I mean no disrespect to the Louisville Zoo’s “World’s Largest Halloween Party” when I say this: The Dreams With Wings annual Jack O’Lantern Stroll is my family’s favorite Halloween event. There is so much to love about this event. Come. Walk with me.
In 2001, only one year after incorporating, Dreams With Wings – a nonprofit agency that supports children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism – held its first Jack O’Lantern Stroll on the campus of Bellarmine University.
According to Jenifer Frommeyer, the executive director of Dreams With Wings, the idea of the stroll came from a desire to connect the name of the agency with something that gives back to the community.
“It’s important that our clients were seen as more like people in their community than unlike people in their community,” said Frommeyer. “We saw it as a way to get our name out there by creating this fabulous event and for people to realize that so much of it is orchestrated by people with disabilities.”
From this humble idea, Frommeyer, the staff, board of directors, clients, and client families have crafted a spectacular Halloween event that is now held at Louisville Slugger Field. Children and their families can wander among 2,500 carved pumpkins after they trick-or-treat around the field. On the concourse, Dreams With Wings clients and families operate craft and game booths, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts passes out deliciousness, and volunteers serve slices of Louisville’s largest pumpkin pie, all while Mike Bush and the Allstars perform.
When it comes to the logistics of the event, specifically coordinating the carving and transportation of 2,500 pumpkins, the old cliché – “It takes a village…” – rings true. The Jack O’Lantern Stroll actually probably takes a couple of villages. The pumpkins are all donated from Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville, with harvesting done by the staff, clients, and volunteers at Dreams With Wings. The pumpkins arrive at Calvary Lutheran Church in the Highlands on the Wednesday before the event and a human assembly line moves the pumpkins in and out of the church just like a barn raising. Clients and volunteers carve the pumpkins over the course of two days, from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Last year, Thieneman’s Herbs and Perennials stored some of the carved pumpkins when Calvary Lutheran ran out of room. Volunteers from the University of Louisville lacrosse team, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, and Spalding University have helped carve pumpkins in past years. Businesses also sponsor pumpkin patches and compete in a jack-o’-lantern contest.
While others are carving the pumpkins at Calvary Lutheran, Frommeyer helps the Beta Club at Highland Middle School prepare the giant, no-bake pumpkin pie.
“We put it in a child’s swimming pool with a false bottom,” said Frommeyer.
Creation Gardens then transports the pie to Slugger Field in a refrigerated truck.
Last year was the first year the event changed venues, moving from the quad at Bellarmine to Slugger Field. While Bellarmine and Dreams With Wings both enjoyed having the event on the campus, the university wanted to hold other fall events at the same time and Frommeyer thought the space on campus was becoming crowded. Dreams With Wings contacted Slugger Field and was warmly welcomed to hold the event at the field.
“My first concern was the expanse of the field because, you know, we put the pumpkins on the field,” said Frommeyer. “And there was no way we were going to fill that field with them… But we did and it was absolutely gorgeous.”
Slugger Field provided attendees with the opportunity to view the array of pumpkins two different ways: from above and up close.
“People sat in the bleachers and had this beautiful view of all those glowing jack-o’-lanterns,” said Frommeyer, fondly remembering the spectacle.
Admiring the jack-o’-lanterns up close can take up most of your night at the stroll. The designs can be very intricate.
“It was amazing some of the stuff people did. Remember the Cinderella pumpkin?” Frommeyer asked her twin 12-year-old daughters, Sophie and Gretchen. “They painted a pumpkin white for the carriage and carved [it]. They had a little doll sitting in there and the wheels worked.”
This year, Dreams With Wings will also host their first grown-up Halloween party and fundraiser, the Black Widow’s Ball, at J. Graham’s Cafe at The Brown Hotel. So if you want to win a costume contest while enjoying a cash bar and supporting a great local nonprofit, make a trip to The Brown Hotel on Saturday, October 13. Then dress up the kids in their Halloween finery and come to Slugger Field on Friday, October 26 for food, fun, and festivities!
-Amy Miller
The Details:
Dreams With Wings Black Widow’s Ball
Saturday, October 13
J. Graham’s Cafe
The Brown Hotel
335 W. Broadway
7-11 p.m.
Tickets: $25 in advance,
$30 at the door
Dreams With Wings Jack O’Lantern Stroll
Friday, October 26
Louisville Slugger Field
401 E. Main St.
6-9 p.m.
FREE, although donations are appreciated to cover the cost of supplies
Volunteer Opportunities
Monday, October 22
Pumpkin picking at Gallrein Farms
Tuesday-Thursday, October 23-25
Pumpkin carving at Calvary Lutheran Church
dreamswithwings.org
How to buy remedies online at best prices? In fact, it is formidably to find of repute drugstore. Kamagra is a far-famed therapy used to treat impotence. If you’re concerned about sexual dysfunction, you probably know about dosage of levitra. What is the most essential information you have to know about levitra doses? More data about the matter available at levitra dose. Perhaps you already know some about the question. Usually, having difficulty getting an erection can be embarrassing. This disease is best solved with vocational help, generally through counseling with a certified doc. Your pharmacist can help find the variation that is better for your state. We hope that the information here answers some of your questions, but please contact physician if you want to know more. Professional staff are experienced, and they will not be shocked by anything you tell.