Fundraising, Pumpkins by the pier, zip lining, rock climbing, pony rides, and a farmers market all a Harbor Village!

Halloween at Harbor Village features Festivities for families coming to the coast all October Long!

Half Moon Bay, Ca: Locals, tourists and casual day trippers coming out to the coast will have added reason to visit the Princeton area businesses as Halloween invades Harbor Village from Oct. 1st-31st. Halloween at Harbor Village will feature month long activities and events including their Pumpkins by the Pier Pumpkin patch which is open 7 days per week, Kids Jumpers, Costume and Pumpkin Carving contests, prizes and other family related activities will kick off October.

Overview of Halloween at Harbor Village Events taking place:

- Pony rides and Petting Zoo- every Saturday and Sunday in October

- Sundays Farmers Market with live music every Sunday

- Rock climbing, Zorb balls, and slack lining will take place Sept 30, Oct 21, and Oct 28

- Zip Lining Oct 7, and 14th

All Month Long Halloween Activities at Harbor Village:

• The “Pumpkins By The Pier” pumpkin patch will be Open 7 Days Per Week through October 31st

• Inflatable Jumpers and activities for Kids. (Free use with purchase.)

• Exclusive discounts and coupon packages from local businesses given upon pumpkin purchase.

• Free Drawings and prizes, with grand prize drawing taking place

http://pumpkinsbythepieratharborvillage.blogspot.com/ Visit us for more information! Also charity events taking place!


Dear Resident, schools, and organizations!

As 2012 nears to an end, the Holiday Season at Harbor Village is just getting started. In the spirit of giving we are very excited to announce another year of partnering with local non-profits, charities and schools in our coast side community by offering 10% of sales of all Pumpkin and Christmas trees made to the local coastside organization of your choice. Simply select the charity when you purchase your Pumpkin or Christmas Tree at Harbor Village and we will keep you posted on the amount of money raised. Last year we brought in over $2,400 for local organizations through the Halloween and Christmas Season and we hope to surpass that amount this year.

We invite you to come out to Harbor Village and check out some of the many events taking place over the next few months.

Halloween Decorations & Treats for Parties : How to Make a Pumpkin for a Pumpkin Patch

http://www.mhfive.com/music_video.php

How to Dress up as Ghostface

So you really wanna become ghostface from the scream 4 film. Then all you gotta Do. Is read this on how to become the killer from the Movie.

Steps:
1. Get a black robe. It can be either Robe you want it to be. And also that it looks like from the Film. And has a hood on it.

2. Get a mask. You can buy a mask from a Party store or a store that sells costumes and masks all together. Buy it and then you can wear it like in the film.

3. Get some black pants. You can get some pants to make you look like the killer from the film. Just find some black pants and get them for a good price. Once that's done then you can Wear them with your Costume.

4. Get some black shoes. Find some shoes like the killer has and buy them for a great price. They should be black and should be able to fit your costume perfectly.

5. Get some black gloves. This goes well for your Costume. And suits the look nicely. Get some at a party Store and see how much they cost. And they will complete your costume.

6. Get some weapons. It can either be a knife or a machete that ghostface uses to kill the People he prank calls. You can also find Cheap ones at any store of Your choice. And it will go perfectly with your costume.

Tips:
-Don't be discouraged while shopping for some things you Want. It makes the experience better. And is something you should do in Order to become like the killer.
-Get all of the stuff like from the Film and you are done. Simply easy to do and really easy to get.

How to Be a Scarecrow for Halloween

So this year for Halloween, you've decided to be a scarecrow, huh? Great idea! It's such a simple costume that can be so varied! Here's an article on how to be a classic scarecrow!

Steps:

1. Find yourself an old, baggy pair of jeans or overalls. Or just a baggy pair of jeans/overalls. If you're comfortable with ruining your jeans/overalls, you can rip holes in them (this comes in handy later!) and sew little patches on them. If you plan on wearing these jeans/overalls after Halloween, just leave them as they are.

2. Get a plaid shirt. Use one of your own, or borrow one from somebody else. If possible, find one with a pocket (again, this comes in handy later).

3. Find a straw hat. If possible, destroy it. Make some holes in it. Farmers wouldn't put a brand-new, gorgeous straw hat on a scarecrow, now would they?

4. Get a bandanna. These can be bought at the Dollar Store for a buck if you can't find one lying around at home.

5. Now for la 'piece de resistance'! You can use real hay, or go to a craft store and buy some fake hay. This is essential for your costume, because otherwise nobody will understand that you're a scarecrow. You'll be projecting more of a farmer image.

6. Get a hot glue gun and glue (fake) hay everywhere! Glue some inside your hat so it's sticking up through the holes. Put a clump in the pocket of your plaid shirt! Glue some onto your pants and stick it through the holes and in the pockets. If you're wearing boots on Halloween, stick clumps of (fake) hay so it sticks out the top of your boots. If you want, glue some of the fake hay to the cuffs of your shirt sleeves. If you don't want to do this, follow the step below for a genius idea!

7. Time to paint the face. Now for the face paint. I'd suggest going for the look of the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz", since people understand that you're a scarecrow that way. Use black face paint. Start at the bottom of your eyebrow and paint a triangle up about an inch or so. Do the same to the other eyebrow. Finally, cover your nose in black face paint. (If you're having trouble visualizing this, look up pictures of the 'Wizard of Oz scarecrow' on the Internet)

8. Put on your bandanna.

9. Ta-daa! Now you have the perfect scarecrow costume. Go out trick-or-treating or to a Halloween Party and feel confident that you look awesome!


Things You'll Need

Jeans/overalls
A plaid shirt
A straw hat
Hay and/or fake hay
Black facepaint
A bandana

How to Make Halloween Crafts With a Paper Bag

Halloween is a great time to start the holiday crafting cycle. Paper grocery, bakery or lunch bags are a versatile medium for crafters to use for many projects. You can make Halloween decorations with paper bags, or you can encourage your children to design and decorate their own trick or treat bags. Small white paper bags can be found in the craft section of stores for ghost crafts. You may want to recycle your clean shopping bags for many of these projects.

Things You'll Need

Paper bags
Newspaper
Masking tape
Paint or markers
Construction paper
Pipe cleaners
Reflective tape
Scissors
Glue
Paper punch
String or ribbon

Instructions

Making a Jack-O'-Lantern

Step 1: Crumple newspapers, and stuff a paper bag half full of them. Twist the top of the bag shut while making a round pumpkin shape.

Step 2: Use masking tape to seal the twisted top, creating a stem.

Step 3: Paint or color the bag orange using paints or markers.

Step 4: Decorate the face of the jack-o'-lantern with black and yellow construction paper or paint.

Step 5: Wrap a green pipe cleaner around a pencil. Pull the coiled piece from the pencil and attach it to the jack-o'-lantern stem.

Making a Trick or Treat Bag

Step 6: Draw a design on a paper bag that has sturdy handles.

Step 7: Paint or fill in the design with colored markers or crayons.

Step 8: Attach pieces of reflective tape to the front and sides of the bag.

Making a Halloween Garland

Step 9: Make a set of eyes and a mouth from a piece of paper bag that is painted black. Glue them onto a small white paper bag to create a "ghost."

Step 10: Punch a hole in the top of the bag on each side with a paper punch.

Step 11: Thread the end of a 4- to 6-feet piece of string or ribbon through the holes of one bag. Tie a large knot to keep the other end from pulling through.

Step 12: Draw the outline of several bats on a large brown paper bag. Paint or color in the bat shapes. Glue paper punch circle eyes onto the bats.

Step 13: Tape a bat next to a ghost on the garland string or ribbon. Thread on a second ghost bag. Continue adding bats and ghosts until done. You can also add pumpkin shapes to the garland.

Tips & Warnings
- Cut a wavy line at the bottom of the white bags to make them appear more "ghostly."

How to Decorate Halloween Paper Bags

Halloween is a scary -- but not too scary -- holiday that kids love. They have fun planning their costumes and masks. They enjoy parties at school, but the climax of Halloween is going out trick-or-treating and getting their bags filled with goodies. Their bags can be plain, but it is much more fun for the kids if they can decorate their own Halloween paper bags with goblins, black cats or other spooky images as they wish.

Things You'll Need

Soft pencil
Hard pencil
Card stock paper
Scissors
Flat backed toy eyes
White glue

Instructions

Step 1: Find an image that you want to use to decorate your paper bag. Coloring books have simple images you can trace, or you can draw your own design on a piece of paper. Black cats, ghosts, bats and jack-o'-lanterns are traditional Halloween figures.

Step 2: Use a very soft pencil and outline the drawing or tracing you have made. Place it face down on your card stock and follow the outline with a hard pencil. This will transfer the design onto the card-stock.

Step 3: Cut out your figures from the card stock with scissors.

Step 4: Glue your pieces onto the bag. Glue the moving eyes to the faces.

Tips & Warnings
- Paper bags make fun luminaries for Halloween. Paint black figures on the bags. Weight the bottoms of the bags with a few inches of sand and place a battery powered tea light on top of the sand. Do not use real candles because of the fire hazard.

How to Choose an Eco-Friendly Trick-or-Treat Bag

Going "green" means finding ways to eliminate waste, even during the holiday season. Help reduce unnecessary waste this Halloween when you choose an eco-friendly trick or treat bag for your child or help your child make one. Avoid the typical plastic, disposable Trick or Treat bags and buckets and make this Halloween a little more eco-friendly.

Things You'll Need

White or light colored canvas bags
Orange and black fabric paints
Paint brushes

Instructions

Step 1: Choose Halloween bags made out of durable, reusable material. The more times your child can use the trick or treat bag, the less impact it will have on the environment. There are many festive, eco-friendly Halloween bags widely available online. Visit Green Feet to find a sturdy, lightweight, Halloween-themed trick-or-treat bag your child can use year after year.

Step 2: Use bags that you already own. Large canvas reusable shopping bags make great trick-or-treat bags for your children. Let your children decorate the white or light colored canvas shopping bags with orange and black fabric paint. This gives the eco-friendly shopping bags the perfect holiday look that your children can be proud of.

Step 3: Turn white pillow cases into eco-friendly bags. Purchase white pillow cases from a thrift store, recycle your old white pillow cases or put extra pillow cases to good use. Get out the orange and black fabric paints and paint brushes to let your children design unique trick-or-treat bags that they can use over and over.

Tips & Warnings
- Make your positive impact on the environment a little more far-reaching. Plan a neighborhood bag-making party so that more kids in your neighborhood will use eco-friendly trick-or-treat bags this Halloween. Ask each child who participates to bring an old pillow case or canvas shopping bag to decorate with fabric paints. Be sure to tell the kids about the positive impact they are making on the environment.

How to Make Trick or Treat Buckets

Trick or treat buckets are used by both adults and children each Halloween. These easy to make party decorations can be filled with sweets and goodies to present to young trick-or-treaters on your porch or can be given to youngsters to collect their goodies while going door to door. Treat buckets or cans are cheap to make and can be a fun way to get involved with Halloween celebrations.

Things You'll Need

Bucket or large can
Sandpaper
Paper
Craft materials (glitter, feathers, etc.)
Pens or paints
Glue
Wrapped candy (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare your bucket. If you are using an old bucket, wash and dry it so that it is clean and suitable for putting edible goods in. If you are using an old can or a metal bucket, check for sharp edges and sand them down with sandpaper, if necessary.

Step 2: Line the inside of the bucket with ripped up pieces of paper, attached with glue. Choose paper in shades associated with Halloween such as orange, red, black and white.

Step 3: Decorate the outside of the bucket. Be as imaginative as you like. Use paper, pens and craft materials such as glitter, string or feathers to create a ghastly effect fitting with Halloween. Try drawing Halloween imagery like ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, spiders and pumpkins on the paper.

Step 4: Add a spooky message on the outside of your bucket using pens or paints.

Step 5: Fill with candy, if your bucket is to present to children as they knock on your door. Fill the bucket with wrapped candies and any other sweet treats you feel appropriate.

Tips & Warnings
- Small candy can be a choking hazard so be careful who you give these to. Warn parents of young children if you feel your treats are not safe for their children.

How to Sew a Halloween Trick-or-Treat Bag

Every trick-or-treater needs a special bag to carry his loot as he walks from door to door collecting candy on Halloween night. While you could give your little ghoul an old pillowcase or a store-bought bag, why not put those sewing skills to good use and make him a one-of-a-kind Halloween trick-or-treat bag that he can use year after year?

Things You'll Need

2/3 yard Halloween-print fabric
2/3 yard coordinating solid or print fabric
Thread
Pins
Scissors
Rotary cutter
Self-healing cutting mat
Sewing machine
Iron
Ironing board

Instructions

Step 1: Prewash your fabric in warm or hot water to shrink it. After drying, trim off any loose threads and press it with a hot iron to remove any wrinkles.

Step 2: Measure and cut two 16-by-14 inch rectangles from each piece of fabric. Pin each pair together with the right sides together, then sew along each short edge (the 14-inch long edge) using a 1/2-inch seam allowance, leaving both ends open.

Step 3: Measure and cut one 11-by-4 inch rectangle from each piece of fabric. Pin each tube of fabric to the corresponding small rectangle to create the bottom of the bag. Make sure that the tube seams line up at the center of each short end of the rectangle. In other words, make sure that your seams line up at the 2-inch mark on each 4-inch long seam. Sew along the entire seam using a 1/2-inch seam allowance to finish the bottom of the bag, then repeat with the other piece of fabric. You should now have two bags: one for the outer shell and the other for the lining.

Step 4: Make sure your outer shell fabric is turned right-side out, then use your iron to press the raw edge of the opening down (wrong sides together) 1/2 inch all the way around to create a clean edge. Make sure your lining fabric is turned wrong-side out, so that the print is on the inside of the bag. Use your iron to press the raw edge of the opening down (wrong sides together) 1/2 inch all the way around, to create a clean edge. Set both pieces aside for later.

Step 5: Cut two 12-by-3 inch strips of fabric from the main fabric. Fold in half lengthwise with the right sides together, then pin. Sew along the long raw edge using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Turn the tubes right-side out, then press with a hot iron. You now have two handles for your bag.

Step 6: Pin your pieces together so that the handles are sandwiched between the outer shell and lining pieces. Top-stitch all the way around to secure the handles in place and to give your bag a finished look.

Tips & Warnings
Add trims and embellishments that coordinate with your little one's costume to give the bag a more personal touch.

How to Crochet a Halloween Bracelet

Instead of the usual candy, hand out crochet bracelets in Halloween colors to the kids trick-or-treating, or give them as gifts at Halloween parties. Use different types of yarn and varied crochet hook sizes to make crochet bracelets in various sizes. One trick is to vary the gauge of the same crochet bracelet pattern to obtain different designs because the tension of the yarn gets changed. Try gluing orange and black sequins or Halloween-themed decorations once the bracelets are ready to add to the crochet decoration.

Things You'll Need
-1/4 yard size 10 orange colored thread
-1/4 yard size 10 black colored thread
-Size 7/1.65 mm crochet hook

Instructions

Step 1: Chain 55 stitches in orange colored thread. Turn and make a single crochet stitch in the second chain from hook and continue making single crochet stitches till the end of the basic chain.

Step 2: Turn and chain one stitch. Make 54 single crochet stitches and turn again. Continue this pattern for three rows in orange thread and three rows in black thread.

Step 3: Join orange thread in the bracelet for creating the edging. Chain one stitch and single crochet all around the bracelet, working three single crochet stitches into each corner.

Step 4: Join the edging with a slip stitch to the beginning stitch. Cut the thread and weave in the ends.

Step 5: Create bracelet ties by cutting 6x6-inch lengths of orange and black thread. Combine three alternate colored thread pieces and attach them to the bracelet using a single crochet stitch. Braid the threads together and tie a single knot at the end. Repeat the same for the other end of the bracelet.

Tips & Warnings
This pattern creates 6-inch long and 3/4-inch wide bracelet.

How to Decorate Cute Halloween Party Bags

Make cute, decorative Halloween treat bags to give out to party guests or trick-or-treaters. By making your own treat bags, you can customize the bags in your choice of colors and images, and personalize the bags with the names of your guests. Both children and adults can create these bags as a Halloween project, or save the project as an activity for kids at your Halloween party. Make several bags inexpensively, and save your money for filling the bags with lots of Halloween treats.

Things You'll Need
-Bags
-Halloween image templates
-Pop-up cellulose sponges
-Pencil
-Scissors
-Acrylic paints
-Newspaper
-Paintbrushes

Instructions

Step 1: Purchase the bags to decorate from a local craft store. Use solid-colored lunch bags or small-handled gift bags. Both types of bags come in a variety of colors, including orange and black Halloween colors.

Step 2: Search for simple Halloween images to download and print to use as a template for making your sponge stamps. You can use clip art witches, jack-o'-lantern, bats, owls or other spooky creatures. Alternatively, create your own images.

Step 3: Cut out your images, place them on pop-up cellulose sponges, and trace the outline onto the sponge using a pencil. If your image has more than one solid color, make separate sponges to build the image. For instance, for a witch, make a sponge for the dress, hat and head separately so you can stamp them in different colors. For a jack-o-lantern make one sponge for the whole pumpkin, and then separate pieces of sponge for eyes, nose and mouth.

Step 4: Draw shapes on sponges to create additional decoration for the bags. Shapes include squares to make a checkerboard pattern and circles to make polka dots.

Step 5: Cut the images and shapes from the sponges using a pair of scissors.

Step 6: Pour several colors of acrylic paints onto a paper plate, leaving some space in between each color.

Step 7: Place a piece of newspaper onto your surface for protection, and then place your bags face up onto the surface.

Step 8: Dab the sponges into the acrylic paints, and wipe off any excess, if necessary. The sponges will begin to "pop up" when wet.

Step 9: Create your designs by stamping the sponges onto the paper bags. When creating multiple layers of an image, or using different colors, allow drying in between for at least five minutes. Create several bags at one time, so you can work continuously. Add your main images, and then decorate with the shape sponges.

Step 10: Hand paint any other designs, as desired, using acrylic paints and a paintbrush. Add facial details to characters, outline images or create decorative scrolling borders. Hand write Halloween sayings or names of children attending the party using the paintbrush.

Tips & Warnings
- Purchase cellulose pop-up sponges in art and craft stores.
- As an alternative to using sponges as stamps, use Halloween rubber stamps and ink pads in Halloween colors.
- Glue on embellishments, if desired, such as small buttons or sparkly gems.
- Practice using the stamps you created on a piece of paper first, before stamping on your bags, to make sure they cover completely. If you have an uneven stamping, apply more pressure to the sponge.
- To add a decorative ribbon closure, punch holes around the top edge of the bags and thread satin ribbon through each hole. Tie the ribbons into bows in the front of the bags.

How to Crochet Halloween Treat Bags

These small Halloween treat bags are easy to whip up in under an hour and make a cute way to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. You can make these three different Halloween treat bags from basically the same pattern.

Things You'll Need
-Yarn
-Crochet hook (size 3.75)

Instructions

Step 1: Gather some orange, black and green yarn to make the pumpkin treat bag. These bags measure about four inches wide (15 stitches are 4 inches). Start with the orange yarn and chain 17.

Step 2: Single crochet into each stitch, starting with the stitch closest to the hook, until you reach the end of the chain. Then chain one to turn the piece.

Step 3: Single crochet 15, working into the back loop, until your reach the end of the piece. Then chain one and repeat until you have 12 rows.

Step 4: Finish off. Now you have the front piece of the bag. Repeat the steps again to make another piece to use as the back of the bag.

Step 5: Stitch the two pieces on three sides with the front sides together.

Step 6: Single crochet two rounds with the green yarn for the pumpkin bag. This will make the green pumpkin stem at the top of the bag.

Step 7: Single crochet two rounds with the green yarn for the pumpkin bag. This will make the green pumpkin stem at the top of the bag.

Step 8: Stitch the facial features using the black yarn. For the eyes, you can cross stitch an "X" and then a straight line to make it look like an eye. For the mouth, back stitch a straight line and end it with a 45-degree angle stitch. Alternatively, you can use a piece of felt and craft eyes for facial features.

Tips & Warnings
Stitch the bag together so that the single crochet runs vertically, as it makes a better grid for adding facial features.

How to Decorate Trick or Treat Bags

Turn plain paper lunch sacks into adorable, festive Halloween treat bags. These are perfect for a school Halloween party or handing out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. The bags aren't expensive to make and take little time to make, so go ahead and surprise kids with these cute bags and the treats inside as well.

Things You'll Need

Brown paper lunch sacks
Markers
White chalk
Candy
Stapler
Raffia
Foam cutouts
Glue
Glitter glue
Ribbons

Instructions:

Scarecrow Bags

Step 1: Draw a scarecrow face on a plain lunch sack using markers. A scarecrow face is comprised of wide eyes, a triangle nose, red cheeks, and a big smile. Use white chalk to make the scarecrow's teeth white. Don't forget to add eyebrows.

Step 2: Fill the sack with candy and fold the top over. Staple the bag together.

Step 3: Add raffia pieces to the top to look like the scarecrow's hair. Staple the raffia into place.

Foam Decorations

Step 4: Glue foam cutouts on a brown paper lunch sack. Halloween cutouts can be purchased from a craft or hobby store.

Step 5: Fill the bag with candy and staple it closed.

Step 6: Add ribbons to the top of the bag and staple or tape them into place. Embellish the bag further by adding glitter glue designs around the cutouts.

Pumpkin Festival Background Information

The Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee

The Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee consists of an all-volunteer group of civic-minded citizens. The committee's goals are to make a lasting contribution to the preservation and beautification of the town's historic Main Street, to make donations to local non-profit organizations through a grant process, to fund college scholarships for local high school students, and to provide an exceptional fund-raising opportunity to local non-profits through participation in the Art & Pumpkin Festival.
In order to raise funds for their projects, they started the Art & Pumpkin Festival in 1971. Since the festival's inception, the committee has contributed more than $2.6 million dollars to various civic projects, community service organizations and Half Moon Bay High School student scholarships. Some of the Main Street projects funded by the committee at no cost to the city have included: the renovation of City Hall, the painting of historic buildings, the installation of old-fashioned street lights and wooden benches, the underground wiring of Main Street, the planting of trees and flower beds, the construction of Mac Dutra and Kitty Fernandez Parks, and the purchase of garbage receptacles and Christmas lights. Additionally, the committee spends thousands of dollars every year in the on-going maintenance of Main Street. They plant fresh flowers, re-furbish benches, and pay someone to clean up and sweep Main Street every week.
Read more about the Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee...

Festival a Civic Undertaking

The festival is a huge civic effort. Some thirty-five non-profit and community service groups participate in the festival by operating food and game booths. For most, the festival is their most lucrative fund-raising event of the year, enabling them to raise a substantial portion of their annual budget from the two-day festival. An estimated $500,000 is raised every year by local community service groups through food, beverage, game and parking sales at the Pumpkin Festival. By providing this opportunity for the non-profit sector, the Pumpkin Festival helps to perpetuate “giving" in the community, no small feat for a town without a base of large corporate donors.

The Pumpkin Industry on the Coast

Every autumn, thousands of Bay Area residents visit the coastside to pick pumpkins from the picturesque fields along Highways 1 and 92. More than 3,000 tons of pumpkins are grown each year by 15 or so commercial growers in the Half Moon Bay area. They ship pumpkins all over the United States and sell to many of the large retailers in the Bay Area. As always, this year there's a bumper crop.
The pumpkin boom can be traced back to growers in the area who began to plant pumpkins in the 1930's. In the early 30’s, teenager John Arata and his brother Clarence began planting pumpkin seeds to feed the family’s hogs. One day, they were hauling some of their pumpkins along Highway One back to the farm when a passing motorist stopped and asked if he could buy a few. The Arata’s sold the pumpkins for a quarter and a booming pumpkin-picking business and tourist attraction was born.

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival: A Brief History

A Brief History

Over the years, the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival has grown significantly, attracting throngs of visitors who come to pick pumpkins, admire the area's natural beauty and enjoy an old-fashioned festival.
The festival began in 1971 when the Main Street Beautification Committee was formed. The all-volunteer, non-profit group was founded with the goal of raising funds for the revitalization of Main Street in downtown Half Moon Bay which, at the time, was beginning to show signs of decay. Realizing the area's abundance of pumpkin patches, the committee decided to organize an old-fashioned festival in the downtown area for visitors who had come to pick Halloween pumpkins.
The first year of the Festival, about 30,000 people attended the event and only one local non-profit group opted to present food. Now the event bulges with enormous crowds and dozens of local non-profit groups operating food and game booths, earning substantial portions of their annual budget from the festival weekend selling everything from pumpkin pie and ice cream to linguica sandwiches and corn dogs.
"The Pumpkin Festival has done more the for this city, by far, than any other thing in the city's history," according to former City Manager Fred Mortensen. The ever-increasing proceeds are committed to to beautifying the downtown area and contributing to civic causes. In addition to the restoration and maintenance of Main Street, a wide variety of local community service organizations benefit greatly from festival proceeds.

Pumpkin Weigh-Off

The well-known kickoff to the festival is the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off which is held on Columbus Day every year. The Weigh-Off helps to demonstrate the importance of agriculture to the economy of San Mateo County. Pumpkins weighing more than 1,000 pounds are brought by proud growers and their families each year to the Weigh-Off.
The Festival is traditionally held on the weekend after Columbus Day in October during prime pumpkin-picking season. The festival features rustic pumpkin patches, harvest-inspired arts and crafts, homestyle foods, blockbuster entertainment on three stages, a Haunted House, giant weigh-off champion pumpkins, world-class pumpkin carvers, children's contests, and the Great Pumpkin Parade. Admission is free.
Offering something for everyone, the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival has become a tradition for families and friends who come each year to enjoy one of California's oldest, biggest and most popular festivals.

Harbor Village Pumpkin Patch: The First Pumpkin Festival Mobile App

Technology meets tradition with the release of the new Pumpkin Festival mobile app. The Pumpkin Festival app has been approved by Apple and is now available at the Apple App Store for FREE for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Developed by Half Moon Bay’s Phondini Partners, the app is designed to enhance the festival experience for users by providing everything from a fact sheet with key festival information, a detailed site map, event and entertainment schedules, food and beverage listings, and “Top Ten” list to a list of local pumpkin patches, door-to-door directions, push messaging alerts, special deals, contests, trivia and more! Download the app.

Fresh, New Attractions in 2011

The festival continues to re-invigorate itself with fresh, new attractions. This year brings a special appearance by The Cat, The Myth, The Legend … Puss In Boots and cohort Kitty Softpaws from Paramount Pictures, local artist Ellen Joseph debuting her Pumpkin Festival fine art print “Pumpkins By The Sea”, showstopping performances by talented young artists from Radio Disney’s “Next Big Thing”, an infusion of emerging, new artists with fresh work and a variety of affordable price points, “Farmer Mike” celebrating his 26th anniversary as the Pumpkin Festival’s “official carver”, exotic new food and beverage offerings like pizza by the slice with pumpkin spice, refreshing margaritas and mojitos to complement the top shelf wines and microbrews, and a diverse and star-studded lineup of entertainment. Plus, this year the festival introduces its first mobile app!

Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with World Record Mega-Prize

 The Big Week launches with the World's Greatest Gourd Growers and their enormous orbs gathering for the 38th Annual SAFEWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PUMPKIN WEIGH-OFF—the Super Bowl of weigh-offs—on Monday, October 8, (7 a.m., on the IDES Grounds, 735 Main Street, in Half Moon Bay). Once again, a special $5,000 bonus mega-prize will be awarded to any grower that breaks the world record at Half Moon Bay. The current world record is 1,818.5 pounds, held by Jim and Kelsey Bryson of Ormstown, Quebec, Canada. Superstar grower Leonardo Urena's gargantuan, gasp-inspiring 1,704-pound mega-gourd set a new California State record and obliterated a formidable field of heavyweight contenders in winning the 2011 Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Urena is expected to return along with a host of accomplished, veteran growers to contend for the $5,000 world record prize and an estimated $20,000 in additional prize money. The grand champion mega-gourd, along with the top five weigh-off pumpkins, will be displayed at the Art & Pumpkin Festival, October 13-14.

Half Moon Bay: Where Pumpkins (and Apps) Are King

World Pumpkin Capital Hosts Epic Festival, October 13-14, 2012

It's The Royal Granddaddy of Festivals

Autumn is a spectacularly special season on the fertile, scenic coast around Half Moon Bay. Magnificent vistas of seaside farm country dotted with vast, rolling fields of orange, scarecrows, barns, and pick-your-own pumpkin patches. It's the perfect time of year and the perfect place to celebrate the beauty and bounty of the fall season and Half Moon Bay does it like nobody else. The world-famous Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival is the season’s signature event, drawing hordes of visitors to the “World Pumpkin Capital” for an epic festival on historic Main Street. This year’s special 42nd Annual festival will be held on October 13-14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Titanic, mind-boggling, Volkswagen-sized weigh-off champion pumpkins on display, the mesmerizing and remarkably talented “Picasso of pumpkin carvers” sculpting and shaping a monster 1,200+ pound pumpkin into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, harvest-inspired crafts by America’s top artists, the richest/creamiest/tastiest pumpkin pie on the planet, three stages of blockbuster entertainment, everyone’s favorite home-spun parade, enchanting events and contests for the whole family, the never-ending search for the Great Pumpkin, and a bumper crop of 3,000+ tons of the beloved orange orb waiting to be picked from one of the many rustic pumpkin patches around town are among the featured, not-to-be forgotten attractions. It’s the real thing … the authentic “autumn classic”.

 

Harbor Village Halloween & Pumpkin Patch