You’ll have to imagine these jack o’lanterns all lit up, because the best time for me to see them was midafternoon, not night. But I did see them — and I was impressed.

Pumpkin Mania, sponsored by Transylvania University, is now in its 15th year. Anyone can carve one of the free pumpkin provided, as long as they reserve it ahead of time. (The event has become so popular that it appeared on national television.)

Carvers who return after dark will see their jack o’lantern glowing with its mates on the steps of Old Morrison Hall, a National Historic Landmark.

It’s a vision in orange, set in one of Lexington’s most historic neighborhoods, Gratz Park. It’s the kind of event that didn’t exist when I lived here, though there were plenty of events that did.

As I walked around the neighborhood, I remembered immersing myself in books in the old public library, and meeting with other Lexington Children’s Theater “veterans” in a small building on the park.

The outskirts of Lexington have stretched and grown, but its urban core (minus Main Street redevelopment) has remained as I remember it. I’m glad I had the time to amble through it yesterday.