As the fog lifts and clear days fill the week, it is a sure sign that fall in the Bay Area is upon us. And what better way to celebrate the changing of seasons than by picking your largest pumpkin and putting on your bluegrass dancing shoes to attend one of the many harvest festivals happening across the Bay.
Here’s Bay Nature’s harvest festival roundup:
Harvest Festival at Ardenwood Historic Farm
October 12, 10am- 5pm.
Bring family and friends for some country fun! Harvest Indian corn, enjoy cider pressing and magic shows, and tour the restored Patterson House. Be sure to bring your bags for harvest.
Pumpkins in the Park at Guadalupe River Park / Discovery Meadow, San Jose
October 12, 10am- 4pm.
Celebrate the turn of the season at a harvest festival with an environmental education twist. Learn about San Jose’s Guadalupe River Park and help raise funds and support the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. Activities range from a kid-sized straw bale maze to a giant pumpkin patch.
October 12- 13/19- 20, 11am- 5pm.
More than just a pumpkin patch, the Tolay fall festival is a seasonal celebration connecting visitors with the beauty and history of Tolay Lake Regional Park. Venture into the “Creepy Crawly Room,” where tarantulas and scorpions glow under black lights or try your hand at farm activities like wool carding and candle dipping.
Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, Half Moon Bay
October 19- 20, 9am- 5pm
One of the Bay’s largest harvest festivals, head down to Half Moon Bay to watch the championship pumpkin weigh-off or marvel at Farmer Mike’s picasso-like pumpkin carvings. If pumpkins aren’t really your thing, enjoy fresh local produce and live music.
Wilder Ranch Heritage Harvest Festival, Santa Cruz
October 19, 11am- 4pm
Celebrate harvest time at Wilder Ranch State Park. Choose and decorate a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, take a draft horse wagon ride, learn to square dance or make your own corn husk doll. You can bring a picnic or enjoy hand-cranked goods such as pumpkin ice cream, apple pie and pumpkin pie.
MALT day at the Pumpkin Patch, Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch
October 20, 10am- 4pm.
Support Marin Agricultural Land Trust and make it, bake it, and eat it at Nicasio Valley Farms pumpkin patch! Learn to make mozzarella cheese or sample delicious local food and produce.
Noe Valley Harvest Festival, San Francisco
October 26, 10am- 5pm.
For those keen to stay in the city, the Noe Valley Harvest Festival brings the fun to San Francisco. More than 50 Bay Area artists and craftspeople will display and sell their creations just in time for holiday gift-giving. Plus, be sure to check out fresh produce at the Noe Valley Farmers Market.
For more upcoming harvest festivals, visit the Bay Nature calendar.
