Pumpkins Aglow is back at Franklin Park Conservatory and it’s the ultimate fall event!

Hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns fill the botanical gardens and Grand Mallway, along with gourds, mums, and brassicas. Enchanting decorations throughout the gardens include larger than life spiders created by Tork Collaborative Arts, Inc., a foggy creek and skeletons and ghosts. Two Pumpkin Houses stand ready to welcome guests this year.

 These family friendly events occur from 5-9pm on select dates.
October 13-17, 20-24 & 27-31

Visit the Pumpkin House (x2)

This is a favorite each year for many people, including us! I mean what is more fall than a PUMPKIN HOUSE! The 10-foot tall custom crafted pumpkin house consists of over 350 heirloom, carving, and mini pumpkins. It takes the horticulture staff three days to construct the house and move approximetly two tons of pumpkins into place! That’s about the same weight asa mid-size SUV. This year, there is a mini pumpkin house in the children’s garden! 

Our Pumpkin House visits over the years. Love having this tradition!

Live Entertainment

A variety of live entertainers will perform every night from 6-8pm.

October 13-17: Fortune Teller, Fire Performer
October 20-24: LED Light Dancers, Halloween Stilt Walkers 
October 27-31: Sway Pole Witch

Enchanting Displays

Become immersed in the fun atmosphere with a foggy creek, witches garden, larger than life spiders and more!

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Glass Pumpkin Patch

Beautiful glass pumpkins and autumnal goods made by local artists are available to purchase indoors. We did not go in there because, well, three toddlers and glass pumpkins didn’t seem like the best mix. Ha. The room is on the first floor near where you purchase your tickets. You can enter inside or you can enter from outdoors near the glass blowing studio.

Harvest Blooms

Thousands of pumpkins, mums and ornamental cabbages decorate the botanical gardens.
Learn more here.

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Paul Busse Garden Railway

The garden railway has been enlivened with fall horticulture and lights. It’s located in the Grand Mallway of the Conservatory.

The Paul Busse Garden Railway : Guests can once again travel to their favorite destinations-Fairytale Land, Wild West Town, European Travels and the animal-themed Who Lives Here-alongside 9 g-scale model trains. The trains travel across over 1,000 feet of track that run high and low, creating an immersive world to explore.

Visit the Botanica Gift Shop & Greenhouse

Find a treat (no tricks) at the gift sop.

Grab dinner from a Food Vendor

The Conservatory Food Truck, other local food trucks and Charlie’s Kettle Corn will be onsite.

Special Event – Trick or Treat Loot Bag – October 30 & 31

On Halloween weekend, children ages 2-12 will receive a small bag filled with treats and surprises. Family friendly costumes are encouraged!

Be a part of this year’s Pumpkins Aglow! Members will have a chance to sharpen their creative skills and submit carved pumpkins to be featured in the display. As a thank you for your participation, you will receive one free admission to Pumpkins Aglow for every pumpkin you submit, up to four pumpkins.  Pumpkins will only be displayed for one week.

Make sure to mark your calendars for the Member Holiday Party on November 19 during Conservatory Aglow!

• It’s strongly recommended that all guests, including members, reserve tickets online in advance. Many nights will sell out! I would suggest either screenshooting your tickets or printing them off. Most of the time I can’t get them pulled up on my phone when we get there!
• Special engagement rates are in effect for Pumpkins Aglow. This means, even if you have a membership, you need to purchase tickets. If you are a member, you get 50% off admission. Admission tickets are non-refundable.
• Pumpkins Aglow occurs regardless of weather. No refunds will be issued due to weather.
• Plan to arrive within 30 minutes of your scheduled ticket time.
• The Conservatory will close to the public at 4pm before Pumpkins Aglow begins at 5pm.
• In accordance with the City of Columbus, all guests are required to wear face coverings while indoors. Unvaccinated guests should wear face coverings both indoors and outdoors.
• The Conservatory practices thorough sanitization procedures and utilizes air purification systems that kill airborne viruses and neutralize harmful pollutants.

You can find out more information and get all the questions you have answered over on their fpconservatory.org/pumpkins-aglow. Or send me a DM on Instagram!

We all had such a great time. It’s the perfect amount of spooky for the girls. They loved seeing all the fun designs on the pumpkins, watching the trains go by, seeing the “fog” surround us, and seeing all the lights turn on. Pretty much, they loved everything. We chose to go at 6:30. This gave us a good amount of daylight time and being able to see all the lights when the sun went down. It indeed turns magical when the sunsets! 10/10 recommend going.

Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
1777 E. Broad Street Columbus, OH 43203

Purchase tickets here