To our biggest RISE fans: We had big plans for RISE of the Jack O'Lanterns at Old Westbury Gardens this year (2020)! We were bringing back the large displays that you've all come to love over the years. Unfortunately, Covid came and put a stop to our plans. We worked hard to try to figure out how to make the event safe for our staff and visitors. In the end, it was determined that there was no way we could guarantee everyone's safety even with strict social distancing procedures in place. Therefore, we're going to put our carving tools down, spend more time with our families in October (for the first time in 9 years), and start planning for the post-pandemic jack o'lantern world. In addition to the safety issues that come with trying to operate a public event like this in the middle of a pandemic, we determined that there were a number of financial reasons affecting us and our guests which contributed to this decision. At this moment, art and cultural institutions are allowed to operate in NYS at 33% capacity. Because our carvers are all paid artists and because we purchase over 20,000 real pumpkins for our show each year, operating at 33% visitor capacity would not provide enough revenue for us to cover the show costs. Even if we raised prices, we wouldn't be able to cover the costs of producing the show you've come to love and expect at a fair price point. If we were to drastically reduce visitor count, we'd have to increase prices dramatically, and we don't think asking our visitors to pay $40 for adults and $32 per child was fair, especially with so many people out of work right now.

With that, we hope you stay safe this October. We hope to see you when this is all over! For updates or to reach us, please do so through The RISE Facebook Page.