April Cambero
Staff Writer
Crowds of families and kids of all ages flocked to the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Fest on Sunday.
Classic fall activities, such as a corn maze, hayride and petting farm, were available for the public to enjoy.
Smoke filled the air from the several BBQ stands and Mexican food carts. There was a balloon-animal cart with Halloween-themed creations.
The sounds of banjos and fiddles echoed throughout the festival as families frolicked through the pumpkin patch, trying to find the perfect potential jack-o-lantern.
Vendors featured rag dolls, leather goods, paintings and more.
“We’re giving back to the University, so everything we sell we give a percentage,” said Karen Martin, owner of Karen’s Korner, whose booth sold hand-crafted signs. She’s been selling at this annual event since its start, 30 years ago. Martin is also a former longtime Cal Poly employee.
“It’s nice to just get to know the people and work in a community where you got to school with them too,” said Viviana Albayeros, a Cal Poly pre-vet animal sciences sophomore who worked the event on Sunday.
Albayeros, who also worked the event last year, said she appreciates the many conversations with visitors and her peers.
Martin agreed: “You see three generations, sometimes more, and it’s really nice to follow them and see what they’re doing and I really enjoy that.”
The Pumpkin Fest started in 1993. In the early years, participants would cut their own pumpkins from the vines.
Today the patch is full of pre-cut, ready-to-go pumpkins.
The Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Fest runs every weekend through the end of October.
April Cambero can be reached at april.cambero@laverne.edu.
April Cambero is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is the Fall 2024 editor-in-chief for the Campus Times and has also served as social media editor and staff writer.
