Fall means pumpkin everything. Pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes — the only steadfast rule for food in fall is that everything that can be pumpkin-ized will be. Maybe you love it, maybe you’re part of the anti-pumpkin-spice brigade. Regardless, fall is here and the pumpkins are unavoidable, so the best thing to do is just embrace it. And there’s no better way to celebrate the season’s most famous gourd than at a pumpkin festival. These are the biggest and most noteworthy pumpkin festivals across the US to hit up this season.
Photo: Ilya Images/Shutterstock
The 8 Most Epic Pumpkin Festivals in the US
Laconia Pumpkin Festival (Laconia, New Hampshire)
Photo: NH Pumpkin Festival/Facebook
The Laconia Pumpkin Festival takes over downtown Laconia on October 23 and 24, 2026, with thousands of carved pumpkins illuminating the city after dark. The centerpiece is a towering wall of glowing jack-o’-lanterns, but the all-day festival also includes live music, food vendors, crafts, a fun run, a dog parade, and a nighttime laser show. Visitors can bring their own carved pumpkins to help fill the tower, and admission to the festival is free. The event runs from 11 AM to 10 PM, though some activities may have separate fees
Great Pumpkin Farm festivals (Clarence, New York)
Photo: The Great Pumpkin Farm/Facebook
The Great Pumpkin Farm turns its 100-acre property outside Buffalo into a sprawling fall festival from mid-September through Halloween every year. Weekend attractions include amusement rides, a five-acre corn maze, hayrides, live entertainment, pie-eating and pumpkin-decorating contests, and a pumpkin cannon that launches pie pumpkins more than 3,000 feet. Visitors can also browse the “Pumpkin Palace,” visit the petting zoo, shop for pumpkins and baked goods, and attend the farm’s annual giant-pumpkin weigh-off. The farm is open daily, with free admission on most weekdays, but the exact 2026 dates, ticket prices, and special-event schedules have not yet been announced.
Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta (South Jordan, Utah)
Photo: Ilya Images/Shutterstock
Pumpkins as big as boats hit Utah’s Oquirrh Lake every October. As big as boats, and literally boats. During the Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta competitors carve pumpkins with chainsaws to create makeshift, kayak-like boats. Then they take to the water for a race in which not all pumpkins make it to the finish line before sinking. The race is an all-day event with a petting zoo, traditional pumpkin carving, food trucks, and a pie-eating contest. The oversized pumpkins are surprisingly seaworthy, though the awkward paddling and frequent spills are a large part of the appeal. The event is returning in 2026, but organizers have not yet released the date or schedule, so check the official website before making travel plans.
World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off (Half Moon Bay, California)
Bigger is better at California’s World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Growers from around the state and country haul their largest gourds to Half Moon Bay to try to win the title of the biggest of the big. The winner gets paid $9 per pound, and if it is big enough for a new world record, an additional $30,000. Considering 2018’s winner had a 2,170-pound pumpkin, that’s a big payday. Other competitions include the most beautiful pumpkin and the biggest California pumpkin. The judging will happen on October 12, 2026, when you can watch as forklifts place the pumpkins on a scale with a five-ton limit. The winning pumpkin will remain on display during the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival on October 17 and 18, where visitors can pose for photos beside it. That festival also has the usual fun fall draws, like giant pumpkin displays, live music, local art, festive food, contests, and a lively small-town fall atmosphere.
Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze (Pocantico Hills, New York)
Every year, the 18th-century Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson is decked out with more than 7,000 hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns. It takes about an hour to walk through all of the pumpkin exhibits, which include 23 themed displays, with pumpkins assembled into enormous glowing sculptures and synchronized with lighting effects and an original soundtrack. Past pieces include pumpkin paintings, a 25-foot-tall pumpkin Statue of Liberty, a carousel, and a Pumpkin Planetarium. It takes more than 1,000 people to scoop out and carve all of the pumpkins that decorate the organized walk, which is called the Blaze. Timed tickets start at $24, must be purchased in advance. In 2026, it’ll run on select evenings from September 18 through November 8.
Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta (Damariscotta, Maine)
Photo: Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta/Facebook
A pumpkin festival with an educational twist, the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest promotes agricultural science and fundraising — particularly when it comes to growing giant pumpkins. It started with a race in 2007 between two giant pumpkins carved into boats, and has turned into a multi-day festival that attracts tens of thousands of people. There’s a giant pumpkin weigh-off, a carved pumpkin display, a pie-eating contest, a pumpkin-on-wheels derby, and a 180-foot pumpkin drop for people who really like to watch pumpkins explode. There’s also pumpkin races using the giant pumpkins as boats powered by paddles or motors. The free festival also includes weigh-offs, a parade, food, and family activities, with the main regatta scheduled for Sunday, October 11.
Great Pumpkin Carve (Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania)
Photo: Chadds Ford Pumpkin Carve 2022/Brandywine Valley/Daniel Burke
We can’t all be great pumpkin carvers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the skill it takes to turn a giant orange gourd into a work of art. Chadds Ford’s Great Pumpkin Carve is a three-day event where you can watch carvers work their magic before more than 70 pumpkins are lit up and displayed. Each of the pumpkins from nearby farms weighs between 150 and 400 pounds. The public carving dates back to the 1970s, and has grown every year. A haunted trail, hay rides, live music, and local craft beer and wine entertain when you’re done watching the carving. These days, there are usually around 70 artists whose pumpkins glow after dark. It runs October 15-17, 2026, and it’s strongly recommend to buy tickets in advance as both attendance and parking can sell out.
Pumpkin Show (Circleville, Ohio)
Photo: Circleville Pumpkin Show
The Circleville Pumpkin Show returns October 21 through 24, 2026, filling several downtown blocks with giant pumpkins, amusement rides, contests, live entertainment, and an improbable range of pumpkin-flavored food. The free festival dates to 1903 and now draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the small city south of Columbus. Highlights include enormous-pumpkin competitions, baked-goods and produce displays, and multiple parades, including processions devoted to pets, babies, marching bands, and festival queens. The show runs from 10 AM to 10 PM daily. 