Pumpkin Palooza Returns to Hershey Gardens October 17, 18, 24 and 25, 2026
Family-Friendly Event Features Hershey's Candy, Hundreds of Hand-Painted Pumpkins and Creepy Creatures Gallery
Hundreds of hand-painted pumpkins. A 14-foot pumpkin tree and a colorful mum tree. Halloween-themed mosaics created from miniature pumpkins and gourds.
It’s all part of Pumpkin Palooza, returning to Hershey Gardens on Oct. 17, 18, 24 and 25, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The annual, non-scary Halloween event brings together the beauty of fall with Halloween fun!
Pumpkin Palooza will fill the Seasonal Display Garden and Hoop House with more than 300 hand-painted pumpkins inspired by a variety of themes. Students from Bishop McDevitt High School, Hershey High School, Lower Dauphin High School and Milton Hershey School painted the pumpkins, along with members of York College of Pennsylvania’s Plant & Gardening Club and Pollinator Awareness Club.
New this year, families can enjoy a pirate-themed scene, cleverly designed using pumpkins and gourds, in addition to other scenes located in The Children’s Garden. A 14-foot “pumpkin tree,” four special pumpkin mosaics and a 9-foot mum display make great photo ops! More than 1,500 blooming mums, plus arrangements of gourds, hay bales and ornamental grasses, complete the autumn setting.
In the Creepy Creatures Gallery, visitors can get up close with various frog species and live insects and spiders, including a tarantula, walking sticks and jungle nymphs. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests can hold Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
Kids are encouraged to dress in costume and will receive candy, courtesy of The Hershey Company. Hands-on activities for youngsters are also offered at Pumpkin Palooza, and face painting is available for an additional charge. Food items will be available for purchase from the Cheesesteak Shuttle, Jack & Joan’s Kettle Corn, Marsico’s Taste of Italy, Noel’s Café and Shorty’s Funnel Cakes.
Pumpkin Palooza is included in general admission, which includes entry into the indoor tropical Butterfly Atrium; members are free. General admission tickets can be purchased online or in person at the admissions desk upon arrival.