With October drawing near, pumpkins are a quintessential item that signal the arrival of fall. But, purchasing pumpkins might look a little different this year due to price increases.
Jo Hackman, owner of Hackman Farms, said pumpkin crop yields aren’t as big as what they normally are due to lack of rain.
“We’ve had no rain in June or July,” Hackman said.
Though this might affect the pricing of pumpkins, Hackman said she is trying to keep prices the same as always. But with the increase in demand for pumpkins for Halloween, prices are expected to rise.
Along with pumpkin prices, pumpkin festival fees are also increasing.
The annual Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival now charges $5 per car for parking, which was previously free of charge.
Jeri Cooper, committee member of the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, said the decision came due to an increase in their operational budget including increased insurance charges and other service price increases.
“We had to start paying for things that we never had to pay for in the past,” Cooper said.
She explained that if festival attendees weren’t charged for parking, they would have had to pay more at vendors as vendor fees would have gone up.
“Everything else has generally gone up as well due to the pricing,” Cooper said.
The Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with a pumpkin crowning ceremony. Other events at the festival include a parade, magic shows and performances from different musicians.
CORRECTION: The audio version of this story originally referred to Jo Hackman as “he.” Jo is a woman, and the audio has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
