As October progresses and Halloween begins to creep up on us, with a quick scroll through Instagram, the average teenager will be faced with a trail of pictures of friends posing on hay bales, making their way through twisted corn mazes, and holding that “perfect pumpkin” they searched all day for.
A short drive towards the coast, Half Moon Bay is filled with the colors orange and black and is riddled with witches and fields of pumpkins during the month of October.
The city provides people throughout the Bay Area with vibrant pumpkin patches, Halloween carnivals, and a stream of festivals for children, adults, and high schoolers alike to enjoy.
Junior Giorgi Trembley recently enjoyed a Halloween trip to Half Moon Bay and went to Pastorino’s Farm, a popular pumpkin patch that sits on the long lane of farms that showcases its pumpkins during this time of year.
“Going to the pumpkin patch was a lot of fun- they had a haunted house, a train, and I saw so many people from school there.”
It’s all fun and games when you get to the festivities, but as the city becomes increasingly crowded, the drive isn’t as easy as it may have been a few weeks ago.
Senior Madi Hubbell, who went to Arata’s pumpkin patch, said, “I loved the variety of pumpkins and all the activities to do, but I waited a long time sitting in traffic to finally get to Half Moon Bay.”
In addition to numerous pumpkin patches, Half Moon Bay also holds Halloween festivities on the weekends. Last weekend, the historically well-attended Art and Pumpkin Festival took place. People enjoyed live music, various kinds of art, and pumpkin-inspired food.
Junior Joanna Tabacek said, “My favorite part of the festival was seeing all the interesting art booths, and watching farmer Mike, who carved a huge pumpkin on display. I will definitely go again in the future.”
Despite crowds and traffic, Half Moon Bay is a great place to celebrate Halloween and explore all this city has to offer this season.
Trembley said, “Half Moon Bay in October is definitely a great and long-lasting tradition for so many people in our area.”
