Every October, Reiman Gardens’ Spirits in the Gardens event draws in crowds eager to see pumpkins, projections and more. Friends and families from around the state dress up in costumes and visit Ames to check out the impressive number of jack-o’-lanterns on display each year.
Andrew Gogerty, marketing and communications manager for Reiman Gardens, reflected on the history of the annual event.
“[Spirits in the Gardens] dates back to 2007, but we did not start carving pumpkins until 2015,” Gogerty said. “It started off as almost a trick-or-treating thing for kids, but we didn’t actually start carving until 2015, and now it’s our tenth year of carving pumpkins.”
Gogerty said Spirits in the Gardens succeeds due to thousands of hours of work done by thousands of volunteers.
“We’ve had about 2,000 volunteers this year, and they’ve contributed almost 5,000 hours to this,” Gogerty said. “That’s what makes this such a unique event; it’s really a community event. Not just an Ames community event, but really an Iowa State University community event.”
The three-night-long event that took place over the weekend is Reiman Gardens’ second most popular, with thousands of visitors attending each night.
“We usually get over 10,000 visitors for this event,” Gogerty said. “This is our second most popular event, and the Winter Wonderscape is our most popular. However, that is a 16-night event, whereas this is only three nights.”
This year’s special Jim Henson jack-o’-lantern exhibit stood out to attendees. Marion resident Dan Erusha and his daughters commented that it was their favorite part of the event.
“This is our third or fourth year coming to the Spirits in the Garden event, and we loved it. We really enjoyed the Jim Henson carvings and the zigzag stairs with all of the pumpkins,” Erusha said.
The cool, clear weather provided Saturday night’s event with a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.
“It’s an absolutely beautiful night for this. We couldn’t have asked for any better weather for tonight,” Erusha said.
Nichole Davis from Des Moines attended Spirits in the Gardens for the first time with a party of friends.
“I’m blown away by everything. I had seen some pictures from previous years, but I couldn’t have imagined how incredible it all looks in person,” Davis said.
Spirits in the Gardens proved to be an exciting and unique experience, with attendees like Davis already looking forward to future events.
“This definitely isn’t a replacement for carving pumpkins at home, but wow, do I wish what I carved looked half as good as everything I’ve seen tonight,” Davis said. “I’ll have to come do this again next year.”
