Fruitville Grove’s 38th Annual Pumpkin Festival Returns to Sarasota for Five Fall Weekends
One of Sarasota’s longest-running fall traditions is getting ready to welcome families back for another season of pumpkins, farm animals, food, entertainment and outdoor fun.
The 38th Annual Pumpkin Festival at Fruitville Grove Farm Market will take place every Saturday and Sunday throughout October 2026, wrapping up on Sunday, November 1. The family-owned farm, located at 7410 Fruitville Road in Sarasota, has turned its annual celebration into a local fall tradition that now spans five weekends.
Five Weekends of Fall Fun
The 2026 festival dates are October 3-4, October 10-11, October 17-18, October 24-25 and October 31-November 1. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $5.00, and parking is free.
Fruitville Grove has built the festival around a mix of traditional farm activities and family entertainment. Returning attractions include hayrides, pony rides, pumpkin painting, a mini train ride, animal encounters, the playground, craft vendors and the popular Hug-A-Goat experience.
There will also be a Kids Fun Zone, Butterfly Garden Experience, Enchanted Unicorn Encounter, petting zoo, zip line and Hollowgraves Haunted Manor. Some individual attractions and activities may require an additional charge.
Circus Shows, Live Music and a Saturday Costume Contest
One of the festival’s signature attractions is the Torres Family Circus, along with the Torres Extreme Riders and their Globe of Death show. According to Fruitville Grove, the performances are scheduled for noon and 3 p.m. each festival day and are free to watch.
Live music is also scheduled each weekend from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with performers rotating throughout the festival. A wandering magician and balloon artist will entertain guests during the day as well.
Children are encouraged to dress up for the farm’s free costume contest every Saturday at 2 p.m. in front of the animal barn.
Fruitville Grove’s Facebook announcement also says several new experiences are being added for 2026, including a mini-donkey mingle area, bunny village, Kountry K9s show and a new goat castle with a goat bridge. A special mermaid experience featuring The Caspian Mermaid is planned for Saturdays.
Because some of those newly announced attractions are not yet listed on Fruitville Grove’s main festival webpage, visitors interested in a particular show or experience should check the farm’s latest updates before heading out.
Come Hungry: Food Trucks and Fall Treats
The Pumpkin Festival has grown into much more than a place to pick out a pumpkin.
Fruitville Grove describes its food area as a Food Truck Rally, with offerings expected to include wood-fired pizza, tacos, burgers, loaded fries, gyros, iced coffee and other meals, snacks and sweets.
Local vendors will also be set up throughout the grounds, making the festival a place to browse handmade items, specialty products and seasonal goods while spending the day at the farm.
The Pumpkin Palace Takes Center Stage
Of course, pumpkins remain one of the biggest attractions.
Fruitville Grove’s Pumpkin Palace is filled with pumpkins and fall decorations in a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Shoppers can find traditional jack-o’-lantern pumpkins as well as heirloom varieties, white pumpkins, pie pumpkins, miniature pumpkins and giant pumpkins.
The farm also sells seasonal decorations such as hay bales, cornstalks, gourds, scarecrows, Indian corn and garden decorations.
The displays also make the festival one of Sarasota’s popular fall photo destinations, with plenty of pumpkin-filled backdrops around the property.
More Than a Festival
Fruitville Grove operates throughout the year as a family farm market. The business sells a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, including locally grown and organic produce when available, along with cheeses, jams, snacks and other specialty products.
The farm says it also grows several non-certified organic crops of its own, including cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes and strawberries, with its peak organic growing season generally running from December through March.
During the Pumpkin Festival, the Farmer’s Market and Pumpkin Palace remain open rain or shine and accept both cash and credit cards. Because the event takes place outdoors on a working farm, weather and ground conditions can affect the experience.
2026 Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival Details
Dates: October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, October 31 and November 1, 2026
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Location: 7410 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34240
Admission: $5.00
Parking: Free
Website: Fruitville Grove Farm Market
Festival Information: Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival
For Sarasota-area families, the festival offers something increasingly difficult to duplicate: a full day of old-fashioned fall atmosphere combined with live entertainment, animals, food, shopping and enough pumpkins to make it feel like autumn — even when Florida temperatures say otherwise.
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