We just spent a couple of days in Sleepy Hollow, New York (Tarrytown). Yes, Sleepy Hollow, as in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I really wanted to visit the area in October because of The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, which is displays showing thousands of carved pumpkins! So Blaze was the reason we went, but we discovered lots of other great activities happening in the town throughout the month of October.
I booked all of our activities a few days before we went (which was good because everything over the weekend was sold out). Unfortunately, the Blaze event was sold out for the days that we were there, but we did find tickets on Craigslist, at more than cost, but it didn’t matter as we really wanted tickets. If you can’t find tickets for the night you want, it’s worth checking out other options.
During the month of October there are several events taking place in the Sleepy Hollow area. We were able to do everything except the Sleepy Hollow Experience because it was sold out and the Horseman’s Hollow because Ben doesn’t like haunted houses.
We loved our time in Sleepy Hollow. The town was decorated for the holiday, everyone was super friendly, and the town had a wonderful feel to it. It was a great way to celebrate the Halloween and autumn season.
Here are a list of the experiences that we enjoyed while in Sleepy Hollow.
Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate
Kykuit was home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. It began with the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. This tour can be booked through the Historic Hudson Valley.
There are multiple tour options available. We went with the Classic Tour which included the house, garden area, and the coach house. The tour was well organized and begins from the Visitor Center. From there you take a bus to the estate to begin your guided tour.
The area surrounding the estate is beautiful and gives you a great view of the Hudson River. The house is beautiful, but very understated considering it was belonged to the wealthiest man in the world!
Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival
The first annual Sleepy Hollow International Film Festival was ending on the first day that we were in town. They were showing various Halloween movies, including a couple versions about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. We decided to go to the D23 Hollow-een show.
Ben and I have never been to a D23 event before. For those that don’t know, D23 is the official Disney Fan Club and they hold various events within the US throughout the year. The events look great, but since they are based in the US it’s not really an option for us to join. However, this event in Sleepy Hollow was available to non-members and included the Disney version of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow (which is a must watch while in Sleepy Hollow!).
The show was awesome. The presenter was from the archive department at Disney and the co-host was the official voice of Mickey Mouse (so cool!). During the show they shared old Disney clips related to Halloween. Then they shared a view presented by Walt Disney himself about Washington Irving before playing the Disney version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It was a fun afternoon.
The Unsilent Picture
We weren’t exactly sure what to expect for this picture. The description on the website wasn’t very detailed, but that made it all the more interesting. The Unsilent Picture is an original silent movie based on Washington Irving’s “The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture.” The movie has no sound, but there is a Foley Artist in the theatre performing live sound effects. The overacting necessary for silent movies was spot on and the Foley Artist was great – lots of fun and worth viewing!
This movie can be booked through the Historic Hudson Valley.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
This was the main reason we came to the area in October. I was so looking forward to seeing the pumpkin displays and I was not disappointed.
The displays were awesome and the carvings were unbelievable. There was something to look at everywhere you turned and the more you looked the more you appreciated the detail that went into the carvings. Amazing!
As mentioned, it wasn’t easy to get tickets – so plan ahead or look for other options such as Craigslist. Getting to the event took along time due to traffic. It took at least 30 minutes from the exit to the parking lot (which was only a couple miles away). Traffic was backed up all the way to the highway. We arrived later than our entry time, so don’t stress if you get held up in traffic, but do try to arrive early. You can enter the parking lot up to 30 minutes before your scheduled entry time.
This event can be booked through the Historic Hudson Valley.
Irving’s Legend
This was a live performance of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The performance we saw was by storyteller Jim Keyes and he was amazing. He was a great storyteller and singer. He was so entertaining throughout the performance. It was an enjoyable way to learn about the famous Sleepy Hollow legend.
This performance can be booked through the Historic Hudson Valley.
Home of the Legend: Washington Irving’s Sunnyside
Since most of our activities were based around The Legend of Sleepy Hollow we had to view Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside.
Sunnyside is on a beautiful estate right near the Hudson River with beautiful surroundings.
This tour can be booked through the Historic Hudson Valley.
Lyndhurst Mansion
Designed in 1838, Lyndhurst is one of America’s finest Gothic Revival mansions. I love Gothic architecture (one of my favorites) so it was interesting to see a mansion done in Gothic Revival, and in America.
While we were visiting the house was full decorated for Halloween, which added to the Gothic Revival style. The rooms were beautifully decorated with a lot of original pieces (some designed by the mansion architect). The day that we visited was during their open house weekends. This meant that we could freely explore the mansion, rather than within a guided tour. They had guides in each room to point out interesting facts or pieces of decor, as well as answer any questions we had. The guides were so well informed and happy to chat about the mansion.
On the estate you can also view the bowling alley building (down by the river) and the green house. The green house is only the frame, but there is information boards with details on the original green house building as well as the famous orchids and palm trees that once grew there.
This tour can be booked through the Lyndhurst Mansion website.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tour
The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery offers walking tours to showcase the history and beauty of the cemetery. The offer tours during the day as well as an evening tour by lantern. We decided to do the Classic Evening Lantern Tour.
The tour covers a small portion of the 90-acre cemetery. The tour was full of unexpected information. The guide discussed different types of headstones, mausoleums, and a receiving vault. During the tour we stopped at several different graves and were provided information on the family and their history.
This tour can be booked through the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery website.
Old Dutch Church Cemetery
After doing the lantern tour of the cemetery we decided to walk through the cemetery during the day. We started at the Old Dutch Church and then walked through the cemetery behind the church. This cemetery leads into the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. We retraced some of our steps from the evening tour as we wanted to see the sights in the day. It was a beautiful afternoon, very peaceful and green.
You can get a map from the Old Dutch Church the marks some of the grave sites in the cemetery. The map provides a history on the selected graves which is well worth looking at.
