A pumpkin regatta on the St. Croix River, a giant pumpkin weigh-off and a pumpkin drop return to Stillwater on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12.

The Stillwater Harvest Fest will be celebrating its 20th year, running from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

The giant pumpkin weigh-off happens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The heaviest pumpkin ever weighed at the festival was 2,501 pounds in 2023, said event director Cassie McLemore. It was grown by Charlie Bernstrom of Lancaster, Minn.

Charlie Bernstrom’s pumpkin, named Joy, weighed 2,501 pounds in 2023 and is the heaviest recorded pumpkin at the Stillwater Harvest Fest. (Chad Mohler / Stillwater Harvest Fest)

Pumpkin regatta racers compete at noon Sunday in a variety of games called the Battle to Paddle. The winners get their first choice of a hollowed-out pumpkin to race in. The race begins at 2:30 p.m.

The St. Croix Growers Association provides the pumpkins for the 100-yard race.

A pumpkin drop from a 100-foot crane is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

McLemore said the number of pumpkins dropped each year varies, depending on their weight.

“Sometimes we drop one, sometimes it’s three at a time,” McLemore said.

The festival also has live music, a vendor market, beer garden, a chili cook-off with local restaurants and a kids costume parade. Children can come dressed up in costumes and parade through the vendor market on Sunday at 11 a.m., McLemore said.

An estimated 40,000 people come to the festival every year, McLemore said.

Stillwater Harvest Fest

What: Festival including food, music, a pumpkin regatta, pumpkin weigh-off and more.

When: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12

Where: Lowell Park along the St. Croix River in downtown Stillwater

More info: harvestfeststillwater.com 

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