Great Pumpkin LumiNights 2021: 8 Types of Amazing Displays

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Great Pumpkin LumiNights sign at Dollywood
One of the Great Pumpkin LumiNights signs (there are two) that mark the entrance to the trail that will lead you past all of the pumpkins.

Are you a pumpkin/Jack-O-Lantern lover? If so, Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights is well worth a visit when the park puts on its Harvest Festival. It’s a pumpkin lovers paradise!

But it’s not just enjoyable at night. Or on sunny days.  We visited on October 30, the last day of the event this year, which also happened to be a rainy one. Or I guess drizzly would be a better way to put it. Nothing our ponchos and raincoats couldn’t handle, as well as umbrellas for those who had them. (We’d left ours in the car because we weren’t sure they’d be allowed in the park so our other raingear had to suffice.)

It was fun to see the pumpkins in the daytime, then later all lit up at night. There were I don’t know how many pumpkin displays of all varieties all over the park. Besides the main event luminarias, which also came in all forms, shapes and sizes, there were also giant pumpkins and cute pumpkin figures.

But since photos are worth 1,000 words, rather than trying to describe all the pumpkins, how about I show you?

1. Giant Pumpkin Patch

One of the first impressive pumpkin displays in the park was the giant pumpkin patch. And I don’t mean it was an enormous patch full of pumpkins, but a tiny area full of humongous pumpkins.

978 pound pumpkin
Andy Wolf had a few giant pumpkins on display. This was one of his smaller ones actually.
Colorful pumpkin and gourd tree
Jim’s Gunther’s 1,000+ pound pumpkin was one of the biggest.

2. Pumpkin People

These pumpkin people mostly occupied the Village area and were so happy and joyful I just had to join in!

Playful pumpkins with nets
Swingin trees and catching butterflies.
Playful pumpkins with nets another view
Another view of these jolly pumpkins.
Father and child pumpkin
A sweet and tender display of paternal pumpkin love.
Washboard band pumpkins
Washboard band pumpkins!
Heartsong Theater singing pumpkin
Singing is the spice of this pumpkin’s life, I think.
Pumpkin Painter
The painter pumpkin.
Pumpkin Man Eating slice of pumpkin pie
Would this be considered pumpkin cannibalism?
Pumpkin laying on side striking a pose
I’m not sure what this fella is. I called him the “I’m too sexy/strike a pose” pumpkin because that’s what first popped in my head when I saw him.
Woman posing with pumpkin figure
Of course I had to have my photo taken with one of the pumpkin people!

3. Pumpkin Trees

The 40-foot tall giant pumpkin tree is among the showstoppers of Great Pumpkin LumiNights, but it’s not the only pumpkin tree to see.

Colorful pumpkin and gourd tree
Like a Fall Christmas tree made of pumpkins and gourds of all kinds.
Great Pumpkin Tree at Dollywood
The Great Pumpkin Tree by day.
Pumpkin Tree at night with stairs
The Great Pumpkin Tree lighting up at dusk.

4. Pumpkins with Wood Carvings

Artisans are among those Dollywood celebrates. Some of their work was represented in these displays.

Pumpkins and wood apples
I’m not sure but I think it’s supposed to be an apple tree?
Owl bee cat pumpkins with eagle wood pile
Pumpkins carved with owls, cats and bees surrounding an eagle woodpile.

5. Creatures and Critters

Not only were shapes carved into the pumpkins, but it was fun to see the way they incorporated pumpkin creatures and critters all over the park.

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Pumpkin Kitty Cats
Kitty cat pumpkins. Meow-velous!
Lily pad frog pumpkins
These lily pad frog pumpkins were among my favorites!
Lily pad frog pumpkins at night
An eerie mist oozed from the pond as the lily pad frogs lit up at night.
Little spider pumpkins and webs
Little spider pumpkins dangled from trees while pumpkins carved with spiders graced the ground under nearby webs.
Giant spider pumpkin
Forget about the Great Pumpkin, it’s the Great Spider Pumpkin you need to worry about, Charlie Brown!
Owl pumpkins hanging from trees
“Whoo goes there?” called the pumpkin owls from the trees.
Black Bats Arch at Dollywood Haunted Mine ride
This black pumpkin bats arch near the Mystery Mine let you know you were venturing into spookier territory.
Black Bats Arch at night
The black pumpkin bats arch lit up at dusk.
Bats on Mystery Mine
Bats flying around the Mystery Mine.
Bat on Mystery Mine ride
A better look at one of the Mystery Mine pumpkin bats.
Vulture and pumpkin vulture
I loved that even the animatronic vulture outside the Mystery Mine ride had a pumpkin display!

6. The Mystery Mine and the Graveyard

Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights is a family-friendly not-so-scary kind of event. However, there were a couple of fun creepy-ish elements too.

Mystery Mine and pumpkins lit up at night
Giant pumpkin scarecrows stood sentinel around the Mystery Mine.
Dollywood Great Pumpkin LumiNight giant pumpkin scarecrow
This giant pumpkin scarecrow was maybe the scariest display in the park.
Lumberjack Graveyard Pumpkins 2
Lumberjack Graveyard pumpkins.
Lumberjack Graveyard Pumpkins 2
Another view of the pumpkins in the Lumberjack Graveyard.
The defense rests headstone
Like the headstones surrounding Disney’s Haunted Mansion, Dollywood’s graveyard has some pithy tombstones too. To prove my point, I enter this one into evidence as Exhibit A. This guy was a real Pillar of the community. The defense rests.
Lumberjack Graveyard Pumpkins 2
Q. Aiken Noggin…now that’s a killer headache!
One size fits all coffin with gravedigger pumpkins
What’s a graveyard without a coffin? This one is one size fits all. Step right up! Or should I say in…

7. Other Great Pumpkin LumiNight Displays

A few more examples of the fun pumpkins on display.

Boo pumpkins
This string of pumpkins that spelled “Boo!” also lit up at night.
Pumpkin Luminarias Wall
The wall of pumpkin luminarias was near the 40-foot tall pumpkin tree.
Sunflower luminary wall at night
The pumpkin wall at night.
Sunflower pumpkin stack
Pumpkin sunflower stalks.
Pumpkin Quilts
Pumpkin quilts. With an abandoned poncho in front. Or is it a ghost trying to stay dry?
Purple rain trail
Not pumpkins but the strands of purple lights draped from trees paired with fog set a spooktacular atmosphere as night fell!

8. Representative of Dolly

There are two symbols in particular that also made showstopping pumpkin displays but that are also very representative of the woman who made Dollywood possible.

Butterfly pumpkin
Butterflies are one of Dolly’s trademarks so of course there had to be a butterfly pumpkin!
Pumpkin Guitar
Dolly makes music and music makes her, so of course that had to be represented somehow too. What better way than with pumpkin music notes and a guitar?
Pumpkin Guitar at night
Pumpkin guitar at night.

For More Info

Great Pumpkin LumiNights at Dollywood happens from late September through the end of October during their Harvest Festival each fall.

Visit dollywood.com for exact dates and ticket info.

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Can you believe how creative some people can get with pumpkins?

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4 Comments

  1. People’s pumpkin creativity is AMAZING! I thought I’d pick a favorite from the photos, but they’re ALL so good!

  2. How rad is this? And how is this the first time I’m hearing about this awesome event! So cool!

  3. Author

    I was going to ask pick a favorite but I decided that wasn’t fair because I was hard-pressed to pick a favorite! lol

  4. Author

    Oooo! I’m so glad I shared something you found informative! WHOOP! Thanks for letting me know!

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