While Central Florida residents wait for the temperatures to drop to usher in the colder season, residents are still getting into the Halloween spirit by attending the Showcase of Citrus Fall Festival.
The 6th Annual “Pumpkin Ponderosa” in Clermont is now in full swing, inviting families and friends alike to visit the farm, meet their animal residents and enjoy fall-themed activities and food offerings.
Along with their year-round entertainment, the showcase imports 50 pallets of pumpkins yearly for their pumpkin patch, encouraging visitors to grab a wagon and browse their selection of pumpkins perfect for any aesthetic or Halloween display.
The Voice spoke with Jocelyn Christian, event coordinator and social media manager at the Showcase of Citrus to get an in-depth look at what visitors can expect from the event’s concessions.
“We have a candy corn menu that has non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, and we have our bar that has a witch’s theme with drinks like “Witch’s Brew.” Each drink gets a little trinket inside like a spider, or a finger and the adults love it. It’s something fun we like to do to remind guests that there is still a little bit of a kid inside.” Christian said.
Throughout the season, the showcase puts a festive twist on their world-famous orange creamsicle treat that blends frozen yogurt, natural orange juice and candy corn called the “Candy Corn Cutie.” A new addition to the Showcase of Citrus’ holiday events includes the “Nightmare Hours,” a ticketed event featuring scare zones and a haunted house for those who love the “spooky side” of Halloween.
“We have scare zones, a haunted house, and the trolley that guests can go through all-inclusive with their ticket. You can also walk through it [the house] during the day with no scare actors. There are still some creepy masks and props to see but, because we are very family friendly, we wanted to be able to use that space during the day as well.” Christian explained.
Each weekend from 6-10 p.m. through the rest of October guests can purchase tickets to view the “Nightmare Hours.” The event also offers a campfire and smores opportunity, food trucks and carnival games.
Samuel Watson, a designer of the haunted house shared the story behind collaborating with the Showcase of Citrus to create this new experience, “Sometime last year during Halloween time, my friend Alex mentioned the idea of doing a full-scale haunted house event because we had been doing houses in his garage for a while, so we wanted to bring it to a larger scale. I had been going to the Showcase of Citrus as a guest for a long time and thought it would be perfect for a haunted house; we had a meeting with a 3-D modeled concept of what we had built, and we went from there.”
The house plays off the farm setting to create an eerie story of a farm family that hides their bodies in scarecrows around the property. The scarecrows then reanimate back to haunt guests and get their revenge.
Alexander Hoff, another co-designer of the house, discussed the process behind the house’s construction and future plans. “We used 2×4 wood when building the house and then eucalyptus board sheets to make the walls and we mixed in plywood. As far as decorations and costuming, we thrifted everything. Even though it was a nightmare to build at times, it’s really rewarding to see people walk out and really enjoy themselves. We want to expand more into the trail scene and use that to our advantage. We definitely want to use the 4×4 trucks and have people climb on them next year,” Hoff added.
The Pumpkin Ponderosa is open daily through November 1st or while supplies last from 9am – 6pm located in Clermont, Florida, about 30 minutes west of Downtown Orlando. The “Nightmare Hours” opportunity runs each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night in October with tickets for purchase on the Showcase of Citrus website.
