The Greenbelt Pumpkin Festival

10/25/2025

The final event of the 2025 Pumpkin Festival took place behind Beltway Plaza Mall tonight as part of Trunk or Treat. We gave away 175 pumpkins and saw some great carvings. Thank you to everyone who came out!

10/25/2025

Three cheers for the Greenbelt Park Rangers who showed up to bolster our very small volunteer group this morning, loading and unloading 175 pumpkins for tonight’s Pumpkin Carving at Trunk or Treat in Greenbelt West!

Both the Parks Department and Public Works provide enormous support for the Pumpkin Festival and we couldn’t do it without their help, but today was really above and beyond our expectations. THANK YOU!!

10/22/2025

Our final pumpkin carving is scheduled for this Friday, October 24th, as part of Trunk or Treat behind the Beltway Plaza Mall from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. We still need volunteers to help us load up pumpkins at the Greenbelt Co-Op (10:00 to 10:30 am), unload those same pumpkins at Beltway Plaza (4:00 to 4:30 pm), set up tables and carving tools (4:00 to 5:00 pm), act as Carving Hosts, assisting participants as needed (5:00 to 7:00 pm) and pumpkin clean-up (7:00 to 8:00 pm).

We know that our sign-up genius is very long, but please keep scrolling to the very bottom to find the sign up slots for Beltway Plaza Mall in Greenbelt West! Come be part of the fun!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EA5AB2DA4FEC61-58557365-pumpkin #/

Send a message to learn more

10/20/2025

Lore Rosenthal has shared a recipe from her friend Svetlana which makes use of the leftover pumpkin guts from pumpkin carving. We'll have lots more pumpkin guts this Friday at our next carving, so you can try it and let us know what you think. I'd love to see photos of your soup! (text version of recipe in comments)

10/19/2025

We would like to thank Rodney Roberts for his longstanding support of the Pumpkin Walk. In addition to being one of the original founders of the Pumpkin Walk, he personally provides hot chocolate and apple cider at the end of the path. This is not funded or organized by the Festival, Rodney just quietly makes it happen, year after year, without fanfare or fuss. Just one more thing that makes the Pumpkin Walk amazing!

10/19/2025

We had a fantastic pumpkin walk in the North Woods tonight! We counted 1602 visitors, which is probably close to accurate, but may not be exact; at some points it was so crowded that we missed people or may have counted someone twice. We hope it all averages out! Goodnight Greenbelt, thanks for making this such a great place to live! (Photo: a view of pumpkins on the trail just before the lights were extinguished).

10/18/2025

The pumpkin lighting has begun! By 6:00 pm we expect all pumpkins to be lit and ready for visitors!

10/18/2025

Hey all you brilliant Greenbelters! Did you know that the Pumpkin Walk originated as a way to get people into the woods and save our forest? We coordinate every year with the Forest Preserve Advisory Board to make sure that we are taking good care of this resource when we use it for our walk. One condition of our use is that we must leave the path in as good or better condition than we found it. That's why we need lots of volunteers to help us move pumpkins out of the forest on Sunday morning after the walk. It's not the most glamorous part of the festival, but it is absolutely vital for the continuing use of the North Woods. Please sign up to help carry pumpkins out of the woods and line them up on Northway to be picked up. We start at 10:00 am on Sunday morning and you can sign up at our Sign Up Genius (link below). Many hands make light work!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4EA5AB2DA4FEC61-58557365-pumpkin #/

10/18/2025

Our amazing volunteers have unloaded the trucks and are busy filling the woods with pumpkins. Come see them tonight between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm at the North Woods (follow the path from the corner of Ridge Road and Northway).

Friendly reminders for the pumpkin walk:

* This is a forest path, with uneven terrain and occasional roots or branches. Walk slowly and carefully. You can park your stroller near the entrance and pick it up on your way out
* Please leave your pets at home. The walk is dimly lit and can get very crowded, making it easy to trip over your pet or your leash.
* Please leave your flashlights OFF in the woods. The pumpkins glow best in the dark and strobing lights make them harder to see. Inevitably, lights get shined in the eyes of your fellow walkers, temporarily blinding them and making it more difficult to navigate the path.
* There are trash cans and recycling bins at both ends of the trail. Please dispose of your waste responsibly and keep our woods beautiful!
* Between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00 pm the forest will be completely welcoming to even our smallest guests. After 7:00 pm you may spot Goatman or other creepy creatures. There are no jump scares at the pumpkin walk and we ask you not to try to scare your fellow walkers.
* Most of all, have fun!

10/17/2025

Pumpkin carving at Roosevelt Center is busy!! We will be here until 8:00 pm or until we run out of pumpkins, whichever comes first!

10/17/2025

Thanks to the early birds who showed up at 7:00 am and waited pariently for our delayed pumpkin delivery. 350 gorgeous pumpkins are in Roosevelt center, waiting for tonight’s carving. We start at 4:00 pm and carve until 8:00 pm or until we run out of pumpkins. See you there!