Fearrington’s annual Halloween tradition, PumpkinFest, is upon us again! On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, stroll the village paths and enjoy spectacular pumpkins intricately carved by Fearrington’s gardeners and chefs. Full event details are below.
PumpkinFest is an exciting time where employees from across the company use their creative talents and scooping skills to create magical displays, using the best produce from farmers’ fields around the Triangle. As we speak, the three bay garage in the gardeners’ building has been transformed into a pumpkin staging area; gardeners, chefs, floral designers and construction workers are working side by side to carve festive, whimsical designs into these gourds.
For over twenty years, construction foreman Steve Mann has hand selected our carving pumpkins from area fields. This year he collected about 60 pumpkins. He favors the Prizewinner variety since these giant smooth pumpkins offer the best surfaces for carving, and he looks for sturdy, oval pumpkins so designs stand out.
These temporary sculptures will then be positioned in displays around the Village Center that include hay bales, corn shucks, gourds and unusual smaller pumpkins sourced from Red Parker, a nearby farmer. These latter varieties include Jarrahdale (small, gray blue and heavily ribbed), Long Island Cheese (an old fashioned variety that resembles a wheel of cheddar), Rouge Vif d'etamps (a French heirloom pumpkin also known as Cinderella pumpkins since they looks like her carriage), and Full Moon, "the great white of pumpkins"! You can see with all these shapes, colors and textures why pumpkins are such a time-honored source of fascination to so many people.
Finally, look for the fantastic display in the middle of the Village Center of carved New England pie pumpkins lined up on haybales that collectively spell “Happy Halloween” – an ideal photo op spot for your crew!
Event Details
As always, PumkinFest weekend is free and open to the public. Walk around the Village Center, enjoy lit Halloween displays and visit with farm animals including our prize winning Belted Galloway cows! Enjoy a beer or glass of wine at Roost, our beer garden, which will be open until 8pm as normal.
On Friday night, bring the children for a special evening of live Bluegrass, Spooky Storytime and family-style dinner. The shops at Fearrington will be open until 8pm, and The Fearrington Granary Restaurant will serve family-style dinner from 5pm to 8pm. And the children will love Spooky Storytime at McIntyre's Books from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.