Hunsader Farms gears up for annual Pumpkin Festival

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for the Hunsader family. No, not Christmas.

Think pumpkins.

“The Pumpkin Festival is like Christmas to us,” said 24-year-old Rachel Hunsader of Hunsader Farms. “My cousins and I, ever since we were little, would always run around and play at the festival. Even now, we still run around and we’re all in our 20s.”

Hunsader Farms will host its 25th annual Pumpkin Festival the weekends of Oct. 15-16, Oct. 22-23 and Oct. 29-30.

“We started the Pumpkin Festival because, 25 years ago, craft shows were really huge,” said Kim Hunsader, who is Rachel’s mom. “So we thought, instead of having crafts, we’d have a hayride and make our own food booths. Then we realized we couldn’t keep up (with all the people).”

The past 25 years has been spent keeping up. Now, with the thousands of people who visit, the Pumpkin Festival has made tremendous leaps since the first one in 1991. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular seasonal events in East County.

This year, Hunsader Farms has various new activities in store for the festival, including Welde’s Bear Show, Agri Puppet Show, Sky High Daredevil Duo, Extreme Raptors Show, Jumping Johnny’s Comedy Theatre, FMX Motocross and the Big Train Ride.

“Every year we try to switch it up a little,” Kim Hunsader said.

The Big Train Ride attraction may sound familiar for those who attended the Pumpkin Festival last year. Though Hunsader Farms did have the train last year, they were not able to get it running. This year should be different.

“We advertised it last year, but we had just laid the [train] tracks down and didn’t realize that the track had to settle,” Kim Hunsader said. “This year, it’s going to be awesome. People are going to be riding past exotic animals and stuff.”

Preparing for the festival isn’t easy. It includes months of preparation and a lot of time.

“There’s a lot of physical work we have to do out here, but it’s fun,” Kim Hunsader said. “We work seven days a week for at least a month and a half, calling crafters and vendors, and even making our own scarecrows.”

Connie Hunsader, 79, and her granddaughter, Rachel, have been responsible for the creation of the scarecrows. The two of them enjoy working together, and it’s a project they start in August.

“We usually have to take the old scarecrows and redo them, and all summer long I keep my eye out for cheap clothes,” Connie Hunsader said. “Rachel usually helps me make most of them.”

The Hunsader family takes pride in their festival.

“It’s very family oriented and it’s more of a country feel rather than a carnival,” Kim Hunsader said. “A lot of people come from up north and say it reminds them of the festivals they have had.”

Connie Hunsader agreed with her daughter.

“The Pumpkin Festival is the closest thing you’ll get to fall in Florida,” Connie Hunsader said.