete—classic jack-o’-lanterns crowding pedestalled objets d’art, with tarantulas, Disney characters, and fantasy scapes scraped into the flesh of prize-winning 200-pounders (not including the “Atlantic Giants,” which roll in from rural Minnesota and Wisconsin, weighing up to 2,000 pounds).
The ground-to-treetops spectacle resembles an orange-tinted bioluminescent forest. It opened for audiences October 1 courtesy of the country’s top-tier pumpkin carvers, as organized by the Massachusetts-based Passion for Pumpkins, Inc., which holds similar events in Rhode Island and Kentucky. In place of last year’s trip-through-time theme: an around-the-world jaunt, visiting Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Here, peruse a few of our favorites. If you’re convinced, see if online-only tickets are available—because they’re going fast. And if you go, one rule for photographers to remember: Turn off your flash!

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen

Erik Tormoen