Half Moon Bay's Pumpkin Season Starts a Week Before the Festival Does
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Which day in October actually decides what Half Moon Bay's Art & Pumpkin Festival is about? The festival itself runs October 17 and 18 on Main Street. But the day that settles the biggest question of the season is a Monday, five days earlier, a few blocks north. The festival's own schedule page describes the weigh-off as being "held every Columbus Day, and the following weekend's famous two-day Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival." The Mercury News fall events guide, published October 2, calls the weigh-off the festival's unofficial kickoff.
Counting from today, October 4, the season opens in six days and runs for nine. Most of the season happens away from the barricades. Festival weekend is when Main Street closes, and it is also when the winning pumpkin rides down Main Street in the parade.
Here is the 2026 sequence the organizers have published:
The festival is the 54th edition, and the weigh-off is the 53rd. The festival came first. The Main Street Beautification Committee started it in 1971 to help restore historic downtown, and the first year, volunteers painted buildings and planted trees. The weigh-off came three years later and became the part the rest of the world follows.
The first entry on that list is new this year. Organizers are calling the Moonlight Movie Night "a new community tradition." It's the first annual edition, screening the family film Grow at Carter Park on Saturday, October 10, at 6 p.m. The event is set up as dinner and a movie. Local restaurant partners are taking advance orders for pickup on the way to the park, and organizers strongly recommend ordering ahead. Lab & Hound Wine Bar & Tasting Room, at 315 Main Street, is one of the listed partners.
Unlike the rest of the calendar, this one happens a block off Main Street, a full week before any road closes. Bring a blanket.
The weigh-off is open to spectators. The organizer's August 16 press release lists "Spectators welcome" where you'd expect an admission price. The Eventbrite listing marks the event as free and offers a "Reserve a spot" button. It doesn't say whether reserving is required.
Growers have to deliver their pumpkins to the IDES Grounds by 7 a.m. Each grower is limited to one entry, which they must have grown and cared for themselves. The release says weighing starts around 7 a.m. and should wrap up around 11 a.m., followed by awards and the growers' luncheon. Its quick facts give the whole event as 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., while Eventbrite lists the awards for noon, depending on when weighing finishes. Neither source says when the heaviest entries will hit the scale, so arriving early is the only way to see the contenders. Forklifts and special harnesses lift each Atlantic Giant onto a 5-ton industrial scale. Officials from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth and the San Mateo County Department of Agriculture's Office of Weights and Measures run the weighing and inspection. If you can't make it in person, the competition will also be livestreamed on Facebook.
Farmer Mike Valladao is also part of this year's Monday program. The carver, known as the "Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers," is marking 40 years at the festival with a giant pumpkin carving at the weigh-off. Organizers describe his appearance as the start of a week celebrating that milestone.
The 2026 champion earns $9 per pound, plus the Pumpkin King Champion Ring and the Mel Mello Sr. Grand Champion Growers Jacket. Prize money runs through 20th place. There are also $1,000 prizes for Biggest California Pumpkin, Biggest Coastside Pumpkin and the Joe Cotchett Family Most Beautiful Pumpkin.
The scale has some recent history to measure this year's entries against:
| Benchmark | Weight | At $9 per pound |
|---|---|---|
| First Half Moon Bay champion, 1974 | 132 lb | n/a |
| 2025 Half Moon Bay champion, Brandon Dawson of Santa Rosa | 2,346 lb | $21,114 |
| Half Moon Bay record, Travis Gienger, 2023 | 2,749 lb | $24,741 |
| Current world record, Ian and Stuart Paton, England, 2025 | 2,819 lb 4 oz | $25,373 |
| The 3,000-pound mark | 3,000 lb | $27,000 |
The table shows how far apart those benchmarks are. Dawson's winning pumpkin last year came in 403 pounds under Gienger's town record and 473 pounds under the current world record. Gienger's 2023 pumpkin was the world record when it was weighed here. The Patons' 2025 pumpkin has since beaten it by about 70 pounds. The weigh-off's older quick facts page still lists the 2023 pumpkin as the world record. The August 2026 release has the updated figure.
Then there is the $30,000 world record prize. A pumpkin entered in Half Moon Bay that breaks the world record, and still holds it when the competition ends, earns its grower a $30,000 total prize. That figure is the grower's total, not a bonus added on top of the per-pound prize. A record pumpkin just over 2,820 pounds would earn about $25,400 at $9 a pound, so the record prize roughly adds $4,600. Even a 3,000-pound pumpkin, a mark the release says is now 181 pounds away, would earn $27,000 by weight alone, still short of the record payout. As of today, the 2026 champion hasn't been named. The results page still shows 2025.
The winning pumpkin is back on Main Street five days later. The newly crowned champion is scheduled to appear in the Great Pumpkin Parade on Saturday, October 17, at noon. The route runs north on Main Street from Miramontes Street to Mill Street. This year's honorary grand marshal is Sergio Romo, a three-time World Series champion. After the parade, the champion is planned for a photo display at Main and Miramontes. Printed 4-by-6 photos cost $20, and the money goes to the Cabrillo Education Foundation.
If you watched the weigh-off on Monday, the parade float is a pumpkin you've already seen weighed.
On October 17 and 18, the festival changes how the town gets around. The organizer's posted rules:
Main Street will be closed to traffic from Mill Street south to Monte Vista Lane throughout festival weekend. Southbound Main Street will not be accessible from Highway 92 beginning at approximately 7 AM on Saturday. Main Street will re-open at approximately 10 PM on Sunday. Departing the festival, Highway 92 eastbound will not be accessible from Main Street (either from the north or the south). The only way to go eastbound on Highway 92 is from Highway 1.
If you're heading over the hill on either day, that last sentence matters most. Plan to reach Highway 92 from Highway 1 instead of from Main Street. The other access details come from the same page:
Several events happen at the edges of the closure, either before the festival opens or away from the busiest blocks. The pancake breakfast is at 7 a.m. both days in the City Hall lot, Main Street at Kelly Avenue, with tickets sold in advance. On Sunday, the Senior Coastsiders' 48th Annual Pumpkin Run starts and finishes at Hatch Elementary School, 490 Miramontes Avenue, with a kids' fun run, 5K, 10K and half marathon. The pie-eating contests are both afternoons in the Bank of America lot. Sunday morning also has non-competitive pumpkin carving at 10 a.m. Admission to the festival is free, and pets aren't allowed.
The festival's 2026 fall guide also lists the Coastside pumpkin farms that stay busy the rest of the month: Arata's Pumpkin Farm, Lemos Farm, Andreotti Family Farms, Farmer John's Pumpkin Farm and Pastorino Farms.
At Matt Aragoni, we've watched this Main Street calendar for a long time, and the weeks around the festival are when Coastside homeowners start asking what their place would sell for in spring. If you're wondering, get a free Coastside home valuation or schedule a consultation. We'll look at your home with the same care the weigh-off officials give the scale.
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