Halloween Exhibit Returns To Light Up Old Bethpage Village

OLD BETHPAGE, NY — A Halloween display is making its third appearance on Long Island. The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration features more than 7,000 carved pumpkins lit as an evening backdrop.

"These are hugely elaborate constructions and, in some cases, there are installations where hundreds of Jack O'Lanterns take up the installation itself," said, Robert Schweitzer, VP at Historic Hudson Valley, the organization that runs the month-long activity.

Schweitzer has been doing the "Blaze" in Westchester since 2005 and added the Long Island location in 2020, despite being at the height of the pandemic.

"We were unsure, however, it's completely an outdoors event," he told "Patch AM."

Guests take a half-mile long trail that is estimated to take 45 minutes for maximum enjoyment.

"It's a totally immersive experience," Schweitzer said. "There are elements where you're completely surrounded, on the sides and above you, by carved pumpkins and carved Jack O'Lanterns."

Admission costs ($24 for children, $32 for adults) go toward the non-profit Historic Hudson Valley.

"We also are partnering with the Blaze Long Island to help boost Old Bethpage Village, which is a historic site owned by the county," he said.

While they have thousands of pumpkins on display, Schweitzer said only about a dozen people do all the work, including Carol Hough, the lead carver from Hicksville.

"It's really extraordinary work that they do. It's a small team [of] professional artists and folks who aren't professional artists but just realized they had a creative streak," Schweitzer said.

It runs rain or shine through Nov. 6. More information can be found on their website.