Sea Life Aquarium to Host Halloween “Spookfest”
Underwater pumpkin carving and other activities happening during weekends in October.
CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 16, 2014) – Sea Life Charlotte-Concord Aquarium will celebrate Halloween by hosting a family-friendly “Spookfest” during the weekends of Oct. 18, 25 and 31. At Sea Life’s Spookfest, guests can see David Cochran, Displays Curator at Sea Life Charlotte-Concord, and his aquarist staff carve pumpkins from inside the aquarium’s 120,000-gallon Ocean Tank at 12:30 p.m.
each weekend day.
Me and B, ready to see some underwater pumpkin carving at one of our favorite local attractions- Sea Life Aquarium Charlotte-Concord!
Mommy's Block Party was invited to a sneak peek of the underwater pumpkin carving festivities, and a behind the scenes tour of Sea Life, plus a Q & A with David Cochran.
We enjoyed watching many beautiful fish, sting rays, and sharks swim past, as we waited for the dive crew to arrive.
The divers took center stage, each with one pumpkin and carving tools in hand.
It was pretty fascinating to stand before this giant tank and watched these skilled divers carve pumpkins underwater, right before our eyes, with sea life swimming by! I wondered if it was hard for them to hold onto the pumpkins as they worked? I mean, they were hollow, so I imagined they would float in the water. I quickly got my answer as we watched bits of the pumpkins be carved out, and let go... and they floated away.
Check out the jellyfish design carved into one of the pumpkins!
The divers left one of the carved pumpkins in the tank for us to enjoy, and for the fish to snack on.
Notice the design? It's a stingray- carved into the pumpkin! Amazing!
After watching the pumpkin carving, we were invited to head upstairs to take a look behind the scenes at Sea Life! It was so neat to walk through the hallway and see what all goes on to make everything in the aquarium run smoothly. Most impressive was being able to look into the tank from the very top!
The Sea Life Dive Team, coming up from their carving show to meet the media for a Q & A session.
We enjoyed hearing David Cochran talk about his experience with carving pumpkins underwater.
Mr. Cochran was asked if the actual carving was difficult, and he explained that it was quite a challenge, as the pumpkins begin to break apart and can quickly deteriorate once they're in the water. They also float, which makes them harder to hold onto during the carving process. All of that aside, Mr. Cochran went on to tell us that the experience is a lot of fun.
“Underwater pumpkin carving is something we really think our guests will enjoy seeing. It’s a fun challenge for our team as well,” said Cochran. “And when we’re done, we can leave the pumpkins as a treat to some of our grazing fish.”
The big reveal was so neat!
B had a blast watching the divers work to carve the pumpkins underwater, and of course, asked if we could carve sea creatures into our pumpkins for Halloween this year, too!
During Sea Life’s Spookfest, guests can also trick-or-treat to learn more about nocturnal sea creatures found at the aquarium. Educators will be available to hand out candy and discuss facts about the interesting lives of the new Batfish, Bigeye Catalufa fish, the Green Moray eel and other “creatures of the night.”
We know firsthand how truly amazing the entire aquarium is! Here's a photo of B taking it all in- early September.
Be sure to check out our full review of Sea Life Charlotte-Concord.
“Our team is excited to share information about some of our more elusive sea creatures with guests,” said Trisha Ruf, General Manager at Sea Life Charlotte-Concord. “While these sea creatures may seem a little spooky, they live fascinating lives at deep ocean depths.”
The Bigeye Catalufa, a particularly shy fish, is usually found hiding in rock crevices at up to 200 meters deep in the ocean. Sea creatures found 200 meters to 1000 meters below the ocean surface are considered part of the mesopelagic zone where there is minimal light. Because of this, the Bigeye Catalufa has characteristics of a deep sea fish including bulbous eyes that help it see clearly in dark water as well as a projecting lower jaw used to gulp smaller fish.
Want to join the Spooktacular fun at Sea Life Charlotte-Concord?
Regular admission tickets during Sea Life’s Spookfest will be discounted to $14 per person when purchased online 24-hours in advance. Kids dressed in costume will receive a voucher for one complimentary child admission on a future visit. Event dates will be Oct. 18 and 19, Oct. 25 and 26 and Oct. 31 through Nov. 2. To learn more about Sea Life’s Spookfest, visit www.visitsealife.com/charlotte-concord/news-and-events/.
Special thanks to our friends at Sea Life Charlotte-Concord for allowing us to visit the aquarium and experience their awesome underwater pumpkin carving show!
About Sea Life Charlotte-Concord
Sea Life Charlotte-Concord is a one-story, 26,000-square-foot indoor aquarium with another 10,000 square feet planned for future expansion. This one-of-a-kind attraction will allow visitors to experience the magical world beneath our seas with marine habitats, displays, and close encounters with over 5,000 sea creatures. Sea Life provides a glimpse of the diversity of marine life while also playing an active role in animal and environmental conservation. Visitors will see strong evidence of Sea Life’s Breed, Rescue and Protect activities around the world, including new projects developed locally.
Sea Life is the world’s largest aquarium chain with over 45 attractions around the world. Sea Life Charlotte-Concord is the sixth Sea Life aquarium launched in the U.S. and is located at Concord Mills, 8111 Concord Mills Blvd. in Concord, NC. For more information, visit www.visitsealife.com/charlotte-concord.
That's pretty amazing. I love the jellyfish the diver carved into the pumpkin! I probably couldn't do that good on land! haha. I've never been to Sea World but now that I have kids I think its time I should!
ReplyDeleteWe did have a great time at SeaLife- a must if you can get to one near you! :)
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