When you walk through Rock City’s Enchanted Pumpkin Patch, it’s easy to get swept up in the pumpkins, characters, and larger-than-life displays. What you may not realize is just how much of it starts with the creativity and talent of our own team.
We caught up with some of our innovation team to learn more about the trail features they helped bring to life and how they’ve left their mark on this year’s Enchanted Pumpkin Patch.
Many of the pieces you’ll see throughout the trail weren’t purchased from a store or pulled from a catalog. They were imagined, designed, built, painted, and created right here at Rock City by talented artists who spend months turning ideas into the fall experience guests know and love.
Jaiden
Jaiden primarily worked with Jason on the Ghost Trail and Skeleton Trail. Her favorite creation was Nancy, the ghost scarecrow—and it was also her greatest challenge. Because the rock pillars that would anchor Nancy were not yet in place during the concept and planning phase, the team had to envision the finished piece and determine its internal structure before installation. Jason helped engineer the anchoring solution that brought Nancy to life.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Jaiden estimates she hand-carved between 100 and 200 pumpkins, though she admits she eventually lost count.
FUN FACT: The Enchanted Pumpkin Patch brought the event entrance back to Rock City’s original 1932 entrance. Along Legacy Lane, the scarecrows at each entrance serve as creative wayfinding markers, helping guests identify what is ahead, which trail they are entering and the theme they are about to experience.
Christopher
A main focus of Christopher’s work was the Bat Trail entrance, where he built wings from PVC pipe, fabric and polyurethane rubber—the same type of material used for prop masks. Blaze carved the pumpkins that were then placed over Christopher’s internal PVC structure and wings. As a Batman fan, creating the batwings was his favorite part, especially because it gave him the opportunity to learn a new material. The greatest challenge was engineering a PVC structure strong enough to support the added weight of the rubber.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Christopher hand-carved more than 300 pumpkins this year.
FUN FACT: Christopher also enjoyed building the ghost on the Fudge Kitchen wall and the spider webs on the Bird Deck. For him, creating the event alongside his best friends makes the work feel more like spending time together and making something cool along the way.
Cassie
As the newest member of the team, Cassie helped expand the event’s use of performers and worked on sourcing materials and creating costumes. Her favorite part was adapting ghillie suits to create the moss and tree characters. Her greatest challenge was hanging the UV pumpkins in the Prospector’s Point area so they would stand out under black lights, working with Christopher on the rigging and ladders for the installation.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Cassie hand-carved between 50 and 100 pumpkins.
FUN FACT: Cassie helped make the décor contest a special addition that invited teams across Rock City—from Food and Retail to Operations and the warehouse—to decorate their own spaces with original ideas and themes. She supported the teams with budgeting and sourcing materials for their creations.
Jason
Jason worked on the Skeleton Trail and Ghost Trail. His favorite piece was the bone curtain, particularly the process of determining how to attach it across the space and make it glow under black light. His greatest challenge was creating the movie theater marquee in the Critter Classroom, which required engineering the structure and coordinating several different types of lighting.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Jason hand-carved about 50 pumpkins this year, spending much of his time on the event’s heavy lifting and rigging.
FUN FACT: This is only the second year of the Enchanted Pumpkin Patch, and Jason says it is amazing to see how far the event has come in such a short time.
Ren
Much of Ren’s day-to-day work involves supporting other artists, but one of her primary projects this year was the Cursed Cauldron. Her favorite part was developing a vision that helped show our senior leadership team how a rustic area of Rock City could be repurposed for the experience. From evaluating possible locations to sourcing props and antique pieces, she enjoyed transforming Prospector’s Point into the Witch’s Lair so much that the challenges felt like part of the fun.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Ren and the team carved pumpkins nearly every day leading up to the Enchanted Pumpkin Patch. On one of their most productive day, two artists sketched designs by hand while two others carved, completing 45 pumpkins in four hours.
FUN FACT: The Cursed Cauldron was inspired by the established lore of Galoochie, the Stone Witch at Rock City.
Blaze
Blaze focused on the Spider Trail, creating the main spider and much of the trail’s lighting. The spider was his favorite part because it challenged him to find unique ways to illuminate different types of pumpkins and make each one glow. His greatest challenge as a lighting designer was working during daylight hours, when he had to imagine how every element would look and function after dark.
PUMPKINS CARVED: Blaze hand-carved about 100 pumpkins—and worked with many more to light them from within.
FUN FACT: Building on the story of Galoochie that inspired the Cursed Cauldron, the team illuminated the Stone Witch this year. Guests may catch a glimpse as they exit the Hall of the Mountain King—but spotting her is part of the challenge.
