Circleville Pumpkin Show

Amazing! My favorite time of the year. Anyone who hasn’t been is missing out. I love my Pumpkin Show

We’ve been going every year now for about 8 years. We usually try go on opening night to avoid the weekend crowds. Parking is always a chore, and all of the locals that live nearby rope off sections of their yard and gouge you on pricing. You can usually find some free parking with a little persistence, as long as you don’t mind walking a little ways.
Honestly, we just go for the food. Pumpkin everything! The pumpkin chili & pumpkin pizza are definitely 2 of my favorites.
Pro Tip: The people watching here is second to none!

Somehow I missed the Pumpkin Show for, oh, 40-​plus years. Living first in northern Ohio and now Columbus, with family in Chillicothe, I’ve been up and down 23 so many times I know every landmark, but we never stopped in Circleville. I guess we were always trying to get to Chilly, and the few times we considered stopping, the traffic was crazy and we skipped it.
Today we were in Chilly for a family gathering, and had a little time on the way home. It was drizzly but not bad, and there wasn’t much traffic at the exit (coming from the south, that is– I noticed quite a bit more on the north side.) We searched a bit for parking, passing up plenty of $ 10 places and at least one $ 5, before lucking into a spot on a side street. Free, and close. Don’t count on that, though. The place is pretty busy.
It’s pretty good sized, and I was impressed by the number and variety of pumpkin food items available. Donuts and pie, of course, but also crème puffs, ice cream, burgers, bread, and more. The rain picked up so we were rushing a bit to get back to the car, but I did end up trying pumpkin chili and a pumpkin chili dog (from different vendors.) If I had had more time, I would have tried pumpkin buckeyes, and I’m kicking myself for forgetting to get black walnut taffy. The chili was good, not great– thin, not much meat or even beans, but tasty and with a definite pumpkin flavor and aroma. The chili dog had a thicker, tastier pumpkin chili, on a pretty good dog.
Yes, it was crowded, but not as bad as I’d feared. We were able to walk around without too much trouble, pause under awnings when it was raining hard, get what we wanted without waiting too long, etc. There are vendors, games, the winning pumpkins on display, etc. It was a good time, and I’m glad I finally went. Now I have some idea what to expect, and know that it’s worth going back on a nicer day.

Fall is my favorite time of the year I know when it comes around the pumpkin show isn’t far behind! I have gone to the pumpkin show the last 3 years and their has always been so much to see. The food is absolutely amazing and all the stands that they have set up sell great stuff. I will always be a fan of the pumpkin show because it gives me and my family something to go to that we all will end up enjoyin!

Born and raised in Circleville, there’s only been one year of my life that I haven’t found at least one day to make it down to the Pumpkin Show. And just to be clear, it’s the Pumpkin SHOW, not the Pumpkin Festival or the Pumpkin Fair or any of these other names that people often call it. You have to love a town who is so passionate about their major festival that all of the local schools are off for those three days.
You can find pretty much anything pumpkin that you want. Pumpkin burgers, pumpkin sloppy joe, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin ice cream, deep fried pumpkin pie… the possibilities are endless. Of course there are a laundry list of other items you can get that are standard fair food.
I pretty much hit the same fair food vendors every year, and cram about 5000 calories worth of deep fried junk into one night, with no regrets the day after whatsoever, and then try to sprinkle in one or two new things every year. This year there was a vendor who sold grass fed, organic hamburgers. Sadly enough, that was easily the healthiest food I had out of the two days I was there.
If you can avoid the townie 12 year olds who are already chain smoking, you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more. Parking is going to be atrocious, and will cost you around $ 10. Also, do NOT come down 23 south to the Main Street exit. If you do choose to come down 23, take the Court Street exit a few miles north of there, or go to the next exit after Main Street. If you’re really smart, you’ll come down Walnut Creek Pike or 674 (if coming from Cbus).

I went down to the Circleville Pumpkin Show once again this past Saturday, and it was a pretty fun time. We always go earlier in the morning to avoid much of the traffic, but you’re still going to hit about 25 – 40 minutes of traffic once you get to a little under a mile from the exit. It was gloomy this year, but at least it wasn’t raining the whole time like last year, and it wasn’t too cold either.
They do have some main stages with performers, but not a whole lot, and that may just be because we got there earlier in the day.
The line for the Lindsey Bake Shop was surprisingly small, and people were able to get in and out fairly quick (this was around 12−1pm), but I heard later in the day it stretched all the way down the block. If you’re going to the Pumpkin Show, make sure you get a pumpkin donut from Lindsey’s! There are other places that sell them, but they’re not nearly as good. They also have a truck out front that sells the donuts and pies, which barely had a line at all.
I’m a huge fan of all things pumpkin, and this is the place to get them. Besides donuts, I got to have a couple kinds of pumpkin chili, pumpkin buckeyes, and pumpkin bread. I had the pumpkin waffles last year, but they were a little too crispy/​burnt for me.
It’s great checking out all of the different pumpkins, produce, and baked goods that people submitted for competition or are selling down there. A lot of the goods are being sold in bulk, so be sure to bring some home!
Lastly, parking can be a pain, but I wouldn’t go to the first few lots where they are charging $ 20, because if you take a right off the main road just past the Hardee’s, you’ll probably be able to find locals charging $ 10 to park in their yards.
By the time we left, and we left fairly early close to 2 pm, the line of cars to the exit was backed up a couple of miles, so it definitely helps to get there early. I wish pumpkin season was year round, but it probably just wouldn’t feel as special. I’ll be back again next October.

Better parade than most I’ve seen.