Funny Pumpkin Faces Jack Pumkin King
On a dimly lit path tucked away in the Santa Monica Mountains, thousands of jack-o'-lanterns can be seen glowing in the distance. Creepy music, wolf howls and witch cackles can be heard mixed in with the chirping crickets as you stroll along surrounded by shadows cast by the flickering grins of carved pumpkins.
King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas has been completely transformed for Halloween as the immersive Nights of the Jack Experience, which returns this haunting season. The event runs select evenings through Oct. 31 and has been expanded to include a trail that spans two-thirds of a mile and is wide enough for guests to social distance and take in some of the more elaborate displays.
Last year, the event was reimagined as a drive-thru experience, but co-creator Bobby Rossi said he's happy to see it return as an interactive and communal gathering for its fourth year in the sprawling outdoor space.
"It's the way we intended it to be experienced," he during an interview on the opening day of the event, Friday, Oct. 1. "We're excited to have people out here experiencing it again with all five senses and being able to engage in the food trucks and bars, check out the master carver or see the psychic."
Rossi and his partners, Tony Schubert and Ben Biscotti, all work in the television production and entertainment event industry and wanted to come together to create an experience that wasn't a daytime pumpkin patch but also wasn't a nighttime haunted house. They wanted something that was both fun and family-friendly.
"All of us love Halloween," Biscotti said. "We have a great team of creatives and industry veterans, so we thought we could really create something special."
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Nights of the Jack is open from 6-10 p.m. and tickets must be pre-purchased online to allow for staggered attendance. Time slots are made available every half hour from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Guests enter and exit into a spacious area lined with about a dozen local food trucks, well-spaced picnic tables, and a bar for those 21 and older. There's also a gift shop, oversized wooden Halloween cutouts and a psychic. There are bales of hay for photo ops and patrons can watch a master pumpkin carver sculpt live on site.
#NightsoftheJack is back at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas thru Halloween night. pic.twitter.com/1BUkP8i0Aq
— kelliskye (@kelliskye) October 4, 2021
What about the pumpkins? We asked an expert.
"My favorite one is the one I haven't done yet," Roberto Velasco said as he shaved away at a gourd that was beginning to take the shape of a demon. While Nights of the Jack uses thousands of plastic pumpkins that dozens of artists work on to create preserved displays, there are about a hundred real pumpkins throughout the event. Though they're beautiful works of art, Velasco said they only last about five days before rot sets in.
There are huge pumpkins lining a bridge that include familiar faces like Elsa from "Frozen," Pennywise from "IT" and Freddy Krueger from "A Nightmare on Elm Street." There was even a little love for the Los Angeles Dodgers too, as the team logo was carefully carved into pumpkin flesh in hopes that the team's post-season hopes would remain…undead.
"The Rams asked for their mascot in a skull and it had the horns on it," Velaso said of one challenging design. "I didn't know how it was going to come out, but then it came out awesome. The team came and saw it and they loved it and took pictures with it."
Though he loves the work, Velasco said he's grateful that the pumpkin carving is a seasonal thing.
"After October, I get pretty sick of pumpkins to be honest with you," he said with a laugh.
Along the trail, there are several themed scenes including SpongeBob Squarepants, Disney Princesses, dinosaurs, aliens, the solar system, Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood sign, and Hollywood Walk of Fame pumpkin displays. There are thousands of twinkling lights and tunnels with music and holiday-themed animation. There are celebrities and sports figures carved into pumpkins and even an homage to celebrity couples, which Rossi admitted sadly they've had to remove a few from the current installment.
"Yeah, some couples didn't make it," he said with a sigh. This year's new couple etched into a pumpkin are Calabasas residents, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian.
At the halfway point in the experience, guests can duck into the Spookeasy Bar, which is fully stocked with booze, beer, seltzers, water, soda and hot apple cider. They also have $15 signature cocktails including the Pumpkin Mule (vodka, pumpkin puree, lime juice and ginger beer) and the Black magic Margarita (silver tequila, black cherry puree, sour mix, lime juice, black sea salt rim).
Nights of the Jack
When: 6-10 p.m. select evenings through Sunday, Oct. 31
Where: King Gillette Ranch, 26800 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas (enter at Wickland Road and Mulholland Highway)
Tickets: $34.99-39.99 general admission; $59.99 VIP admission; children ages 2 and younger are admitted free. Parking is $9.99. Advance ticket purchase is required at nightsofthejack.com.
Source: https://www.dailynews.com/2021/10/06/inside-the-halloween-themed-nights-of-the-jack-and-its-thousands-of-carved-pumpkins-in-calabasas
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