While temperatures may still skew toward the 90’s, and the trees remain the same vibrant green as they were in April and March, the so-called ‘spooky season’ has descended upon Austin. In fact, a tell-tale sign that it can officially be considered fall, regardless of the unideal weather conditions, is the slow re-emergence of Christmas ads and related paraphernalia. However, I plan to hold onto the oranges and yellows a little longer, before making my transition to the classic reds and greens of late November.
Running from Sept. 27 through Oct. 27, Austin Pumpkin Festival, located on South Lamar, boasts a ferris wheel, train ride, corn pit, bouncy pumpkin, and live music among other smaller attractions. After seeing several posts about it on Instagram, my friend group decided to make the 30 minute trek downtown to partake in the experience.
Frankly, I am not a fan of any of the instagram oriented photo-ops around Austin. Places such as the Museum of Ice Cream and Museum of Illusions, and in my opinion, Austin Pumpkin Festival, are overpriced, boredom inducing, and a little bit depressing due to their overly commercialized feel.
My first issue with the festival was the extreme lack of parking. The amount of people at the festival in proportion to the number of spots offered was not ideal and my friends and I had to park about a quarter mile away just to get to the festival (whether the spot we parked was legal or not, we shall never know.) Lamar itself is a tricky road to navigate, so the journey to get to the actual patch was quite anxiety inducing and was enough for me to check off the pumpkin festival as a one time thing.
The actual set-up of the festival made up for the atrocious parking situation, and I understand why people would appreciate the experience, as the name of the event does not lie, there are pumpkins everywhere, which I’m sure classifies this destination as a major bucket list item for any pumpkin enthusiast. However, for those of us who do not hold such passion for the fruit, the festival fell a bit short on expectations. The event itself featured a ferris wheel, offering a clear view of the downtown horizon and making its 30-minute wait-time worth it. We bought our tickets for around 5 p.m., before the sun had started to set, but I think if we had waited an hour or so, the sunset would have made the night significantly better. I will say, the ride was a bit rickety and there were several moments over its duration where I feared for my safety, but overall, it showed me a unique angle of the city I have only ever seen from ground level.
My friends and I by-passed the majority of the festival’s features (as they were mainly catered toward younger kids) and instead spent our stay wandering and taking pictures. We tested out the “piggly wiggles” ride, which was essentially a pig shaped cart on a track, and a rusty fortune telling machine which offered me a grim vision for my personal fate.
My friends and I stayed about an hour and a half before making our way back out the front entrance, where we were asked to leave a review in exchange for a free mini pumpkin. In all honesty, this was the most exciting part for my friends and me, as there is something about their size and intensity of hue that makes mini pumpkins quite appealing. However, much to our dismay, the festival had run out of mini pumpkins by the time we were done, so we left the patch empty handed.
I personally will not be returning to Austin Pumpkin Festival, simply because I don’t think it was a good use of $20 and I have never been much of a fan of what I like to call “manufactured-fun” experiences. I will say, if you are under the age of 12, love to post on Instagram, or are attending at sunset, you might have a better experience than I did. I didn’t have a bad time per say, rather, I feel there are better ways to spend $20, and cheaper ways to get fall Instagram photos. I would have much rather gone to a real pumpkin patch that is free to enter and feels a bit more authentic, rather than overly commercialized.
