This past Friday night, Tommy, Ava, Luke, and I headed to The Glow: A Jack O’Lantern Experience. The Glow is a 1/3 mile exhibit of carved pumpkins and larger-than-life displays with twinkle lights and music, some fitting in with a Halloween theme and some not. I had never heard of it before, but it sounded like a really cool thing for folks of all ages to enjoy (young children, teens, and adults). Time-wise, walking through the exhibit will take a person 30-45 minutes.
The entrance leading to “The Glow”.
For me, the key was being “kid-friendly”, as Ava is at the age where she likes certain “Halloween things” (like candy and being able to dress up as Doc McStuffins if she wants), but can also be easily scared at things, such as loud noises or “scary looking things”. After doing a bit of research and seeing the exhibit in person, I can safely say it is fine for toddlers to walk-thru with their parents. However, while there are no creatures jumping out and scaring people, some installations may seem a bit daunting to toddlers at first. Ava was weary of a couple, but after we explained what they were and what they were doing, she was fine.
We had our very own “ghost” with us during the experience! (Really, it was Luke in the Baby Bjorn. It was a bit chilly that night so we wanted to make sure he was warm).
The variety of installations of pumpkins and displays with various lights was actually pretty impressive. Even Tommy was enjoying himself. The exhibit began with a large dinosaur display, (which Ava did find scary at first, but then really liked it).
The next two installations were some of Ava’s favorites.
Flowers.
Pumpkin carvings of various Disney characters.
Surprisingly she liked the alien invasion installation.
The end of the exhibit featured a field of various jack o’lanterns lit up and dancing pumpkins jamming to pop music. Naturally, Ava loved this, as did all of the other kids (and adults!)
More Details:
- The D.C. Glow (which is actually in Fairfax, a suburb of D.C.) runs from October 4-28. (The Glow also has exhibits in Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh).
- Tickets are sold in 30-minute intervals to ensure that guests can have a leisurely stroll.
- To buy tickets for D.C. go here.
- Food and drink options are available.
Ava gives the Glow two thumbs up!
Both Tommy and I agreed that the experience would be worth paying for (though in full disclosure, we did not have to buy our tickets). In fact, we are planning on coming back here with some of Ava’s friends and her parents as it is a cool, family-friendly option for kiddos to celebrate Halloween.
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