This Halloween season, Ontarians have a chance to walk through a scenic 1 km trail in Milton, Ontario, featuring more than 10,000 hand carved jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin sculptures and live carving demonstrations (did we mention it all takes place after dark?). And this weekend, you can start the Halloween fun early!

This is the fifth year in a row that Canada’s award-winning outdoor Halloween event is taking place in Country Heritage Park in Milton (about a one hour drive from downtown Toronto). And it’s back as a walk-through event!

Although the event takes place in the evening hours, it’s fun for the whole family (kids under three are free).

If you’ve gone before, don’t worry – over 90 per cent of the content is new this year. This year’s sculptures will include a carnival of horrors, dragons and other spooky animals, plus brand new scenes with fun themes. Also new this year are pet nights every Wednesday so you can get your pup in on the spooky fun, live pumpkin carving demonstrations, fall sweets, some thrilling photo ops and even a hidden Spook Easy with treats and drinks.

Three full-time carvers will bring thousands of pumpkins to life. For larger sculptures, it can take up to 200 hours to carve. The carvers use a combination of craft (foam) pumpkins and real fresh pumpkins sourced from local Ontario farms to produce the show.

Pumpkins After Dark will take place at Country Heritage Park, 8560 Tremaine Rd. Milton, Ontario. The event runs until Oct. 31, and all tickets must be pre-purchased.

For more information, visit https://pumpkinsafterdark.com/ontario/.

For more pumpkin festivals in Ontario, click here.