Get Your Orange On the Coast: 39th Annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival Runs Oct. 17-18, 2009
By Tim Beeman
Photo courtesy of Miramar Events.
Every year when autumn rolls around, Half Moon Bay bursts into brilliant orange and buzzes with boisterous activity in celebration of its bountiful fall harvest. The Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival is the season’s main event, bringing huge throngs of visitors to the “world pumpkin capital” for a world-class festival on historic Main Street. This year’s 39th festival will be held on Oct. 17-18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
The big week launches with the world’s greatest gourd growers and their Volkswagen-sized beasts gathering for the 36th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off, Monday, Oct. 12, at 7 a.m., on the I.D.E.S. grounds at 735 Main St. in Half Moon Bay. A host of veteran growers will be contending for the coveted title and a hefty share of the approximately $20,000 in prize money. In a pay-by-the-pound system, the winner will take away $6 per pound for the champion pumpkin. Defending champion Thad Starr, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., obliterated the field in 2008 with his leviathan 1,528-pound Atlantic Giant. The grand champion gourd, along with the top five weigh-off pumpkins, will be displayed at the Art & Pumpkin Festival.
From there the festival goes all out with spectacular attractions and events all weekend. There’s a smashing lineup of entertainment on three stages including Chicago-born bluesman Terry Hanck, The Unauthorized Rolling Stones, Latin rockers Mestizo, country stalwarts California Cowboys, world-music band Lakay & Mystic Man, cover band Tall Shadows, folksinger Jim Stevens and harmonica blues great John Nemeth on the Main Stage, with the Mike Rossi Band, Blue State Band, Big Crawdaddy and Frankie’s Dream holding down the South Stage. The Family Stage features Karen Quest’s Cowgirl Tricks; juggling, comedy, unicycling and magic by the incomparable Grinn & Barrett; and The Golden Gourds, a youth talent show.
Photo courtesy of Miramar Events.
Shop for one-of-a-kind handcrafted items by America’s finest artists and craftmakers while browsing among 250 booths featuring a wide range of original work: glass, ceramics, metals, fiber, leather, wood, jewelry and fine art. Enjoy popular events and activities like pumpkin pie eating contests, a Halloween costume contest, pumpkin carving for fun (no judging), Young Actors Workshop’s haunted house, the Great Pumpkin Parade, a pancake breakfast, and the 5K and 10K Pumpkin Runs. Along Main Street visitors can watch world-class pumpkin carver “Farmer Mike” transform giant pumpkins into one-of-a-kind sculptures, test their mountaineering skills on Mobile Rock’s climbing wall, concoct their very own colorful wax hands, stop by for creative facial designs at the high school art department’s face painting booth, and visit Kiddieland for amusement rides.
Feast on hot beef sandwiches, artichoke hearts, caramel apples, macaroni and cheese with pumpkin seeds, turkey legs, clam chowder, tamales, garlic fries, nachos, baked potatoes, burgers, corn on the cob and every incarnation of pumpkin imaginable to benefit dozens of community service groups. Enjoy a glass or two of Half Moon Bay Winery’s festival-label Sangiovese or Half Moon Bay Brewing Company’s Mavericks Pumpkin Harvest Ale.
Take a break in the Take 5 Lounge where couch potatoes and sports fanatics will find their favorite sporting events on a giant screen LED TV. Get your picture taken with the grand champion gourd for $12, to benefit the Cabrillo Education Foundation. Then go home and relax — you got your orange on!
Photo courtesy of Miramar Events.
The festival is presented by the non-profit Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee. Pets are not allowed. For more information, call 650-726-9652 or check the festival Web site.
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