Pumpkin Days returns this weekend for its 16th year of fall fun

An iconic autumn event organized by the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, or PDOP, is returning for its sixteenth year to provide a wide variety of fun for attendees as the fall and Halloween season is in full swing.

“When we started this, we tried to identify for a fundraiser, what in the community was not here that other communities have,” PDOP President David Boruchowitz told the Pahrump Valley Times. “And we really identified that there was zero Halloween-y type events.”

Pumpkin Days returns this weekend for four days of fall excitement from Thursday through Sunday. Boruchowitz said the event usually sees 3,000 to 4,000 attendees throughout its four-day run.

Thursday at PDOP Pumpkin Days is family night. Boruchowitz explained that Thursday opens earlier and serves as an opportunity for families to enjoy the event before the more crowded weekend days.

Entry tickets are $7 per person and $10 for a wristband that provides access to the event throughout the whole weekend. 100 percent of Pumpkin Days’ proceeds go to PDOP. Pumpkins can also be purchased at the fundraiser event.

“We thought it was really hard to believe that our kids could grow up without having a pumpkin patch to go to,” Boruchowitz explained. “So we created that experience so that we would have it.”

Activities like the straw jump, mechanical bull riding, bounce house, fire truck playhouse, photo opportunity stations, various kids’ games and a haunted house are all included in regular admission. Boruchowitz emphasized that this year’s haunted house is a must-see for fright fans and is even a better experience at night.

“We’ve spent a lot of money this year to really make the haunted house an actual haunted house since we don’t have that in the community either,” he detailed. “So, the haunted house in itself, for the older kids or adults, is a legit haunted house. It is sight, smell, sound, the whole nine yards. It’s a legit spook house.”

Pumpkin Days activities that aren’t included in admission are the car smash, the spaghetti eating contest, the mechanical bull riding contest and the Monster Dash 5K Run and 1-Mile Family Fun Walk.

“I think it started at year two and I had a couple of volunteers who were super fitness-oriented and they’re like, ‘It would be really cool if we had a monster dash.’ So, we started the 5K,” Boruchowitz said. “They’ve long moved out of the valley, but we’ve carried it on every year and it’s become great. We have just shy of 100 runners most years. And it’s just another fun addition on Saturday morning before we open.”

For more information about PDOP Pumpkin Days hours and the event’s specific activity times, visit pahrumpdisabilityoutreachprogram.com/pdop-pumpkin-days.

To learn more about the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, visit pahrumpdisabilityoutreachprogram.com.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com