COLUMBUS, Ohio — Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens lights its last Pumpkins Aglow night of the season on Sunday, November 1, closing a fall run that began October 7 — and Sunday doubles as the Conservatory’s monthly Community Day, when Columbus and Franklin County residents get in free during the day before the building resets for the final glowing evening.
According to Franklin Park Conservatory, Pumpkins Aglow is its signature fall experience: after-dark displays built around pirates, spooky pumpkins, under-the-sea mermaids and performing skeletons, staged across the gardens at 1777 East Broad Street. The Conservatory’s published schedule ran the event in blocks — October 7–11, 14–18 and 21–25, then October 28 through November 1 — with hours of 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and extended hours of 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, which makes tonight, Halloween night, one of the long evenings before Sunday’s finale.
The Columbus Navigator’s weekend guide adds the scenes families will find on the final nights: a pumpkin house and a singing pumpkin patch among the displays, with the Amazing Giants’ sway-pole witch and spider stilt walker performing at the Pergola from 6 to 8 p.m., and food from Liberty Kettle Corn, Taquitos and Red Head Chef. The Navigator lists all-in ticket prices of $28.35 for ages 13 to 59, $24.15 for seniors and $17.33 for children ages 3 to 12, and notes the Conservatory says many dates sell out — a warning worth heeding for the last night.
Sunday’s daytime hours carry their own draw. The Conservatory’s Community Day — held the first Sunday of every month, with free general admission for Columbus and Franklin County residents showing identification — runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 1 with a Near East Side Celebration theme. The Columbus Navigator reports Near East Side partners will be in the Veridian from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Thiossane Institute performs West African dance at 1 p.m. in the Garden Pavilion, before the building closes at 4 p.m. to prepare for the last Pumpkins Aglow night. The Conservatory notes Community Day admission does not include special engagements such as Pumpkins Aglow, so the evening event still requires its own ticket.
Sunday also closes Harvest Blooms, the daytime fall exhibition that has filled the outdoor gardens and courtyards since September 26. The Conservatory describes Harvest Blooms as thousands of pumpkins, chrysanthemums and ornamental cabbages worked into the landscapes, including its well-known pumpkin houses — meaning a single Sunday visit can cover the last day of the harvest displays, the free Community Day programming, and, with a separate ticket, the final night of the illuminated pumpkin walk.
The double finish lands on a busy Halloween weekend across the city. Families mapping out tonight can pair the Conservatory’s long Saturday hours with neighborhood trick-or-treat — our earlier coverage tracked Ohio trick-or-treat hours staying dry and mild this evening, and clouds holding over Ohio for a dry Halloween with a warmer Sunday behind it.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: Pumpkins Aglow ends Sunday, November 1, with hours of 5 to 9 p.m. that night; Harvest Blooms also ends Sunday; Community Day runs Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free daytime admission for city and county residents with ID; and the Conservatory closes at 4 p.m. Sunday to set up the finale. What we’re still waiting on: whether any final-night tickets remain at the door — the Conservatory has said many dates sell out, so the ticket page, not the gate, is the place to confirm before driving over.
The rhythm of the final weekend is worth planning around, according to the Conservatory’s published hours: on Pumpkins Aglow dates the gardens close to daytime visitors at 4 p.m. and reopen at 5 p.m. for the ticketed evening event, so a family doing both Community Day and the finale should expect that one-hour reset in between. The Conservatory’s fall guide also lists the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children’s Garden among the spaces included in the evening event, closing at dusk, and the Botanica Gift Shop and Greenhouse stay part of the Aglow footprint — small details that shape how a last-night visit actually flows for families with young children.
What happens next is a quick seasonal turn on East Broad Street. After Sunday’s finale, the Conservatory pivots toward its winter calendar — its published autumn guide already points ahead to November programming and the holiday Conservatory Aglow season that follows. For this weekend, though, the advice is simple: go Sunday during the day if you live in Columbus or Franklin County, and reserve ahead if the glowing pumpkins are the point of the trip.