Getting into the Halloween spirit...

We have had a quiet couple of weeks because poor Rory came down with a cold that was immediately joined by some kind of a stomach virus. It lasted two whole weeks. But he is feeling better and so we decided to go on a family field trip to get us out of the house and into the Halloween spirit!

It was a bit of a drive, but on Saturday night we headed to Morrisburg to see Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village. Upper Canada Village is a Parks Canada facility and they have been very successful at making use of the grounds in the off-season. They have been doing "Alight the Night" at Christmas for a while now (we have yet to check it out but they transform the village with Christmas lights and I have heard it's incredible) and they have recently started a Halloween program that is pretty spectacular.

Upper Canada Village - Pumpkinferno!

I'm always a little hesitant to take the kids to Halloween events because there is a fine line between fun and scary when you are 5 and 3. Pumpkinferno was perfect for all ages, though. More beautiful and mesmerizing than scary.

A few tips if you decide to go with little people in tow-

•  Buy your tickets in advance online. There are two line-ups when you arrive. One to buy tickets and one for pre-paid ticket holders. The first line takes about 2 hours to get through, but if you already have your tickets, you're in within 15 minutes. 
• Be there when it opens at 6:30 or a little bit before. The 6:30 crowd was mostly young families. There was a much older vibe (adults and teens) when we came out at 8:15. And the line up was significantly longer the later the evening got. When we were leaving, there was a 3 km line up of cars waiting to get in and park. Those country roads don't know what hit them!
• If at all possible, don't bring a stroller. The grounds are totally accessible by stroller or wheelchair, but there were areas on the tour that were pretty crowded and a stroller would have made getting around a bit of a nightmare. Baby-wearing or a holding hand rule is the way to go, in my opinion.  
• Don't use a flash. Seriously. This may seem obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I saw people using their flashes and then looking at their screens and saying "It didn't work!" or, better yet, trying to take pictures of the glowing pumpkins using their smart phones. Make sure the settings on your camera are appropriate for night time photography. I don't pretend to understand this, aside from that the ISO needs to be high. Or something. Ask Ben.
• Make use of the many benches! This was mandatory for my participation in this event as I'm 8 months pregnant and supposed to limit the amount of walking I do. There were lots of benches strategically placed along the trail, which made the entire tour much more enjoyable not only for me, but also for the kids. Walking from attraction to attraction is great, but when you're 3 and 5, sometimes you just want to sit down and really look at the pirate / Chinese dragon / western saloon / etc. Take some time to stop and smell the pumpkins. 

Happy Haunting!