Roger Williams Park Zoo - Where Do All Those Pumpkins Go?

The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular ticket* WINNER is: Jenn Nisbet

Congrats! You will be contacted with more information. *tickets are good Monday - Thursday only

The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, presented by Citizens Bank, is back October 5 - November 5, delighting audiences of all ages. This year we will travel through time and visit with dinosaurs, explore the ice age, and peek into the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Rome. Wander the Feinstein Junior Scholar Wetlands Trail and delight in the history of the Middle Ages, discover the New World, and be fascinated by major inventions like cars, planes, space travel, and the computer. Infused throughout will be the art and music associated with each era. Imagine our planet's history reflected on more than 5,000 intricately carved pumpkins.

If you are one thousands that has seen Roger Williams Park Zoo’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular presented by Citizens Bank, you know that each night of the 32-night extravaganza there are over 5,000 illuminated pumpkins along the Zoo’s Wetlands Trail. Did you ever wonder what happens to all those pumpkins when the event is over?

According to David Albaugh, horticulture and buildings and grounds manager at Roger Williams Park Zoo, “once the show is over the pumpkins go to a compost pile at Earth Care Farms in Charlestown, RI. While guests on any given night see 5,000 illuminated pumpkins,” continues Albaugh, “artists carve about 20,000 pumpkins between the first Thursday of October and first Sunday in November. That is a lot of pumpkins, and we do not just throw them in the trash once the Spectacular ends.”

Mike Finizza at Passion for Pumpkins, the multi-media production company that carves and illuminates the pumpkins says, “Pumpkins may last a couple of days depending on the weather. If the weather is cool and dry, a pumpkin may stay fresh for a week. If we endure a damp warm October, the pumpkins do not stay crisp. The goal is to keep the pumpkins always looking fresh. Once we carve the design we want the glow to be perfect so we use a special type of parchment paper that helps with the glow and keeps the rain out; the great thing is its 100% compostable.”

Albaugh also explains that while many of the Zoo’s animals love a pumpkin treat, staff cannot feed pumpkins treated with any kind of chemical or parchment paper to the animals. “The folks at Passion for Pumpkins do give us pumpkins that are whole and fresh for the animals.” Often guests will see the animals enjoying those special yummy fall treats during the Spooky Zoo event the last weekend in October.

Year-round, the Zoo strives to keep the environment clean. Every day guests encounter opportunities to recycle plastics, paper, and other articles. Drinks served in plastic cups do not come with plastic covers or straws, and we do not offer plastic shopping bags in the gift shops all to reduce the amount of plastic in landfills, and keep out of the environment where wildlife may ingest the plastics and die.

We know that many of you are also striving to participate in activities at home to help our environment. We want to hear from you. Tell us what you do at home to be "green!" Post to our Facebook page and share your great ideas with all our fans, too! For more information on Roger Williams Park Zoo and Carousel Village, please visit rwpzoo.org.

Roger Williams Park Zoo, one of the oldest in the nation, is Rhode Island’s number one outdoor family and tourist attraction and is a leader in conservation efforts undertaken by a zoo of its size. The Zoo has received numerous awards for environmental education, and conservation work done locally and around the world, caring for species that without human intervention would face certain extinction. Roger Williams Park Zoo is supported and managed by the Rhode Island Zoological Society and is owned by the City of Providence.

*To be eligible to win the tickets you MUST be a Macaroni Kid Providence/Northern RI subscriber. If you are not you can go here to subscribe for our free weekly newsletter. It only takes a minute! By entering this giveaway, you are agreeing to subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter.

For your first entry: Email us (heatherw@macaronikid.com) with "Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular - Providence" in the subject line and tell us who you would like to bring to see the Jack-O-Lanterns.

For an extra entry: Post the following on your Facebook status. Make sure you send us a second email (heatherw@macaronikid.com) letting me know you did it - subject line should say "Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular - Providence Facebook"!

Win 6 tickets to the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo from Macaroni Kid Providence/Northern RI! Visit the website for more details: http://www.providence.macaronikid.com/.

You can get a total of TWO entries in this giveaway! The only mandatory entry is the first one. The Facebook post is extra and gives you a better chance of winning. This giveaway will close on Wednesday, October 11th at 9pm and the winner will be contacted on October 12th, 2017.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. DO NOT ENTER THIS SWEEPSTAKES IF YOU ARE NOT EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 AND A LEGAL RESIDENT OF AND CURRENTLY RESIDING IN ONE OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Click HERE for complete rules.

Roger Williams Park Zoo - Where Do All Those Pumpkins Go?

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