Jucker Farm Pumpkin Festival

It’s that time of year again to gaze in amazement at pumpkins displayed in the most spectacular sculptures you can imagine.

The leaves are starting to change to warm colours like crimson and gold and many Swiss events and festivals show signs of fruitful harvests, such as Aargau Carrot Market and Bern Onion Market. So what better way to celebrate the autumn than by visiting a pumpkin festival? 

Jucker Farm Pumpkin Festival in Canton Zurich

Jucker Farm Pumpkin Festival, taking place in Seegräben, Jona, Rafz and Kloten, offers a full day of fun for the whole family, with events and activities for all ages. Jucker Farm is a Swiss agrotourism organisation based in Canton Zurich and has been organising this dazzling pumpkin festival each year since the late 1990s at each of its locations.

You're likely to be astonished by many of the exhibits: the biggest pumpkins and squashes you’ve ever seen, mesmerising mosaic-like pumpkin sculptures and intricate pumpkin carving - it’s all possible at the pumpkin festival. You can even try your hand at pumpkin carving, or at least you can purchase some pumpkins to carve them at home. 

Most of the bewildering pumpkins are grown in Rafz and freshness is always guaranteed. You can sample freshly made pumpkin dishes, cakes, pies, soup and other local specialities and beer, not to mention delicious ice cream!

Pumpkin Festival locations

Jucker Farm hosts the event on the following farms:

• Juckerhof in Seegräben (Saturday, 21 September - Sunday, 20 October)
• Bächlihof in Jona
• Spargelhof in Rafz
• Römerhof in Kloten

This year, to try to spread people among the locations, almost all the events take place at the Bächlihof in Jona. The Spargelhof in Rafz and the Römerhof in Kloten also have smaller displays this year, using sculptures from previous events.

Due to the popularity of the event at the Juckerhof in Seegräben, this year they are introducing an entrance fee of 10 Swiss francs. They will use this to finance extra public transport in the area, in the form of a shuttle bus from Uster train station, in an attempt to reduce the traffic that the event brings to the local area.

A programme full of pumpkin-related events 

The pumpkin festival offers a full schedule of events, including pumpkin gastronomy, artistic carving including lanterns and sculptures, pumpkin variety shows, pumpkin weigh-offs and even a pumpkin slaughter event! This year sees Big Cinema inspiring the sculptures.

Don't forget to visit the pumpkin shops before you leave though, because the souvenirs are always worth having and the festival even lets you purchase your very own pumpkins to take home!!

Attending Jucker Farm Pumpkin Festival

Are you looking to grab a glimpse (or even a taste) of pumpkin this autumn? The Pumpkin Festival is open from 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. The venues are easily accessible by public transport, and the organisers are really struggling with the amount of traffic their exhibitions generate, so please try not to come by car.

For all the details on the full programme and to get your tickets, head on over to the official Jucker Farm website (in German), and to read more about the festival, check out the NewinZurich event page (in English). As well as the aforementioned venues in Canton Zurich, Jucker Farm also organises Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival in Germany.