1. So what’s this Blaze business all about?
The Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze is a Halloween spectacle integrating thousands of hand-carved jack o'lanterns — everything from your standard carved pumpkin to extremely elaborate abstract designs — lit up throughout the landscape of Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., in various arrangements — thematic, conceptual, and otherwise. This event pays tribute and homage to Halloween, and the home of the American heritage of Halloween: Sleepy Hollow Country.

2. And what’s that got to do with Van Cortlandt Manor?
Blaze’s creative director, Michael Natiello, said the true inspiration for Blaze is the landscape of Van Cortlandt Manor itself. The event is really a land art installation informed by artists such as Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Donald Judd, and Andy Goldsworthy. Various arrangements and placements of jack o'lanterns are meant to complement and draw attention to the site’s architecture, history, and landscape.

3. Blaze: been there, done that. Why go again?
For starters, how about to experience an homage to the vision of the Great Paleozoic Museum, originally planned for Central Park but never brought to fruition? Yes, Blaze 2007 will have dinosaurs. Big, big dinosaurs made out of pumpkins, featuring the classic clash between T-rex and Stegosaurus as well as some other (smaller) dinosaurs, flora, and fauna. The scale of the creations will be close to life-size and created entirely out of jack o’ lanterns. The installation will depict their exact skeletal structure.

4. OK, forgive me for asking that question. When can I see Blaze this year?
Blaze takes place on 19 evenings in October: Friday through Sunday, Oct. 5-7 (Columbus Day weekend); Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 11-14; Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 18-21; and Wednesday through Wednesday, Oct. 24-31. The first reservation is 6:30 p.m. each evening.

5. My vlog is taking up all my free time. Too bad I can’t come film the Blaze. Or can I? Can I win a prize, a really major prize, for doing so?
Yes and yes! New this year, Historic Hudson Valley is hosting the Blaze YouTube Video Contest. The winning video will be no longer than three minutes in length and will best capture the creativity and excitement of The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze experience. To shoot your video, leave your tripod at home and attend Blaze on October 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, or 14. The video should be uploaded to YouTube by Wednesday, October 17, at 6pm. The winner will be announced at the event on-air on Thursday, October 18, on WHUD, The Peak, and K104.7. click here for full details.

6. I’m close to speechless. What would I win?
A 40-inch, flat-screen, plasma television, a DVD player, and a collection of DVDs of classic Halloween movies, all provided by K104.7 RADIO.

7. Now I am speechless and my Blaze appetite is insatiable. I need a fix. How do I keep up with the ongoing preparations and get up to the minute news?
Why, by visiting the BlazeBlog of course.

8. Back to the basics. How many pumpkins go under the knife for this event?
You’ll find more than 4,000 hand-carved pumpkins, a combination of real and artificial ones, lit up throughout the landscape.

9. My time is money. How long does it take to see all of Blaze?
Approximately 45 minutes.

10. I hear Blaze has “themed” areas. Is one the Love Boat theme?
Some of the themed areas include a giant aquarium, featuring carvings of fish and other oceanic life, a ghostly “outer space” gallery, a circus arena with clown carvings, Dracula coffins, tombstones with half Jacks, a skeleton graveyard, a spider web, African masks, and more.

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