Huntsburg Township's Pumpkin Festival rolls into its 56th year this weekend, filling the grounds around the Huntsburg Community Center with more than 50 local crafters and vendors, a parade, live music and a lineup of harvest-season contests that range from nail pounding to bubble gum blowing. The two-day event runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with free parking and a shuttle for attendees. It is a scene that has played out in this stretch of Geauga County for more than five decades, and this year it arrives with a hometown pumpkin champion to brag about.
A Festival With Deep Roots and a Fresh Lineup
According to Cleveland.com, this year's festival includes a car show, a pumpkin pie-eating contest, apple peeling, nail pounding, a baking contest and a pumpkin roll, alongside a brand-new addition: a cornhole tournament. The Geauga County Maple Leaf reports that cornhole was formally added to the official activity lineup for 2026, joining those historic farmstead contests as organizers periodically update the program to blend modern lawn games with old-fashioned ones. The 2026 festival is the 56th annual edition of the event, held in and around the Huntsburg Community Center.
The pumpkin roll remains one of the festival's signature kids' events, with children competing across age groups by rolling pumpkins down a steep hill at the intersection of State Routes 322 and 528 for distance-based prizes, the same outlet's reporting notes. Morning pancake breakfasts, served from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. both days in the town hall, pair buttermilk and pumpkin pancakes with sausage and locally produced Geauga County maple syrup.
A Hometown Champion Ahead of the Festival
Huntsburg's own Jerry Rose Jr. gives the festival an extra dose of local pride this year. Rose won the 2026 King Pumpkin title at the nearby Barnesville Pumpkin Festival in late September with an 1,837-pound entry, earning his third career championship after previous wins in 1993 and 1994, according to YourRadioPlace.com. Rose has cultivated giant pumpkins in Huntsburg Township for more than 40 years, regularly growing specimens exceeding 1,400 pounds, cementing the township's reputation for world-class giant pumpkins just days before its own festival got underway.
Parade, Pumpkin Run and Weekend Schedule
Sunday's festivities build toward a parade at 2:15 p.m., with participants lining up at 1:15 p.m. at Overlook Knoll, across from Huntsburg Baptist Church, per Cleveland.com's reporting. The parade is followed by performances from the Cardinal Marching Band and the Geauga Highlanders bagpipers and drummers. Live entertainment across the weekend includes Jim Hein & True Country, acoustic singer Chuck, the Huntsburg Raccoon Rattlers and the Walnut Hill Cloggers, while the Jungle Terry animal show appears Saturday and the Geauga County Sheriff's Office brings K-9 demonstrations both days.
Sunday also brings the Pumpkin Run at Headwaters Park, featuring a four-mile run and a one-mile walk, with donations benefiting Golden Retrievers in Need, or GRIN. Dogs are welcome to join participants in the Pumpkin Run itself in exchange for a cash or check donation to GRIN Rescue, but pets remain strictly prohibited from the main festival grounds back in Huntsburg.
Community, Charity and Festival Traditions
Back at the main grounds, the Huntsburg Grange hosts Hobo Bingo from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the town hall, and the Cardinal Boosters basket raffle draws Sunday at 6 p.m. Food stalls and craft booths are staffed by local non-profit groups, 4-H clubs and area vendors, with proceeds raising funds for charities including WomenSafe, according to Ohio Festivals.
The festival court remains part of the tradition too: Geauga County female students in grades 10 through 12 compete for the title of Pumpkin Festival Queen, while students in grades six through eight compete for Junior Queen, representing the event at community parades and regional gatherings throughout the year. Festival contests run on varying times and age groups throughout the weekend, and organizers note the full schedule is available at huntsburgpumpkinfestival.com.
