Giant PumpkinFest weigh-off returns downtown Saturday

Giant pumpkins weighing more than a ton could roll into downtown Saratoga Springs this Saturday, September 26, 2026, for the 11th annual Saratoga Giant PumpkinFest weigh-off. The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the ground floor of the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage at 11-77 High Rock Avenue, according to The Daily Gazette and the event’s organizers.

The weigh-off is presented by the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, with the Saratoga Springs City Center and the Saratoga Farmers Market as co-hosts. Growers from around New York State and the Northeast compete for the heaviest pumpkin, and the public can walk among the entries and watch them hit the scale.

The details

Here is what to know if you plan to go, based on information from the chamber and Saratoga TODAY.

• The date is Saturday, September 26, 2026.
• Growers begin arriving with their pumpkins in the early morning, and the official weigh-off starts at 11 a.m.
• The event is at the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage, 11-77 High Rock Avenue, on the ground floor.
• Admission is free, and the event is billed as family-friendly.
• Mandolins Too is scheduled to play live music.
• Treats are planned from Nothing Bundt Cakes and Thorn + Roots, among others.

Most listings give the hours as 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. One radio station’s listing, from WGNA, gave 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you are going late, check the chamber’s event page before you head out.

How big do they get?

The whole point is weight. Organizers say some entries top 1,000 pounds, and a few could reach 2,000. Last year’s winner weighed more than 2,200 pounds, according to WGNA, and the station framed this year’s question as whether anyone can crack that mark again.

Prizes go to the heaviest pumpkin grown in Saratoga County and the heaviest pumpkin overall, plus additional categories, according to the chamber. Each entry goes on an official scale, and the result is posted for the crowd.

What the chamber says

Chamber president Todd Shimkus described the event as a way to mark the start of fall and to highlight farming in the region. “Seeing these massive pumpkins up close is truly something you must experience for yourself,” Shimkus said in the chamber’s announcement, as published by Saratoga TODAY.

How the event started

PumpkinFest did not begin downtown. Grower Todd Brownell brought the idea to Ned Chapman of Sunnyside Gardens, and the nursery hosted the first two weigh-offs before the event moved to a larger site in Saratoga Spa State Park, outside the Lincoln Baths, for its third year, The Record reported in 2018. That year, the reigning champion pumpkin weighed 1,742 pounds.

The event later moved to the City Center garage. Our read: a covered, paved space with parking nearby makes it easier to handle half-ton pumpkins and large crowds. The weights have kept climbing, from about 1,700 pounds in the early years to more than 2,200 pounds in 2025.

Make a morning of it

The weigh-off shares the morning with the Saturday farmers market, run by the Saratoga Farmers Market Association, a nonprofit that dates to 1978. The market runs next door at High Rock Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through October, and it accepts SNAP/EBT, according to its listing with the Farmers Market Federation of New York. The market’s vendors and special exhibits will be part of the day, according to Saratoga.com. That makes it easy to combine produce shopping, a spring tasting at High Rock Park and a look at the pumpkins in one trip.

Other ideas for the day:

• Walk south on Broadway to browse downtown shops and grab lunch.
• Taste the mineral springs at High Rock Park, where High Rock, Governor and Peerless springs are all close to the garage.
• Stop by the Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center at 297 Broadway for fall event listings.

Parking and getting there

The event takes over part of the City Center garage, so plan for some spaces to be unavailable. Other city garages, including the Woodlawn Avenue and Walton Street garages, are nearby. The city’s summer paid-parking program ended on Labor Day, so city garages are free with posted time limits. Street parking on High Rock Avenue and Maple Avenue fills early on market Saturdays.

If the weather turns

The weigh-off happens on the garage’s ground floor, which gives growers, pumpkins and spectators cover if it rains. The farmers market next door runs under the High Rock Park pavilions. Dress for a cool morning, since late September temperatures in Saratoga Springs can start in the 40s or 50s, and bring a phone or camera for photos with the biggest entries.

More fall events downtown

PumpkinFest is one of several fall events in Saratoga Springs. The Downtown Business Association’s Fall Festival, with trick-or-treating and a pumpkin roll down Caroline Street, is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, according to the association. The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s Sunday walking tours continue through October 25.

Growers and the weigh-off

Growing a contender takes most of a year. Choosing the right seed takes through the winter, germination starts in April and plants go in the ground in early May, Brownell explained to The Record in 2018. Growers often share techniques at weigh-offs, and he described the event as a social gathering for people who share the hobby as much as a competition.

Know a local grower with an entry this year? Tell our newsroom, and we will follow up after the weigh-off.