The winding trail wraps itself around the entire park while a myriad of jack-o’-lanterns glow eerily throughout the path.
The orange hue lights up the path, guiding the attendees through the trail’s many twists and turns.
Every year, hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns decorate the streets of McConnell Springs Park where families are invited to welcome the upcoming Halloween holiday.
Lexington Parks and Recreation organized the event, which was held from Oct. 24 – 27 this year.
Paul Hooper, the information office supervisor for Lexington Parks and Recreation, said the jack-o’-lantern trail began in 2020 as a way for families to safely celebrate Halloween during the pandemic.
The three lines of eager yet stressed adults attempt to wrangle their hyper children as they run through the entrance, smiles plastered on their youthful faces.
The moment you enter McConnell Springs Park pumpkins grasp the eyes of the event’s attendees, and children burst away from their parents down the path.
The jack-o’-lantern trail is covered by 800 unique pumpkins, Hooper said. To generate the amount of pumpkins needed, Lexington Parks and Recreation provides several opportunities to carve pumpkins cost and mess-free before the event.
Understanding that many do not have the means or tools to afford a pumpkin or want to avoid the cleanup, Lexington Parks and Recreation now offers events like this, where families can come and carve their pumpkins with everything provided for them.
“The big difference with ours is that it’s all pumpkins donated by the community. We have families, we’ll have businesses, we’ll have just individuals carve pumpkins and drop it off,” Hooper said.
Not only does the jack-o’-lantern trail draw a crowd to this event, but an owl and a plethora of food trucks are among its most distinctive features.
“We have someone here with live owls … there’s also food trucks and drink vendors in the parking lot that people can enjoy, and once they get in, they will follow the pumpkin trail around,” Hooper said.
Before entering McConnell Springs Park, the sweet smell of donuts, ice cream and kettle corn wafts through the air as piles of customers line up outside their windows and sit together at picnic tables.
As the darkness overtook the path, a guitar melody encompassed bystanders’ ears; Jim Olive sat on a bench hidden off the path, playing for the families as they walked throughout the park.
Olive, a retired musical entertainer and UK alumni, brings his guitar to Lexington Parks and Recreation events to share his music with the world.
“I wanted to share my music with the public in this setting to help parks and rec with the ambiance of the place,” Olive said.
The event is targeted to get people out into the park and to enjoy nature, as well as generate a community, Hooper said.
In the midst of the many families was the Lipscomb family. The mother, Crystal, and her twin daughters Riley and Ryan, spent their Thursday night together on the path as they bonded and rejoiced in their time together, Crystal Lipscomb said.
“The loop was awesome. We saw so many pumpkins, and there was a Pikachu pumpkin. That was my favorite pumpkin,” Ryan said
This event may be targeted for families, but it allows parents to bond with one another while their children are captivated by the trail. This is the case for mothers Alisa Brown and Erika Abe.
“I was really impressed with some of the pumpkin carvings, how they did three dimension … it looked like a window,” Brown, client delivery manager for SAP and UK alumni, said.
The trail was full of various pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and styles of carving, from typical scary faces to houses and windows.
Several pumpkins showed their carvers name, or small designs, however, there were a mere few that stood out amongst the rest.
Shining in a small alcove, laid an intricate pumpkin, carved with extreme detail, the pumpkin displayed the outside of a house, however, taking a closer look, the pumpkins inside displayed an entire living room.
Children pose for photos with the pumpkin they craftily carved, pumpkins stacked upon one another in the shape of zombies and clowns, the same height as their makers.
The intricate pumpkins along the trail are not the only view on the trail, nature plays a huge part in drawing in the community as well.
“The nature was so beautiful. So just being out and enjoying the weather, crisp cool air and the fall leaves is very scenic,” Abe, former FOX news anchor and Harvard alum, said.
Hidden behind an industrial area of Lexington, McConnell Springs Park stands out from its surroundings, a natural sanctuary amongst a handful of physical labor industries.
The natural aspects of McConnell Springs Park include towering trees, handmade bridges and small rivers cascading under people’s feet.
“It (McConnell Springs Park) is somewhat of an industrial area of town, but once you come here, you’re surrounded by all the greenery, it’s really this amazing space that’s really lovely for people to come and walk,” Hooper said.
The public park is filled to the brim with a variety of plants and wildlife that chirps in your ear or echoing springs that can be heard throughout the whole park.
Lexington Parks and Recreation uses different parks throughout the city as hosts to a plethora of events throughout the year, such as the thriller parade and Halloween festival. They use these events as a way to get people into the parks and learn about all they have to offer, Hooper said.
“One of the really unique things is we’re able to use this beautiful park that we have, then put on this fun event that kind of brings the community out,” Hopper said.
In order to put on events such as these, Lexington Parks and Recreation has a marketing, organizational and maintenance team who collaborate with the team at McConnell Springs Park in order to bring the events to life, Hooper said.
“We had a lot of people show up and carve their pumpkin here, leave the pumpkin and then we put it out on the trail and put lights in it. So really, all people have to do is drop them off here, and then we kind of do all the rest for them,” Hooper said.
All the hard work and months of preparation are forgotten the moment the gates open for the event’s first night; seeing the excited families makes it all worth it for the employees, Hooper said.
Children run and scream with delight as they point to their favorite pumpkins then they arrive at the smores station, where they hold a stick with toasted marshmallow oozing from the end and getting caught between two graham crackers like a warm hug.
“We have a night like tonight where we see hundreds of people show up that just have huge smiles on their faces, and the kids are just so excited to see it. So, it makes it all worth it,” Hooper said.
