EWING, Va. — Pumpkins in the Park has enjoyed tremendous success as a premier event at Wilderness Road State Park. Based on that success, the park is expanding the event, now in its eighth year, to three nights of fun and fright. A special Kids Night kicks off the festivities on October 27, followed by two nights of the wildly popular Haunted Trail Hayride on Friday and Saturday.
The Haunted Trail Hayride is a 30-minute, spine-tingling journey along a wooded trail that features spooky scenes, amazing props, and scares behind just about every tree. This setting is sure to illicit a scream or two.
“It amazes us here at the park just how popular the Haunted Trail Hayride really is,” stated Brindle. “We have people asking us year ‘round about it and what is going to be featured on it. We’ve added new scenes, some of which are back by popular demand based on our survey of those that experienced the ride last year. Our area is rich in history, and some of that history is on the dark side, with sad and even sometimes scary aspects. We want to tap into this local folklore and better immerse the riders into each scene.”
The park will again run an extra tractor and wagon like they did last year which greatly reduced the hayride’s wait time. The Haunted Trail Hayride lines open at 6 p.m. each night (Friday and Saturday) and everyone in line by 10 p.m. gets to enjoy the ride. Wet Willie will entertain the crowd as they wait to board the hayride. And you can bet ol’ Wet Willie will have some stories to tell.
The Haunted Trail Hayride will be featured on Friday and Saturday nights with admission still just $10 per vehicle.
“In the past, we have always had the kids’ activities on Saturday night, the same time as the hayride, but this year, we wanted to put more focus on the kids, to provide them with a better experience, so we are giving them their very own night of Pumpkins in the Park,” explained event coordinator Mike Brindle. “This will allow the park to offer more activities than we have in the past, such as storytelling and Halloween themed games.”
Kids Night will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Karlan Mansion lawn and will be highlighted by the community based Trunk-or-Treat. This fun night for kids will include costume contests, face painting, pumpkin painting, storytelling, music, games and more. Please note, there will be no Haunted Hayrides this night, just the activities mentioned above.
Those wishing to participate in the costume contests should meet at the stage area at the Karlan Mansion by 5:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the costume contests in three categories, ages infant-3 years, ages 4-7 and ages 8-12. The winner of each contest will receive a $25 Walmart gift card, while second place will receive a $10 gift card.
Storytelling will close out the night with fun tales performed by Wet Willie the Pirate from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Admission to this night of fun is just $2 per vehicle.
To help meet the demand of costume-clad candy seeking children, the park is encouraging area churches, businesses, organizations and families to come out and participate in order to make it a true community event.
“We are always pleased with the turnout for kids’ night,” stated Brindle. “But to provide the area children with a fun and safe holiday experience, we need more groups here handing out candy to give them the best Halloween possible. This is an opportunity for the community to come together and show their pride while making sure the children have a fun time. This will make it a true community driven event”
Participants (trunkers) park on the Karlan Mansion lawn to distribute candy from the trunks of their vehicle. Each trunker is encouraged, but not required, to dress up, decorate their vehicle and create signs recognizing their church, group, business or family. As an added incentive, the park will award a prize to the best overall display by a trunker.
Refreshments will be available both nights, along with the always popular Pumpkins in the Park collector’s T-shirt which is on sale now. This year’s version features a pumpkin faced scarecrow on the front and a highlight of the Haunted Trail scenes on the back. The shirts are just $12 each, in sizes youth extra small through adult 2XL.
This event is sponsored by Friends of Wilderness Road State Park. For more information, or to find out how your church, group, business or family can help make this event a success, please call the park at 276-445-3065, via email: wildernessroad@dcr.virginia.gov or by visiting the Friends of Wilderness Road State Park’s website: www.friendsofwildernessroad.org.
The award-winning Virginia State Parks are managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. For more information about Virginia State Parks’ activities and amenities or to make reservations in one of the more than 1,800 campsites or 300 climate-controlled cabins, call the Virginia State Parks Reservation Center at 800-933-PARK or visit www.virginiastateparks.gov.
