Pumpkins define a town and a season O ctober defines the San Mateo County Coastside, and not only because of the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival. Visitors are sometimes surprised at the weather this time of year. September and October are typically full of sun-filled days. As fall takes its inexorable turn toward winter, there are no guarantees. Today’s sunshine turns to tomorrow’s blustery rainstorm in a heartbeat. The kids are back in school and visitor traffic rolls back like one of the local waves.
And then there are all those pumpkins. Overnight, the verdant fields around Half Moon Bay glow orange with the things. They attract a new wave of tourists — most of them simply our neighbors from over the hill — bent on a fun family outing. Of course, you can get a pumpkin at the grocery chain, but there is something about pulling a little red wagon through an honest-to-goodness farm to pick out just the right one. Kids don’t get quite so excited in the produce aisle, do they? Carving a jack-o’-lantern may be one of the last family activities that doesn’t require rechargeable batteries. Consider the Pumpkin Festival the crescendo of the month and Halloween a mere curtain call. There is nothing quite like the Pumpkin Festival, not around here any way. On the surface, it looks much like the street fairs over the hill. But it’s undeniably bigger, better. It’s a fundraiser for so many local nonprofits, from youth sports teams to organizations for seniors. Few towns are so closely identified with a single festival. It’s easy to be jaded about this time of year. There is a dollop of commercial interest at play, and commuters on Highway 92 are forgiven if they sometimes lose their holiday spirit. But look beyond that, to the community’s connection with an event that sets it apart. It’s October. It’s Half Moon Bay’s time. — Clay Lambert
Bill Murray
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