Elizabeth BoatmanLast Sunday evening, my daughter and I visited Descanso Gardens for their October pumpkin event, Carved. You may remember I wrote about this last year in a blog titled, Carved at Descanso Gardens. The weather was perfect for an evening walk through a dark, old forest.
Remembrance during pumpkin time
Before entering the oak forest, we sipped a cup of hot cider and watched children in costume run about excitedly. We also stopped by the artwork Nos Duele by Daniel Gonzales.
With Dia de Los Muertos just a few days away, and in some cultures beginning on Halloween, this ofrenda bears photos of young children and is a devastating reminder of what we’ve lost. I’m sure each mother felt a tug when she saw it.
Oak Forest
The highlight of the evening is a walk through the darkened oak forest. These trees are primarily coastal live oak; many are over one hundred years old. They loom above the jack-o-lanterns scattered on the forest floor.
The spotlights vary from red to green to blue, which adds a challenge to photographing the pumpkins.
Pumpkin Entertainment
At the end of the circuit, several pumpkins represented recent or popular films. I featured a Harry Potter pumpkin in the 2021 blog, so I’ll display Hagrid this year. It seems particularly poignant since Robbie Coltrane died only a few days ago, on October 14th.
Carved Information
This annual pumpkin event will soon end. Descanso Gardens may still have a few tickets if you wish to attend. I suspect they’re going fast. To see more images from my visit, please click here. Meanwhile, I’ll close with this photo for those who like scarecrows.
Happy Halloween!
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