By Darine Sammour, October 20, 2026
From the autumn leaves and the colorful sights of orange pumpkins, Cal Poly Pomona’s annual PumpkinFest is back between Oct. 10 and Oct. 31 every Saturday and Sunday for friends and family to experience with lots of activities, food vendors and themed weekends.
From picking pumpkins, to painting coasters and visiting animals at the petting farm, CPP’s PumpkinFest has a lot to offer.
Marissa Rubalcava, a mom who visited with her husband and son for the first time, said the festival was bigger than she had expected.
“I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this and we don’t live too far,” Rubalcava said. “I was excited that the parking lot wasn’t too crazy and it’s not really packed so that’s why we decided to check this out.”
Some spots for visitors to see include the pumpkin hill, a field of flowers by the farm store at Kellogg Ranch and a sunflower maze. Many visitors took photos together at the pumpkin hill and with the various photo ops around the festival which are all fall themed. Some cutouts were of pumpkins and others were of Billy Bronco.
The atmosphere was reflected by the sight of visitors walking around the festival with colorful face paint designs ranging from skeletons for Halloween to pink and purple butterflies.
A variety of vendors can be found at the event, selling crocheted characters, handmade soaps, cat toys and more.
Yesenia Zambrano is the vendor of Casa Grandma, selling upcycled mugs with succulent plants. According to Zambrano, some of her mugs are painted by her and her husband. In preparation for the PumpkinFest, she was on the hunt for mugs that were fall or Halloween themed, which she said was her favorite part of preparation. Her other mug designs include traditional sugar skulls, different animals, and Italian themed tiles.
Now in her fifth year at PumpkinFest, Zambrano said it takes about two hours for vendors to set up their stations, with many arriving by 8 a.m.
“What I liked this year is that Cal Poly let us borrow these tents,” Zambrano said. “They’re all the same looking type of tents and it looks a lot better, because in previous years we had to bring our own tents and people had different colors.”
The craft and merchant vendors at the marketplace are curated by 909 Open Market, which is a community driven market that focuses on highlighting micro-businesses, artists, food vendors and entertainment.
Something new at the PumpkinFest this year is the themed weekends. The first weekend is Pumpkinzania, the second weekend is the insect festival, the third weekend is the indigenous agriculture weekend and the fourth weekend is Halloween.
The festival does not expect visitors to dress up for each of the themed weekends except for Halloween weekend.
Each weekend will have different displays, crafts, hands-on activities and demonstrations to fit the theme.
Pumpkinzania was the kickoff theme with pumpkin-themed activities and interactive experiences. The insect festival highlighted the world of insects through insect displays, educational demonstrations and opportunities to learn about insects and agriculture. Indigenous Agriculture weekend is all about celebrating indigenous culture through presentations from Native partners and the CPP community, allowing visitors to learn more about traditional agriculture and the native community’s role in food and farming. Lastly, the Halloween weekend will have Halloween themed activities and costumes.
There are many food options for visitors to choose from. Visitors craving something sweet have fro-yo, churros, shaved ice, kettle corn and smoothies available to them, while visitors who enjoy something savory can find spiral potatoes on a stick, hotdogs, barbeque, chicken tenders, roasted corn and more.
Main attractions at the festival include the pumpkin hill where the pumpkins have been harvested, the CPP farm stand which features unusual pumpkins, fall decorations, honey, pumpkin bread and other goodies, the sunflower maze, corn maze, hay wagon ride and some growing fields.
For those who brought their children, there are designated activities for them, such as the Jr. Farmers Discovery Zone featuring a kid’s corn maze, games and the Moo Moo Cow Train which is a ride with cow designed seats next to the petting farm.
The petting farm gives visitors a chance to interact with and feed goats, sheep and llamas by hand. Feeding cups cost $3 each.
Lucas Wong, mechanical engineering student who was at the petting farm, said it was his first time attending the CPP PumpkinFest and felt very welcomed. He said there were lots of families there to visit, which was nice to see.
“It definitely seems like it was very well-organized and they got a lot of attractions together,” Wong said. “It’s very well put, it seems very safe and very educational at the same time.”
The festival featured performances on the main stage from the CPP pep band, the CPP Mariachi band and Pomona-based band Blackout Alley.
Jayne Weesner, an animal science student who plays trumpet in the CPP pep band, said she went to the festival to play for the band but got to ride the cow train, have some fun with her bandmates and grab some food during her breaks.
“It’s crazy to see how much we’ve harvested,” Weesner said. “It’s nice to take pictures at the pumpkin hill, it’s so aesthetic here and I love getting to do this with my friends.”
Weesner said her and the pep band had two practices the week before the festival to work on the songs they’d perform and practice choreography.
The PumpkinFest takes place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and some attractions including the petting farm, the Moo Moo Cow Train, large corn maze and hay wagon ride close at 6 p.m., so it is encouraged to plan ahead of time, according to the CPP PumpkinFest website.
General admission tickets cost $22, but there is an option to purchase a family bundle of four tickets for $19 each. Current CPP students are eligible for student passes costing $8 but also have the option to purchase a season pass for $20 with a Bronco card for verification at checkout. Children under 2 years old receive free admission.