It's Pumpkin Time!
October 21st, 2009
No sooner has the last warm breeze of summer ripened the valley’s grapevines, than shorter days and cooler nights put the focus on pumpkins, goblins, and all things “scary.”
Half Moon Bay, about an hour north of San Jose and on the coast, is perhaps the area’s best-known capitol of all things pumpkin. This year Half Moon Bay celebrated its 39th Annual Pumpkin Festival.
As in years past, pumpkin growers from all over the U.S. compete to see who will win the prize for the biggest pumpkin. This year’s winner also set a record at 1658 lbs. That’s a lot of pie and seeds! The area features numerous pumpkin patches, and a haunted barn as well. The town of Half Moon Bay is picturesque all year round, but really puts on a show in October.
Years ago, when my children were small, Santa Clara County had numerous open spaces and fields where pumpkins were grown. They are less evident now, but if you drive south to Morgan Hill and Gilroy you will find several with pumpkins aplenty. Countless children, parents in tow, visit Uesugi Farms annually. This local grower fills out his pumpkin patch with a train ride through the patch, a hayride, and places to picnic. This is Uesugi’s 19th year and this year’s prize- winning Great Pumpkin weighed in at 1462 lbs!
If you’re not worn out from a beautiful fall day of pumpkin-picking, you might try one of the 11,700,000 recipes found when I searched Google for ‘pumpkin recipes’. Wow! That might take some time; while I still enjoy roasting the pumpkin seeds, you might follow my lead and bring home a fresh-baked pie from your local bakery and enjoy without all that research.
The Downtown Willow Glen Business Association, 
in the neighborhood of our Willow Glen ALTERA Real Estate office, will have its Halloween Celebration in ‘Boo-ti-ful’ downtown Willow Glen. The signature event is the kids’ costume parade and Trick or Treat along the Avenue.
The local merchants pass out candy to pre-schoolers in the morning and to local grade-schoolers in the afternoon. Hundreds take part and this year’s parade on Friday Oct. 30th will feature ALTERA Real Estate passing out candy and eco-friendly Trick or Treat bags as well. Scary? Probably not. Fun? Definitely!
Posted By: 
Colleen Badagliacco
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