As of last Friday, the fall season is officially underway. At Herschend, that means all things Pumpkin – from larger-than-life glowing displays to thousand-pound garden gourds and even under-the-sea carving. It’s one of my favorite seasons because our properties are bringing something totally unique to the marketplace – a non-spooky, fun-for-the-whole family fall experience.
Here’s a taste of Pumpkins from around Herschend:
Adventure Aquarium’s Fintastic Pumpkin Glow returned with glowing gourds of all shapes, sizes, and species. New this year is a nearly 10-foot underwater octopus display, which took the dive team 3.5 hours to assemble.
In preparation for Pumpkins at Kentucky Kingdom, the horticulture team grew a variety of gourds, including traditional knuckleheads and polar bears, along with over 1,000 mums and harvest corn crops to add to the fall scenery.
Last week, Newport Aquarium kicked off its first Underwater Pumpkin Glow event. To celebrate, their Experience Committee treated the team to delicious goodies from Busken Bakery.
The Dollywood teams worked hard to make sure the park was gourd-geous for the opening of Harvest Festival.
The Vancouver Aquarium’s Fin-Tastic Fall Days celebrates pumpkin spice and every-fin nice with unique fall flavors, including their award-winning sustainable seafood chowder and Bat’s Brew.
Nothing brings our pumpkin events to life better than giant pumpkin sculptures. The team at Wild Adventures had some fun unboxing and building their new flamingo displays for Great Pumpkin LumiNights.
19,000 new residents took root at Silver Dollar City for its annual Harvest Festival. This one has a few gourd-rules to share.
It’s a special treat when families boast about their experiences with us. Callaway received dozens of homemade videos from opening weekend of Pumpkins.
Our Heartspitality culture equation starts with LOVE. An unconditional love that comes from our actions. Love at Herschend is choosing to behave in a manner that makes everyone feel welcome, valued, and respected. Leading with love in all we do is the foundation our founders planted to grow Herschend more than 70 years ago, and it continues to guide our actions today.
Reflecting on his experience, Aaron said: "I was looking for something new to challenge myself, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished-especially being able to understand and engage in accounting conversations that I wasn't familiar with before. This experience has boosted my confidence, and I'm excited to apply these new skills as I take on more responsibility. If you're interested in learning something new, I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of GrowU-it's a great opportunity to expand your knowledge."
Please join us in congratulating Aaron on this significant accomplishment! We're proud of his hard work and excited to see how his new skills will support him in the future.
Wild Adventures recently welcomed not one, not two, but three new baby Red Ruff Lemurs!
This was an amazing contribution to the species' genetic safety net, as they are critically endangered. All the praise goes to our phenomenal Zoological team for tireless work and dedication to our animals' enrichment, happiness, and conservation efforts.
Callaway Resort & Gardens celebrated Safety Week with the 1st Annual Reed’s Rodeo! Hosts ran an obstacle course that included stopping, parallel parking, and reversing. The Safety Team also helped and demonstrated how to inspect and fill out the daily inspection forms correctly. From carts to zero turns to trucks, it was a blast for all!
Our purpose of Bringing Families Closer Together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating® comes to life through our actions. It gives our work meaning and connects our brands and hosts to one another everywhere.
Adventure Aquarium recently received a heartfelt email from a mother about her 13-year-old daughter, Sami, who is bravely battling leukemia. The two used to travel each summer to collect pressed pennies from different states, but they haven’t had the chance to visit New Jersey yet. When offered a Make-A-Wish, Sami declined, saying she was determined to overcome her illness. The retail team sent Sami a collection of pressed pennies, and the Husbandry team created a framed photo of a Chinchilla, Sami’s favorite animal, adorned with heartfelt notes of encouragement from the entire animal care team.
Moments like these are a great reminder of our impact, even from afar, and we hope Adventure Aquarium is a top stop for Sami when she’s better.
Harlem Globetrotters are back on the road for the 2025 World Tour presented by Jersey Mike's Subs. Find a tour stop near you! See when the Globetrotters dribble into your town and make use of the host discount offer when you purchase your tickets online! Save up to 30% off with code HFE30
*Not valid on P1, P2 or lowest price level. Public On Sale 9/30/24 @ 10:00 AM (local time). Discount ends 7 days prior to event date. Purchase online with code.
Find A GameEarlier this summer, Dollywood Parks & Resorts had the privilege of honoring many dedicated individuals who have reached significant career milestones with the company. It is remarkable to witness these Hosts’ unwavering commitment and loyalty. During the celebratory event, it was clear that the exceptional sense of family our Hosts have cultivated is a driving force behind their long-term dedication.
Whether supporting each other through life's joys and challenges or simply being there for one another, these bonds extend beyond the workplace. Their dedication and generous spirits inspire their fellow hosts and guests to return year after year to create memories worth repeating. A special congratulations to the two extraordinary operations hosts, Flora “Poke” Fine and Kathy Self, who celebrated 40 years with Dollywood and are sisters!
Your love for one another, our guests, and our communities makes our purpose possible, leading to something truly spectacular – real impact and an infectious joy that spreads through our hosts to our guests and out into our communities.
A panel of experienced park enthusiasts worldwide voted to award The Silver Dollar City Company and The Dollywood Company with top honors at Amusement Today's 2024 Golden Ticket Awards, our industry’s “Oscars.” These awards stand as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our hosts who Create Memories Worth Repeating® for our guests. Congratulations, all!
Thanks to the Silver Dollar City Foundation’s Hope Grant, the Taneyville district’s gravel track is in tip-top shape just in time for students this fall.
The track, located behind the school in rural Taney County, MO, is used throughout the day for recess, PE classes, and cross country. After school, it opens to the community. Due to the rural location of Taneyville, there are few other exercise opportunities without traveling.
With the Hope Grant, the district was able to hire an excavator to widen the track and make improvements for the safety of our students and community. The track was graded and leveled to fix areas that had been washed out due to flooding.
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) was delighted to release the first six harbour seals of the 2024 rescue season on September 10!
The release took place at Porteau Cove, located approximately 45 minutes from Vancouver, on a beautiful and calm September day. This year the team has responded to hundreds of marine mammal emergencies and cared for 83 harbour seals, one loggerhead sea turtle, and two orphaned sea otters (Tofino and Luna).
One of the six released was Poppy, who was first noticed on May 30th by local Port Hardy resident Stevie and her son Jayden. They called VAMMR and allowed experts to determine if rescue was required or not. It was decided that a rescue was needed and she was flown to VAMMR for rehabilitation. Poppy was successfully released on September 10.
Staff and volunteers were happy to be joined by a film crew from Germany. The crew is working on a long-form story for their country's public broadcaster, Zweites Deutsches Frensehen (ZDF).
VAMMR volunteers and veterinary staff play a crucial role in caring for and rehabilitating rescued marine mammals with the ultimate goal of returning each patient back to the wild.
The Animal Care Team at Newport Aquarium bid bon voyage to three juvenile Orinoco crocodiles as they journeyed to South America to save their species from the brink of extinction. Biologists estimate there are as few as 1,500 Orinoco crocodiles left in the wild, making them one of the world's rarest and most endangered reptiles. Through a partnership with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Newport Aquarium raised three Orinoco crocodiles until they were large enough to return to the wild to rehabilitate their dwindling numbers. Guests were able to wish these small reptiles well on their quest to make a big impact!
