Circleville's Pumpkin Show Turns 119 — and It's Getting Bigger, Not Smaller

Here's a piece of news that asks nothing of you except maybe an appetite: the 119th Annual Circleville Pumpkin Show — the self-styled "Greatest Free Show on Earth" — is officially expanding its schedule this year, adding a Tuesday night preview that features an eighth parade. A 119-year-old small-town festival that's growing instead of shrinking is about as good as October news gets.

What happened

The Scioto Post reported in early October that the Pumpkin Show is making its unofficial Tuesday tradition official. Tuesday night had long been known among Circleville locals as an unofficial preview evening — a chance to enjoy the concessions before the real Wednesday kickoff — but Tuesday, October 20, 2026 will now serve as an official evening event. The highlight comes at 7:00 p.m. with the inaugural Tuesday night parade, themed "Pumpkin Show Celebrates 250 Years of Agriculture."

And this one sounds like a parade worth standing on a curb for. According to the Circleville Herald, it will showcase agriculture past and present through farm equipment representing different periods of the past 250 years, agricultural crops, FFA units, livestock, local high school and community marching bands, and special competition floats. Old tractors, young farmers, tubas. That's the whole American harvest story rolling down one street.

Why it matters

Plenty of long-running events are trimming days and raising prices. Circleville is doing the opposite. The main festival runs Wednesday, October 21, through Saturday, October 24 — four full days of pumpkin everything in downtown Circleville — and admission is completely free, every single day.

The scale of the thing is hard to overstate. Over 100,000 pounds of pumpkins, squash, and gourds line the streets of this small Ohio town, and a pumpkin pie six feet wide and weighing about 400 pounds gets baked for the festival every year. The midway is growing too: Poor Jack Amusements is setting up 29 rides for the 119th show, headlined by a brand-new Pirate Ship ride imported directly from Italy.

A festival that stays stubbornly local

What keeps the Pumpkin Show feeling like Circleville's own, 119 years in, is how local the competition stays. All produce entries must be grown by the exhibitor within Pickaway County or the trading area of Circleville — no ringers trucking in squash from three states over. Even the downtown merchants get in on it: the window-decorating contest theme for 2026 is "Red, White and Winkie," which may be the most Ohio sentence ever printed. And yes, the Big Wheel Race is one of the confirmed competitions on the 2026 schedule.

This is exactly the kind of place-first, slightly ridiculous, completely sincere tradition we love at Land & Light — it's half the reason our Ohio collection exists.

If you want to go

It's an easy trip. Circleville sits about 25 miles south of Columbus, and the show fills downtown from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day with parades, entertainment, competitions, exhibits, food and traditions. Come Tuesday evening for the new parade, or pick any day that week. The local visitors bureau makes a good point, too: Pumpkin Show may bring you to Circleville, but it doesn't have to be your only stop — make time for a fall drive, a local restaurant, Pickaway County's shops and farm markets, or stay overnight.

Wear layers, wear comfortable shoes, and if you want to find your people fast, wear an O-H tee — somebody in that crowd will finish the cheer before you reach the pie.

Common questions

When is the 2026 Circleville Pumpkin Show?

The 2026 Circleville Pumpkin Show will be held October 21–24 in downtown Circleville, with special opening activities beginning Tuesday, October 20.

Does it cost anything to attend?

No — admission is completely free, every single day. That's where the "Greatest Free Show on Earth" nickname comes from. Rides and food are extra, and discounted ride tickets and wristbands must be purchased online by 11:59 p.m. Monday, October 19, 2026.

What's new this year?

Two big things: an official Tuesday night preview featuring an eighth parade, and a new Pirate Ship ride from Italy making its Pumpkin Show debut this fall.

Reported by Scioto Post. Details as published at the time of writing.