Elk Grove Park is bracing for its biggest gourds yet as the Giant Pumpkin Festival returns for its 32nd year this Saturday and Sunday, running 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at 9950 Elk Grove Florin Road. The free festival typically pulls in about 60,000 people over the weekend, and the marquee event remains Saturday's weigh-off, where entries must top a full ton to even compete for the top prize.
As The Sacramento Bee reports, giant pumpkins will be hoisted onto scales in front of spectators throughout Saturday, with growers hoping to top last year's site record. That record belongs to Brian Werner of Gridley, whose 2,147-pound pumpkin won the 2025 competition and earned him the $7,000 grand prize. Werner's win pushed past the previous festival benchmark, a 2,138-pound entry grown in 106 days by Napa grower Jose Ceja back in 2018, according to the Cosumnes Community Services District.
The weigh-off isn't just a local novelty. It's officially sanctioned by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the international body that oversees more than 70 certified weigh-off sites worldwide and enforces uniform judging standards so results count toward global rankings. That sanctioning is part of why growers haul multi-ton pumpkins between stops on the Northern California fall circuit, timing their harvests around events like Wheatland and Half Moon Bay depending on how heavy their vines get and where the prize money is best, as Hoodline has previously reported.
How Elk Grove's Purse Stacks Up
Beyond the $7,000 top prize, cash awards trickle down to the top 20 weigh-off finishers, and a share of festival proceeds benefits local youth and community service groups, per the district. Still, Elk Grove's purse is modest next to some regional rivals. Wheatland's National Pumpkin Weigh-Off offers more than $100,000 in total prizes, including $75,000 for the world's first 3,000-pound pumpkin, while Half Moon Bay's Safeway World Championship pays growers $9 per pound, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of the Wheatland weigh-off's $75,000 jackpot.
Even Elk Grove's biggest winners remain well short of the global benchmark. The world record for heaviest pumpkin stands at 2,819.3 pounds, set in October 2025 by British twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton, a figure Hoodline has noted while covering other regional weigh-offs. The 2018 and 2025 Elk Grove entries topped 2,000 pounds, and the 2025 winner remained below the world record.
Beyond the Scale: Boats, Bakers and Scarecrows
Sunday shifts the spotlight to the annual Pumpkin Regatta, where contestants carve out giant pumpkins and paddle them across the park's small lake. Growers hollow out entries weighing between 600 and 1,000 pounds so they'll float, a process that requires careful prep before the boats hit the water, as detailed by ABC10 in its coverage of the event. The weekend also includes baking contests for children, teens and adults, a scarecrow contest and a youth art competition.
Rounding out the grounds are a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, carnival rides, arts and crafts vendors, food trucks and live music. Admission to the festival itself is free, though parking runs $20 per the district's release. The festival's reach extends well past the Sacramento region: organizers have said growers have traveled from as far as Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan and even Spain to compete, and a 2023 regatta video racked up more than 2.9 million views online.
A Long-Running Local Tradition
The festival marks its 32nd year in 2026, reflecting a tradition that has continued for more than three decades.
With traffic expected along Elk Grove Florin Road and a crowd that can swell to roughly 60,000 across the weekend, district officials are urging visitors to arrive early or carpool if they want a good look at this year's ton-plus contenders.
