Fall in Hocking Hills is already a pretty good excuse for a day trip, but the annual Glass Pumpkin Festival adds thousands of colorful, hand-blown pumpkins to the mix.
The seventh annual Jack Pine Glass Pumpkin Festival returns to Jack Pine’s 11-acre studio in Laurelville September 18–20, bringing glassblowing demonstrations, nearly 50 artists, live music, food trucks, and one very, very large pumpkin.
The free fall festival has grown to attract more than 10,000 art lovers from around the country, all coming to browse the glass pumpkin patch and shop for fall decor, holiday gifts, and artwork from artists around the region.
And for collectors, the 2026 Pumpkin of the Year will make its debut at this year’s festival.
This year’s limited-edition Pumpkin of the Year is inspired by something a little more mythical than your average jack-o’-lantern.
The deep red, dragon-inspired piece features glittering copper scales and a copper-hued metallic stem. Jack Pine envisioned the design while watching the fire used by him and his team of glass artists to create their work, which brought to mind the ancient legends of fire-breathing dragons.
The hand-blown Pumpkin of the Year will be available for purchase for the first time during the festival. Of course, it won’t be the only pumpkin worth bringing home.
Thousands of hand-blown glass pumpkins in a rainbow of colors and finishes will fill the glass pumpkin patch throughout the weekend, all featuring Pine’s signature intense color saturation and gleaming finish.
The festival’s biggest attraction might be the pumpkin you can’t exactly put on your front porch.
A massive, two-story steel pumpkin armature will serve as the centerpiece for a glassblowing project throughout the weekend. Glass artists, along with some lucky festivalgoers, will pour molten glass over the sculpture as they work to create what organizers describe as the world’s largest glass pumpkin.
Visitors can also watch Pine and his team demonstrate their glassblowing techniques as they create their works of art.
There’s something for the pumpkin carvers, too. World-famous carver Gus Smithister will be at the festival to live-carve a monstrous 600-pound pumpkin, while kids can paint their own mini pumpkins to take home.
There will be considerably more to browse beyond the glass pumpkin patch this year.
Nearly 50 fine artists from around the region will set up throughout the Laurelville studio grounds for a lively outdoor artists market, nearly double the number featured at past festivals.
Food trucks will also be on hand throughout the weekend, while live music from Ohio musicians provides the soundtrack.
The Glass Pumpkin Festival is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the festival is free.
Organizers encourage visitors to carpool. Advance discount parking is available for $10 per car and includes a $5 coupon toward a Jack Pine pumpkin purchase. Day-of parking is $15 per car.
The festivities actually get started one night early with the Glass Pumpkin Festival Preview Party on Thursday night, September 17. The event begins at 5 p.m. and your $85 ticket includes a catered dinner, drinks, live music, glassblowing demonstrations, a silent auction, drawings, and first dibs on the 2026 Pumpkin of the Year.
The evening benefits Laurelville Food Pantry and ends with a live fire show.
Then on Friday, the full festival opens to the public, bringing three days of glass pumpkins, art, live demonstrations, food, music, and enough fall color to make the drive down to Hocking Hills worth it.
Jack Pine graduated from Columbus College of Art & Design and perfected his signature glass-blowing techniques in Seattle. Now a resident of southern Ohio, Pine is well-known for his extraordinary hand-blown radiant glass pieces inspired by the beauty of nature’s organic forms.
For more info about the Glass Pumpkin Patch, please click here.
