Houston Pumpkin Festival canceled due to recent rainfall, flooding
The Houston Pumpkin Festival has been canceled this year as a result of recent heavy rainfall and flooding.
In a social media post Thursday, festival organizers said they made “the difficult decision to cancel the 2026 Houston Pumpkin Festival due to unsafe conditions at the festival grounds caused by recent weather events, continued rainfall and flooding.”
The festival had been set to start on Oct. 9 and continue through Oct. 11. The festival grounds are behind American Legion Post No. 902 in the borough. Typically happening in the second weekend of October, the festival is the major fundraising event for Houston’s volunteer fire department.
“This decision was not made lightly,” the social media post stated. “The Houston Fire Company relies heavily on the festival to help fund its operations and maintain its ability to provide essential services to our community. In the weeks leading up to this decision, the committee explored numerous alternatives and made adjustments to the festival footprint after portions of the grounds were deemed unstable for safety reasons.”
It continued, “Unfortunately, the most recent rain events and additional flooding have left the grounds unsuitable for an event of this size.”
The festival had been due to have more than 175 food and craft vendors, children’s games and activities and an assortment of pumpkin-related contests, along with a scarecrow contest.
“We recognize the disappointment this announcement will cause and understand the tremendous amount of time, effort and resources invested by our crafters, vendors, entertainers, sponsors, volunteers and community partners,” the festival’s organizers explained. “We are incredibly grateful for their support and commitment to making the Houston Pumpkin Festival a success this year. By making this decision now, we hope to provide our vendors and participants with as much notice as possible to pursue other opportunities.”
A previously scheduled Pumpkin Parade will still happen on Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. The parade will travel along Pike Street from Shady Avenue, and then to Cherry Avenue. On the same day, the Firefighters Kitchen will be near Dual Devils Garage and Helltown Brewing Houston from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.