Ah, Halloween. People get creative with spooky décor. There are the costumes … and who doesn’t love candy?
But aside from visiting pop-up Spirit Halloween stores, options for family-friendly ways to celebrate the holiday in the Coachella Valley are sparse. Well, the team behind the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival is out to change that.
Making its debut this year is the Riverside County Scare and Pumpkin Festival, a community celebration of all things Halloween and Day of the Dead, happening at the Riverside County Fairgrounds Fullenwider Auditorium every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Sept. 29 through October, as well as Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31. There will be a pumpkin patch, a haunted maze experience, food, drinks, entertainment and more for all ages to explore. Tickets start at $8 to $10, or $5 for kids 12 and younger.
“Part of our deal with the county is that we want to make the fairgrounds open to the community year-round, and we want to do that in a meaningful way,” said events manager Chris Pickering during a recent phone interview. “One of the things that makes the fairgrounds unique is everything we do is a reflection of the community. During the Fair and Date festival, we have competitive exhibits where we celebrate the very best of the community. We’re the world’s largest ‘mom’s refrigerator’ with artwork; we put young dancing groups up on one of our largest stages. The Scare and Pumpkin Fest will be no different.”
One of the community-centered experiences at the Scare and Pumpkin Fest will be the Ofrenda, an altar that is a traditional aspect of Día de los Muertos.
“People will be able to bring offerings and pictures of their departed loved ones and contribute to that, where it will (grow) over the course of the month,” said Pickering. “It will be a reflection of the community by the time it’s done.”
Pickering said his team worked hard to create an affordable and worthwhile experience.
“Whenever we were looking at our pricing model, we were always looking at: What does that look like for a family to afford?” he said. “We want it to be achievable for people to come out and celebrate, and to be able to do so a few times. Once people get inside and see what we’ve built, they’re going to want to come back. … The other factor we want to consider is, last year, when we had outdoor events in October, the weather wasn’t particularly cooperative. This year, we’re starting small, and we’re keeping the fest entirely inside the Fullenwider Auditorium. It’s 33,000 square feet, so we have a lot of space to do that.”
Having the event completely indoors offers various positives. Pickering said that when his team asked community members what they would most like as part of the festival, the answer was “resoundingly, a pumpkin patch.”
“I would have loved to put (the pumpkin patch) on the lawn … but it’s still going to be in the 90s, so it’s too hot for the pumpkins, so indoors we go. Being inside creates some really unique opportunities.”
Event organizer Chris Pickering
“When we talked to the pumpkin growers, they told us last year that our temperature was too high and the weather was too inclement to have an outdoor pumpkin patch,” Pickering said. “I would have loved to put it on the lawn in front of our beautiful Arabian Nights-themed stage, but it’s still going to be in the 90s, so it’s too hot for the pumpkins, so indoors we go. Being inside creates some really unique opportunities for us to control the time of day, if you will—and create that eternal Halloween nighttime atmosphere indoors.”
However, being inside means crowd counts have to be strictly managed.
“Normally, when we do concert events in the Fullenwider, we’re able to have 3,000 people, but the way we’re building out the building façades and all the interactive elements of it, our capacity is at 2,000 people,” he said. … “Toward the end of the event, the last two weeks, the carnival that we use during fair time, Butler Amusements, is going to come down and bring three rides. We’ll have the Eagle 16 Ferris wheel, the giant slide and the Mardi Gras funhouse added to everything that we’re doing indoors, so we’ll take up a little bit of space out in Lot 2 and be able to increase our capacity.”
If scares are more your thing, then you’re in luck: The Carnival Carnivore Haunted House will be located inside the Fullenwider, providing a scary maze experience. It’s recommended for attendees 16 years old-plus, and admission requires a separate ticket.
“I’ve seen some really brave 8-year-olds, and I’ve seen some really scared 30-year-olds,” Pickering said. “There is a recommendation for the haunt that is ages 16-plus, because it is not a kid-friendly hunt. The whole Plaza Fantazma (pumpkin-patch town) experience inside the Fullenwider is family-friendly. We’ve actually set it up so that the haunt element is in the lobby and the back areas of the Fullenwider, so it’s separated from the main area with permanent walls that are always part of that building. It’s going to muffle the screams. … We’ve set it up where we have the indoor bar area, too, so when you come out with your group, you can kind of sit and digest everything who just went through.”
Pickering said the event will also feature LGBTQ+ programming.
“We were really excited to have worked with a group called Out at the Fair during our Fair and Date Festival this year,” he said. “They work with a dozen or so fairs across the country to do family-friendly pride, LGBTQ+ programming. The fair is a reflection of the community, and sometimes the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t always feel welcome coming to fairs with the traditional view of what a fair is, so we were excited that everything went so well this year. They’re excited to come back next year, but we’re actually going to be hosting their very first non-fair event on Friday, Oct. 13, called Out at the Scare. … (We’re) opening our doors year-round so that this can be their community celebration and gathering place as well.”
Pickering said he hopes the event defies expectations.
“When you say ‘pumpkin patch at a fairgrounds,’ I don’t think anyone had in mind what we put forward with our concept art,” Pickering said. “There’s really so much to this heavily, heavily themed experience, and we brought our first contractor on in May to help develop this. … We’re working with cultural consultants, and we have professional altarista involved with the ofrenda, to make sure that we’re providing an authentic experience that is reflective of our local community. This is year one of the event, and we’re definitely planning on having it come back year after year after year.”
The Riverside County Scare and Pumpkin Festival will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from Friday, Sept. 29, through October, as well as Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31, at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82503 Highway 111, in Indio. Tickets start at $8 to $10, or $5 for kids 12 and younger. For tickets or more information, call 760-863-8247, or visit datefest.org.
