Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival

 

The Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival is an annual festival held in the coastside community of Half Moon Bay, California for one weekend during pumpkin harvest season. It is one of the oldest and largest local festivals in California. Proceeds go to local civic causes and to the beautification of the downtown area of Half Moon Bay. There is no admission charge for the event.

The annual event is held in October. Columbus Day Monday is the Safeway World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-in contest. The Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival is a two day event held the following Saturday and Sunday each year. Festival hours are from 9 AM to 5 PM both Saturday and Sunday.

Locations

The festival is located in downtown Half Moon Bay on Main Street between Miramontes and Spruce Streets. The Great Pumpkin Parade is held at Noon on Saturday and runs East along Miramontes, North on Main St, and West on Mill Street. There are two Music Stages, one at the South entrance and one located next to the Food Court in the IDES grounds. A Family Stage is located at 620 Main Street. The associated Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-In is located on the IDES Grounds at 735 Main Street on Columbus Day, the Monday prior to the festival.

History

The Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival began in 1971 with the formation of the Main Street Beautification Committee. The group was formed to raise funds for the revitalization of Main Street, which was beginning to show signs of decay. With an abundance of pumpkin patches in the area, the committee organized an old-fashioned harvest-style pumpkin festival. The first festival attracted 30,000 people. That year only one non-profit organization offered food for sale. The festival now includes dozens of local non-profit groups operating food and game booths, selling everything from pumpkin pie to linguisa sandwiches. Proceeds go to various civic and local causes and have included the construction of two parks, multiple scholarship funds, the installation of old-fashioned downtown street lights, the underground wiring of Main Street, and the renovation of City Hall.