Updating a Halloween
Tradition
Maintaining family traditions can be a challenge as children
grow up, move away, and form new families of their own. Young adults may make
an effort to return home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and/or Kwanzaa,
but Halloween? Not so much.
When my daughter was in elementary school, an October
highlight was the annual trip to a working farm in Brentwood, California. We
breathed in dust during the jostling mile-long hayride to the pumpkin fields.
Then the treasure hunt commenced—the race to find just the right pumpkin out of
a seemingly endless sea of orange. Afterward, we sipped apple cider under a
brilliant blue sky before tackling a cornstalk maze.
Flash forward sixteen years.
My daughter lives with her boyfriend in a congested urban jungle. Not
a pumpkin patch or corn maze in sight. But Brilliant Beautiful Daughter
discovered a new type of pumpkin patch, one that combined our mutual love of
art, philanthropy, and shopping. Instead of a farm, we visited the Glass
Pumpkin Patch at Santana Row in San Jose.
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| Glass Pumpkins |
The Glass Pumpkin Patch is the brainchild of the non-profit
Bay Area Glass Institute. Money raised from the event helps cover the
Institute’s operating costs so it can continue to offer affordable workspace
for glass blowers, and offer classes to the public.
The weekend event attracted young families, twenty-something tech workers and college students, seniors, and art lovers of all ages.
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| Glass Pumpkins at Santana Row, San Jose |
After browsing the artful pumpkins created by nine local
artists, we sat outdoors and listened to live music while feasting on delicious
cupcakes from nearby Kara’s Cupcakes.
If, and when, grandchildren come along, we will head back to the farm. In the meantime, I can’t think of a better way to update a great Halloween
tradition than a visit to the Glass Pumpkin Patch.
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| Carrot Cake Cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes |
Copyright 2015 Ariella Moon
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