'Today' Show Lists Best Pumpkin Festivals In Each State

ACROSS AMERICA – Pumpkins aren’t just for carving jack-o’-lanterns anymore. As you survey the fields and patches near you this fall, imagine the possibilities.

If you built your very own pumpkin car, do you think it could win a race? How would you like to launch a pumpkin from a pumpkin blaster? Or take in the eerie beauty of 1,000 illuminated pumpkins against a pitch-black sky?

'Tis the season for fall festivals, and all across America, incredible seasonal fairs are finding astonishingly creative ways to enjoy pumpkins, from a literal pumpkin regatta in Oregon (exactly as it sounds) to seeing 7,000 illuminated jack-o’-lanterns float in New York’s Hudson River, with the city skyline in the distant backdrop.

The "Today" show compiled a list of each state’s best fall festival in 2021 (even though some have been postponed until 2022). From a hot air balloon festival in Mississippi to a cowboy festival in Missouri to an evil sea witch festival in Delaware to Oktoberfest in Oklahoma, this list shows off the diversity and creativity that still animate the United States, even in the middle of a pandemic.

Pumpkins are playing a particularly plump role in this year’s festivals. The vast majority of states feature a pumpkin patch, and plenty of pumpkin-related treats to go with them. But some festivals are taking pumpkin loving to a new level.

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In Maryland, the O.C.-toberfest allows visitors to race pumpkin cars down a track. In Minnesota, Shakopee’s Fall Festival has a “pumpkin blasting” attraction that throttles full-size pumpkins into the air. In North Dakota, kids can play a life-size Tic Tac Toe using actual pumpkins at Fall in Fargo. In Ohio, the Great Pumpkin Glow features 1,000 illuminated pumpkins visitors can walk through.

Here’s the “Today” show’s complete list by state.

1. Alabama: Coastal Bird Fest
2. Alaska: Alaska Day Festival
3. Arizona: Taco Festival
4. Arkansas: TimberFest
5. California: Sonoma’s County Harvest Festival (postponed to 2022)
6. Colorado: Brecktoberfest
7. Connecticut: Olde Mistick Village Garlic Festival
8. Delaware: Sea Witch Festival
9. Florida: Suwannee Hulaween
10. Georgia: Duluth Fall Festival
11. Hawaii: Kona Coffee Cultural Festival
12. Idaho: Trailing of the Sheep
13. Illinois: Scarecrow Festival
14. Indiana: Festival of the Turning Leaves
15. Iowa: Madison County Covered Bridge Festival
16. Kansas: Renaissance and Scottish Fall Festival
17. Kentucky: World Chicken Festival
18. Louisiana: International Rice Festival
19. Maine: Acadia Night Sky Festival
20. Maryland: O.C.-toberfest
21. Massachusetts: The Big E
22. Michigan: Grand Ledge Fall Festival
23. Minnesota: Shakopee’s Fall Festival
24. Mississippi: Natchez Balloon Festival
25. Missouri: National Crafts and Cowboy Festival
26. Montana: Fresh Hop Festival
27. Nebraska: Autumn Festival
28. Nevada: RiSE Festival
29. New Hampshire: Hay Day
30. New Jersey: Allentown Fall Festival
31. New Mexico: Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta
32. New York: Jack O’Lantern Blaze
33. North Carolina: Autumn Leaves Festival
34. North Dakota: Fall in Fargo
35. Ohio: Great Pumpkin Glow
36. Oklahoma: Linde Oktoberfest
37. Oregon: West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta (canceled)
38. Pennsylvania: Apple Harvest Festival
39. Rhode Island: Ocean State Oyster Fest
40. South Carolina: Callaham Orchards
41. South Dakota: Oktoberfest
42. Tennessee: Dollywood’s Harvest Festival
43. Texas: Autumn at the Arboretum
44. Utah: Fall Festival and Draft Horse Show
45. Vermont: Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival
46. Virginia: Fall at Mount Vernon
47. Washington: Boo! Seattle
48. West Virginia: Roadkill Cook-Off (canceled)
49. Wisconsin: Cranberry Fest
50. Wyoming: Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival