The Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival is Oct. 4

The much-loved hometown event, The Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at North Creek Community Center parking lot, 20125 Arrowhead Road.

The Fall Festival is the setting that surrounds The Great Pumpkin Race with live music, great food, carnival rides and games. There are fun activities for the whole family! The Great Pumpkin Race is the most exciting special event to hit the East Coast in years! It’s easy, it’s wacky, and pumpkins and racer kits all around the community are transformed into pumpkin racers to compete in the annual MVF Great Pumpkin Race! Get all the details here. 

If you plan to race, come to the Montgomery Village Foundation Office, 10120 Apple Ridge Road, to pick up your pumpkin kit before supplies run out. The kit is $25 and includes 4 wheels, 2 axles and all the hardware you need to create a pumpkin racer. If you saved your wheels from last year and just need to freshen up the hardware, a $10 hardware kit is available.

Here are the rules to follow when you create your pumpkin racer:

1. A pumpkin racer must be crafted out of a single pumpkin.

2. A pumpkin may not contain weights, concrete, rocks or have a motor propellant.

3. The pumpkin racer’s locomotion must be via wheels connected to independent axles that are run through the pumpkin. You may not attach your pumpkin to a pre-fabricated chassis of any kind, such as a skateboard, stroller, Tonka truck, and so forth.

4. Pumpkin racers may only be propelled by gravity since the starting point is located on a ramp. Participants are not permitted to push or otherwise help their pumpkin racers move.

5. Failure to comply with any of the above rules will result in disqualification from racing, and your pumpkin racer will be ceremoniously smashed by our Referee; smashing pumpkins is a crowd favorite! Of course, feel free to cheat if your goal is to have your pumpkin smashed.

Schedule of activities:

11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. 
Pumpkin Race Registration and Check-in; Pumpkin Park; Pumpkin Garage; Practice Track

11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Food sales
Beer garden
Entertainment featuring 45 RPM and DJ Spyder
Free carnival rides
Free kids games and activities
Local Business Vendors

Noon to 12:15 p.m.
Pumpkin Racers must be in the Pumpkin Park before noon to be judged.
Pumpkin Park closes and Pumpkin Racer Judging begins; Categories are:
Best Decorated
Most Innovative Design
Most Disguised
Prettiest
Scariest
Best Animal Look-a-Like
Best Cartoon Character
Best Themed Racer and Driver Duo
Biggest Cheater.

1 to 2 p.m.
Opening Remarks: Doniele Ayres, MVF Board of Directors
Pumpkin Races include:
Featured V.I.P. Challenge
Open Races
Championship Race
The winner of the Championship Race will be awarded The Great Pumpkin Race Trophy!

Parking
Free shuttle service will be available every 15 minutes from:
MVF Office, 10120 Apple Ridge Road
Apple Ridge Recreation Area, 10101 Apple Ridge Road
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the corner of Montgomery Village Avenue and Apple Ridge Road
There is limited accessible parking at the event site.

Inclement Weather Plan
In the event of inclement weather, we will hold as many activities as possible, including the pumpkin races. For event day information, download the RainoutLine.com app, search Montgomery Village Foundation and tap “Events,” or you can visit the MVF website here. 

For questions, please contact the MVF Program Staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 301-948-0110. We hope to see you there!