As summer leaves along with its orange and yellow sun rays, another season full of the color orange comes in. As oranged-colored leaves start to fall, people start preparing for festivals involving the orange-colored pumpkins! Oh yes! Fall is the season for pumpkins and every festival associated with it!
Everything is colorful and fun all around. You will never run out of places to visit and see wonderful celebrations of pumpkin festivals. Check our list of must-see places below to get your fill of these years pumpkin festivals across the U.S.
Must-See Places
Laconia, New Hampshire
The best and biggest pumpkin festival may well be at Laconia, New Hampshire. It currently holds the top spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest number of lit jack-o’lanterns.
Laconia has held the world record nine times beginning the year 1992. The townsfolk lit about 30,581 jack o’lanterns during its pumpkin festival celebration. Along with this activity, there is also a five-kilometer and ten-kilometer race that is held year after year. And don’t forget to get a taste of sumptuous food at the fair. Grab a bite of pumpkin-inspired food, treats and drinks!
Clarence, New York
Another town that also boasts of a world record is Clarence, New York. Clarence has been holding a yearly weighing of huge pumpkins since 1996 during its Great Pumpkin Farm’s Fall Festival. Currently, it holds the record for the pumpkin that weighs a thousand pounds!
The festival attracts thousands of tourists who enjoy various activities all through the day like shows and rides, and various pumpkin-inspired attractions. It also offers pumpkins and gourds for sale. There is also a grand showcase of pumpkins in the farm. Tourists must not miss the fun of the Boo Barn that features zombies scattered all over a five-acre corn maze. Zombies can be killed using paintball guns, or with pumpkins that are launched using a cannon.
Children and adults can also join pie eating events. If you’re into crafts, create your own scarecrow or decorate a pumpkin. After getting hungry from playing, visitors are in for a treat at the Pumpkin Palace that serves fresh farm-picked fruits. Various food and drinks can also be found in the venue. Tourists can visit the festival for free during weekdays, or pay a minimal fee of $8 on weekends.
Providence, Rhode Island
If you love celebrating Halloween, you must visit the pumpkin festival at Providence, Rhode Island. Residents here go out of their way to carve and decorate around 5,000 pumpkins every year, and these are lit and displayed in the venue. The annual pumpkin celebration also boasts of themed-activities – from fairytale characters, to ghosts, pirates, superheroes, and more. The fun and awesome sights never seem to end!
It is estimated that around 115,000 visitors flock to this pumpkin paradise during the 10-day celebration. People even line up to see the various attractions related to the annual theme so don’t forget to bring a lot of patience and your camera to take pictures of the best decorations in town!
Dallas, Texas
Be awed by the view of about 75,000 pumpkins at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Be ready to take lots and lots of photos as you step into the orange and green world of pumpkins and gourds especially arranged and decorated around the Arboretum. There are pathways full of them. Huts that were built in various areas of the garden also look outstanding with their orange and green decorations of pumpkins and gourds.
The center attraction of this annual ‘pumpkin village’ is the recreation of Cinderella’s giant white pumpkin carriage! It is made of steel and decorated with pumpkins and gourds, too.