LOGAN – The fourth annual Center Street Giant Pumpkin Festival will return to downtown Logan on Saturday, Oct. 3.
“Since 2023, the Center Street Giant Pumpkin Festival has quickly become one of the premier giant pumpkin weigh-offs in the West,” according to Mark Anderson, the mayor of Logan and owner of Anderson’s Seed & Garden, one of the festival’s sponsors.
“This year we’ll have even more activities, entertainment food and pure fun, along with things no one has probably seen before — including multiple 2,000-pound pumpkins and maybe even a new state record.”
The daylong event – principally sponsored by Cache Valley Bank and Anderson’s Seed and Garden – has grown from little more than an idea into one of Center Street’s biggest annual gatherings.
The festival’s organizers are anticipating more than 20,000 attendees, including more than 25 confirmed giant pumpkin growers from across the Intermountain West who are eager to compete in Logan’s officially sanctioned Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
The free festival’s events will begin at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 7 p.m., with the Center Street thoroughfare closed off to traffic between Main and 100 West streets.
Event organizers say that free parking will be available on the blocks surrounding Center Street, with those locations identified in the festival’s digital program and online at www.CenterStreetGiants.com
This year’s festival will feature 116 vendor booths and food trucks, all of them offering food, snacks, unique gifts and local products throughout the day.
More than 20 free and interactive activities will be available for kids, teens and families, including pumpkin decorating, interactive art projects, Story Time at the Logan City Library and a free movie at the Utah Theatre.
Giant pumpkin carvers — one of the festival’s most popular attractions — will transform massive pumpkins into works of art throughout the day, while street artists create additional art displays along Center Street.
The highlight of the event will, of course, be the Giant Pumpkin Weight-Off.
Anderson explains that entries into that completion are expected to range from 500 lbs. to well over 2,000 lbs., with pumpkin growers queuing up to challenge festival and state records.
The mayor added that the Utah record is 2,289 lbs., which was weighed on Center Street during the Giant Pumpkin Festival in 2024.
In addition to the daylong activities on Center Street, live entertainment will be provided by local bands at the nearby Carol & Jim Laub Plaza, climaxing with a performance from 5 to 7 p.m. by The Lonely Hearts Club Band, a Beatles tribute ensemble.
The Laub Plaza will also host a Pie Eating Contest – sponsored by Angie’s Restaurant – from 2 to 3 p.m.
Back on Center Street, the Utah Theatre will present a free screening of the 2006 DreamWorks Animation feature Over the Hedge at 3 p.m. for the youngsters and any parents who need a break.
A complete festival schedule of event can be found by going online to www.CenterStreetGiants.com
The Laub Plaza is located at 55 North Main Street in downtown Logan.
The Utah Theatre is located at 18 West Center Street.