By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
Halloween season in Sleepy Hollow Country, a legendary time that draws hundreds of thousands to the area, now features more frightful fun than ever before! Historic Hudson Valley’s fall events, the largest in the tri-state area, kicked off Friday, Sept. 20, and take place on selected evenings through Saturday, Nov. 30. Historic Hudson Valley expects to draw more than 250,000 visitors to Sleepy Hollow Country this fall.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, widely acclaimed as one of the country’s best fall extravaganza, is celebrating its fifteenth year and will run for a record 49 select evenings from late September through Thanksgiving weekend. This all-ages friendly walk-through experience lights up the wooded pathways, orchards, and gardens of historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, where a small team of artists hand-carve more than 7,000 jacks and elaborate pumpkin sculptures. Visitors will love seeing Blaze favorites, such as a giant spider web and mammoth sea serpent, and be awed by more pumpkin power than ever before! New additions include a Museum of Pumpkin Art and the Sleepy Hollow Bridge.
Horseman’s Hollow takes visitors back in time to a cursed Sleepy Hollow, an 18th-century village driven mad by the Headless Horseman. Professional actors, award-winning feature-film makeup artists, and state-of-the-art special effects make the Horseman’s Hollow experience all too real. This 16-night haunted attraction at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, is recommended for ages 10 and up.
Also at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow is The Unsilent Picture. This theatrical experience features a black and white film starring Tony Award-winning actor Bill Irwin and will screen with a special effects Foley artist and original score.
This event runs for 17 select dates in October and November and is recommended for ages 10 and up and contains scenes of drinking alcohol, smoking and snuff tobacco use, implied violence, and mature themes.
Brand new for 2019 is The Sleepy Hollow Experience, an interactive musical theater production at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside. This critically-acclaimed show, created and produced by Brian Clowdus, features live, professional musicians and singers who perform the scenes in various locations around the estate and engage with audience members. The Sleepy Hollow Experience is suitable for all ages. The event runs for 19 evenings at Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside, in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Home of the ‘Legend’ is a daytime experience at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside. Visitors can tour the author’s home, embark on a literary-themed scavenger hunt, hear storytellers spin spooky tales, and take part in historic games and Halloween-themed art activities. Home of the ‘Legend’ is an all-ages event.
At Irving’s ‘Legend,’ master storytellers Jonathan Kruk and Jim Keyes, accompanied by live music, bring to life The Legend of Sleepy Hollow during afternoon and evening performances at Sleepy Hollow’s circa-1685 Old Dutch Church. Irving’s ‘Legend’ runs for 17 select dates and is recommended for ages 10 and up.
All events are held rain or shine. Proceeds support Historic Hudson Valley, the Tarrytown-based private, non-profit educational organization that owns and operates the historic sites that host these events.
Pre-Purchase Timed Tickets
These events have limited capacity and sell out. All admissions are by advance purchase timed ticket.
Blaze dates are September 20-22; 26-29; October 3-31; November 1-3; 8-10; 15-17; 22-23; 29-30. Online tickets start at $23 for adults and $17 for children 3-17, and free for children 2 and under and Historic Hudson Valley members.
Horseman’s Hollow dates are October 4-6; 11-13; 18-20; 25-27; 31; November 1- 3. Online tickets are $22 ($28 on Saturdays). Fast Track, a $15 per ticket upgrade, lets visitors skip the line in their time slot. Historic Hudson Valley members receive a $5 per ticket discount.
The Unsilent Picture dates are October 4-6; 11-14; 18-20; 25-27; 31; November 1- 3. Online tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Historic Hudson Valley members receive a $5 per ticket discount.
The Sleepy Hollow Experience dates are October 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27, 31; Nov 1-3. Performances times are at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. On November 3, performance times are at 5:30pm and 7:30pm. Online tickets start at $45 for adults and $25 for children. Historic Hudson Valley members receive a 10% per ticket discount.
Home of the ‘Legend’ dates are September 28-29; October 5-6; 12-14; 19-20; 26-27; November 2- 3. Online tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for seniors, $8 for children 3-17, and free for those 2 and under and Historic Hudson Valley members.
Irving’s ‘Legend’ dates are October 4-6; 11-14; 18-20; 25-27; 31; November 1-3. Seating is very limited and there are three performances on weekday evenings and six performances on weekends. Online tickets are $28 for adults, $22 for children under 18. Historic Hudson Valley members receive a $5 per ticket discount.
Buy tickets online at https://www.hudsonvalley.org or by calling 914-366-6900 ($2 per ticket surcharge for phone orders and for tickets purchased onsite, if available).
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze features over 7,000 illuminated, individually hand-carved jack o’ lanterns. Elaborate single-pumpkin carvings and huge multi-jack o’lantern constructions are professionally lit throughout the landscape of Van Cortlandt Manor in various themed areas.
Favorite installations, such as the Pumpkin Planetarium and Jurassic Park, are joined this year by new creations such as a Museum of Pumpkin Art and the Sleepy Hollow Bridge … all made of jack o’lanterns!
Creative Director Michael Natiello leads a small team of Historic Hudson Valley staff and local artists who carve. In addition, more than 1,000 volunteers help scoop and light the pumpkins. The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze Shop offers a full bounty of Blaze-specific merchandise including candles, hats, T-shirts, magnets, caps, mugs, and jewelry.
Café Blazé, by Geordane’s of Irvington, will offer culinary treats including soup, veggie chili, muffins, pumpkin cookies, and cider. Adult beverages available include wine by the glass, hard cider from 1911 and beer by the Elmsford-based Captain Lawrence Brewing Company.
Professional musician, radio personality, and Halloween fanatic Richard Christy created the soundtrack accompanying the experience. All new tracks for 2019 plus tracks from Blaze: The Soundtrack Volume I & II play throughout the event, making it a multisensory experience. Both soundtracks are available as digital downloads and streams from iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
Van Cortlandt Manor is at 525 South Riverside Avenue, just off Route 9 in Croton-on-Hudson.
Horseman’s Hollow
Back for a spine-tingling tenth year, Horseman’s Hollow, which welcomed more than 37,000 visitors last year, is a haunted experience in the heart of Sleepy Hollow that takes inspiration from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Historic Philipsburg Manor transforms into 18th-century village driven mad by the Headless Horseman.
A crew of award-winning makeup and costume designers and a 40-member-strong cast of experienced actors work to create an immersive, interactive, pleasantly terrifying experience, with state-of-the-spooky-art special effects.
Custom-built set pieces and period-correct costumes help orient the experience in Philipsburg Manor’s traditional time period of the mid-1700s.
Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow.
The Unsilent Picture
The Unsilent Picture is a theater experience in Sleepy Hollow at Philipsburg Manor. The original black and white film, based on the Washington Irving story “The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture,” was shot on location at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson. It stars Tony Award winner Bill Irwin and each screening features a live Foley artist.
Philipsburg Manor is at 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow.
The Sleepy Hollow Experience
The Sleepy Hollow Experience is an interactive performance at Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, created and produced by Brian Clowdus, founder & Executive/Artistic Director of Serenbe Playhouse, the nation’s premier outdoor site-specific theatre company, which was recently named one of the Top 20 Theaters in the Nation by Playbill. The production features live, professional musicians and singers, who will perform the scenes in various locations around the estate and engage with audience members. Theater-goers will be guided by storytellers from scene to scene, meeting Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel, imbibing in drinks and snacks during the famous party scene at the Van Tassel’s, and, in a thrilling climax, encountering the Headless Horseman himself.
Beverages, including a signature cocktail, and snacks will be available to purchase and there is also a gift shop.
Sunnyside is on West Sunnyside Lane, off Route 9 in Tarrytown.
Home of the ‘Legend’
Sunnyside celebrates its connection to Washington Irving’s classic tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, at this family-friendly daytime event. Home of the ‘Legend’ includes a spooky tour of both floors Irving’s home, a literary-themed scavenger hunt, storytellers, and historic games.
Sunnyside is on West Sunnyside Lane, off Route 9 in Tarrytown.
Irving’s ‘Legend’
Master storytellers Jonathan Kruk and Jim Keyes offer dramatic re-tellings of Washington Irving’s classic tale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Flavored with live spooky music, the event takes place in the historic setting of the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow. The circa-1685 stone church is across the street from Philipsburg Manor, where visitors will park. These performances last about 45 minutes. Weekend afternoon performances are by Jim Keyes and weekday and weekend evening performances are by Jonathan Kruk.
Historic Hudson Valley, Westchester County’s largest cultural organization, educates and entertains more than 325,000 visitors a year through school programs, tours of five National Historic Landmarks, and large-scale events like this roster of Halloween themed experiences, which have earned a national reputation as among the best in the country.
For information and tickets, visit www.hudsonvalley.org, 914-366-6900.
