Peltzer Pumpkin Farm will mark 30 years with a free, all-day anniversary party on Saturday, Sept. 19, at its Temecula Valley Wine Country property on Calle Contento.
The celebration doubles as opening day for the 2026 pumpkin season and the 10th anniversary of Peltzer Winery. Charlie and Carrie Peltzer started the farm in Orange County in 1996, Patch reported.
Admission is free.
Entrance to the pumpkin farm itself costs $4 per person, with children under 2 admitted free with a paid adult.
The farm opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m., but the anniversary party runs until 10 p.m. The farm's giant pumpkin lighting is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Live music at the Crush House starts with Sammy Listoe from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by Chris Merrell from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Food Truck Alley opens at 10 a.m. and runs until 9:30 p.m., with vendors including Woodfire Pizza Wagon, URBN Market Fusion, The Real Ghetto Kitchen, Neza Eats and Haus of Poke. Peltzer Provisions will be open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Guests who purchase wine can pick up limited-edition anniversary glassware while supplies last, one per person.
Farm activities include pony and train rides, mini John Deere carts, a petting farm, gem panning, face painting, carnival games, pig races and the Tractor Garden. Attraction prices range from $3 for carnival games to $25 for pumpkin painting. Pony rides cost $10 with a 70-pound weight limit.
The fifth-generation farming family has deep Southern California roots. Charlie Peltzer's great-great-grandfather Charles Peltzer left Pretty Prairie, Kansas, for the region in 1913 and started a 20-acre citrus grove in Anaheim that the family sold to Walt Disney in 1954, according to a 2023 profile in The Grapevine. The grove became Disneyland.
In a 2023 interview with The Grapevine, Moriah Wilson, then the winery's operations and marketing manager, described the multigenerational pull of the farm. "People who first came to the farm as toddlers are now in their mid-to-late twenties and visiting with their own kids," Wilson said.
The Peltzers moved the pumpkin farm to 25 acres in Temecula Valley Wine Country in the mid-2000s. Peltzer Winery opened in 2016 and produces about 11,000 cases a year, according to the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association.
On opening day, the winery will be open to all ages. After that, guests must be 21 or older to enter the winery after 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The pumpkin farm, Peltzer Pavilion and Farmstead remain all-ages during posted hours.
Season details
After opening weekend, the farm operates 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Weekday admission is $2 per person; Friday through Sunday admission is $4. A $50 Pumpkin Pass covers weekday admission and petting-farm entry for up to five people from the same household all season. Crush Club members get in free.
Dogs are not permitted. Peltzer Pumpkin Farm is at 39925 Calle Contento in Temecula.
