Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland threw open its gates two weeks earlier than usual this year, but there's not a jack-o'-lantern in sight yet. Instead, the farm at 1415 Pumpkin Lane is running its first-ever Watermelon Festival, a free-admission event stacking watermelon-eating contests, carnival rides and a watermelon-flavored Dole Whip into the days before pumpkin season officially takes over.
The festival runs the first two weekends of the farm's season, August 28 through 30 and September 4 through 6, according to The Sacramento Bee. There's no charge to get in or to park in the lot adjacent to the farm, though food, vendor goods and ride attractions still cost extra. Farm CEO Lee Bishop, the third-generation leader of the family operation, said the goal behind the early opening was straightforward: the farm wanted to extend its open season and give visitors a reason to come back more than once a year.
The timing lines up with what's happening in fields across the state. Warmer-than-average spring temperatures in California this year sped up fruit crop development, pushing early harvests for watermelons, cherries, peaches and strawberries statewide, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. Bishop's leaned into that window by planting a test crop of watermelons in 2025 and expanding it this year, with melons grown roughly 200 yards from the farm's watermelon house. The pumpkins, meanwhile, simply weren't ready for picking by late August and early September, per the same Bee report, so the farm filled the gap with what was.
What's Actually Growing on Site
The watermelon house now holds dozens of ripe melons picked right on the property, and Bishop said the farm is doing its own harvesting rather than trucking fruit in. Visitors can buy whole fresh melons for $5 apiece, or grab tajin- and chamoy-seasoned watermelon chunks for $2. Free watermelon slices are handed out near the patch entrance, and the farm's food lineup stretches to watermelon bread, doughnuts, cookies, lemonade and watermelon slushies, plus salted watermelon hard cider for guests 21 and over.
The signature item is a watermelon-flavored Dole Whip, running $8 for a regular cone or $6 for a kids' size. Most of the farm's family-friendly attractions are included in the festival, among them a train that loops around the orchards and patches, Sunflower Whirl teacup rides, a merry-go-round, and the Golden Grain Raceway inner-tube slide that debuted for the 2025 season. The corn maze is the one notable attraction not part of the festival lineup. An unlimited ride wristband, normally $35, is discounted to $20 during the first two festival weekends.
A Watermelon-Eating Showdown Every Weekend Day
Each of the four festival days features a watermelon-eating competition open to anyone age 5 or older, with contestants racing to eat half a watermelon down to the rind within a set time. Saturdays and Sundays also bring live music and line dancing to the grounds. In about two weeks, the farm will pivot from watermelon displays back to its traditional pumpkin setup, ushering in the season Bishop's has built its reputation on.
That reputation runs deep in Wheatland. Bill and Sandy Bishop founded the farm in 1973 on 40 acres, starting with a single acre of pumpkins grown for elementary school field trips, according to the farm's own account of its history. Bill Bishop, who personally built many of the farm's early mechanical rides and installed local orchard irrigation through the 1970s, died in May 2021 at age 83, the Appeal Democrat reported at the time. Lee Bishop now runs the farm as its third-generation CEO.
A Bigger Autumn Still Ahead
Once pumpkin season begins, the farm's scale becomes clear: city of Wheatland municipal records estimate Bishop's draws between 275,000 and 400,000 visitors annually, making it one of the largest seasonal agritourism operations in Yuba County. The farm is also the official host of the National Pumpkin Weigh Off, which carries a total prize purse exceeding $100,000 this year, including a $75,000 bounty for the first grower to bring in a 3,000-pound pumpkin, according to the National Pumpkin Weigh Off. Last September's contest at the farm was won by Oregon grower Russ Pugh, whose 2,204.5-pound pumpkin named Fordzilla took first place and a $15,000 cash prize, per the Territorial Dispatch.
The farm's grounds will also host adult programming during the harvest stretch: the 10th annual Golden Autumn Wine Festival is set for September 6, a ticketed, 21-and-over fundraiser benefiting the Yuba-Sutter-Colusa United Way, the Territorial Dispatch has reported separately.
Part of a Statewide Shift
Bishop's early-summer pivot fits a broader pattern taking shape across California agriculture. Agritourism revenue in the state grew 184% between 2007 and 2022, expanding into an industry worth nearly $100 million spread across more than 2,000 participating farms and ranches, according to data compiled by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Nationally, farm operations pulled in $1.26 billion in agritourism revenue in 2022, a 12.4% inflation-adjusted jump from 2017, with more than half of all U.S. counties reporting some agritourism income, per the USDA Economic Research Service. For a farm like Bishop's, long dependent on a concentrated autumn rush, stretching the calendar into August offers a way to even out the year's cash flow while the fields are still producing something worth picking.
