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Gear up for Seattle’s Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Beer Festival

We’re here to pump(kin) you up with these upcoming fall festivities that bring giant gourds and craft brews together for a match made in heaven.

People stand in front of a massive pumpkin (about head height) which is intricately carved with a skeleton face and more designs.

Nothing says fall quite like giant gourds, spiced brews, costume contests, and pumpkin everything.

Photo via GPBF

If those pumpkin spice lattes aren’t quenching your thirst for fall-flavored fun, listen up — Seattle’s Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Beer Festival are baaaAAAck.

This dual-event venture by Elysian Brewing merges the best elements of autumn for a one-stop celebration of the season — all of which benefits The Vera Project’s community efforts with collaborative engagement in music and art.

Listen, the pumpkins aren’t the only hefty items around here — get ready for massive servings of carnival food, beer pints (or pitchers), and more. Here’s what’s coming up:

The Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off

Open to all, the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off invites farmers from around the region and their prize pumpkins to see who has the biggest in the patch.

After the weigh-off, the largest of the pumpkins will then appear at next weekend’s Great Pumpkin Beer Festival — where they will be tapped and filled with beer.

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 28, 12-4 p.m.
  • Where: Elysian Taproom, Georgetown
  • Cost: Free
  • Activities: Live music, face painting, pumpkin carving
People donning orange clothes hold big plastic pitchers up to a giant pumpkin, which has been hollowed out and tapped to dispense beer.

It’s scientifically proven that beer tastes better from a pumpkin... just don’t ask where we got that stat.

Photo via GPBF

The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival

The 21+ pumpkin madness returns with the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival’s second decade in action. Taste from a selection of 80+ beers and ciders from local and national breweries — eight of which are new, exclusive brews from Elysian Brewing (and will only be available at the festival — oh my gourd).

Sip on beer straight from a several-hundred-pound pumpkin, peruse food trucks, and try beer floats served up with scoops from Bluebird Ice Cream.

  • When: Friday, Oct. 4 + Saturday, Oct. 5, 4-10 p.m.
  • Where: Seattle Center
  • Cost: $35+ (designated drivers get in for $5)
  • Activities: Costume contests (the theme is orange — duh), DJs, fortune teller readings
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