11. Now my Halloween appetite is insatiable, and I’m multi-social-media-tasking as we speak. Can I tweet/Facebook/Flickr/YouTube with you?
Yes. Microblog with us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HHValley
Become a fan of Blaze on Facebook here.
Check out our Flickr page here.
Check out the HVBlog here.
Check out our YouTube page here.

12. Back to the basics. How many pumpkins go under the knife for this event?
You’ll find more than 4,000 hand-carved jack o’lanterns lit up throughout the landscape.

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

14. I hear Blaze has “themed” areas. Is one the Brady Bunch theme?
Themed areas include the Jurassic Park, featuring dinosaurs; the Undersea Aquarium, featuring carvings of fish and other oceanic life; Pirates Cove; Pumpkinhenge; Buzzing Beehive, and many more.

15. When I’m viewing thousands of jack o’lanterns in one space, ambience is key. How will you satisfy that need?
Professional lighting designer Jay Woods works with the Blaze team to create an atmospheric tableau that enhances the carving artistry and transforms the Manor House into an amazing, ever-changing spectacle.

16. Cool! If I remove my earbuds, will I hear a lot of Smashing Pumpkins along the route?
No, but you will hear original music by Kosmiche Motte, as well as Margaret Vetare & Bill Ochs, and Jim Keyes.

17. Are those real pumpkins?
Many are real and some are “art pumpkins.” All the pumpkins are individually hand-carved on site at Van Cortlandt Manor. For curatorial considerations (such as areas where the historic buildings could be damaged), and where the hand-carving is very intricate and worthy of being preserved, “art pumpkins” are used along with live ones.

18. I bet it’s a lot easier to carve these art pumpkins than it is to carve real ones. Right?
Actually, it’s harder. Both are well-suited for carving work, certainly, but nature’s canvas is much more pliable.

19. Where do the pumpkins come from? One huge Peapod delivery?
The live pumpkins all come from Walkill View Farm, a family-run farm in New Paltz, N.Y.

20. And just how much pumpkin are we talking here?
Because not all the pumpkins survive for the full month, we order approximately 4,000 live pumpkins, which weigh between five and fifty pounds each. They are delivered in 96-cubic-foot containers on three flatbed trucks (24 bins per truck). All told that’s about 100,000 pounds o’ pumpkin!

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