The 54th annual Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival takes place October 17 & 18, 2026 on Main Street in downtown Half Moon Bay. The festival features over 250 booths of handcrafted arts and crafts, three stages of live music, the Great Pumpkin Parade, pumpkin carving demonstrations, pie-eating and costume contests, food, and beverages. Event hours are 9:30am - 5:00pm.
Applications are open to creators of quality handcrafted, small batch products made in the USA by the artisan selling their works. Applicants should showcase their individual perspective in unique, unusual, and/or unexpected ways with good creative design. Not accepted: buy/sell, imports, kit-based, mass-produced items, work not made by the applicant(s), books, body art, permanent jewelry, CDs, packaged specialty foods, and toys that are weapons. Artwork depicting weapons, nudity, or sensitive wording may be declined to maintain a family-friendly environment.
Booth spaces range from 5'dx10'w to 10'dx20'w with fees from $510 to $1,300 (no commission). Approximately 500 applications are received annually, with an average of 210 artists selected from jury review. Artist hospitality includes snacks and beverages, private artist toilets, and free event postcards. A referral program offers $50 credits to both referrer and new artist upon participation in the same year.