Pumpkin pleasures

Just because the air isn’t that crisp and the leaves don’t change color, it doesn’t mean we in Hawaii have to miss out on the great American fall pastime of going to the pumpkin patch.

There are several sites around the island where families can spend the day picking out that perfect-for-carving pumpkin. In addition, these patches offer a variety of other activities to get you into the spirit of the season.

Aloun Farms in Kapolei will hold its Pumpkin Festival the last three weekends of the month. The event is aiming to make its annual pumpkin patch more of a full-day event for families, this year adding in live entertainment — including several school groups and hula halau — as well as more chairs and shade for families to relax.

"The festival will have a little bit of everything," event coordinator Michael Moefu said. "It’s a lot more than harvesting pumpkins this year."

An admission fee of $2 (children 2 and younger are free) gains you entrance into the compound, with about 200 acres of pumpkin patches. In addition to more than a dozen varieties of pumpkins, people can also pick Ewa sweet corn, sunflowers, kabocha and string beans. Other activities include hayrides, pony rides, picture booths and games. And with a canned good donation to the Hawaii Foodbank, you will receive a free mini­pump­kin or colorful gourd.

Pumpkins are priced according to size, ranging from $4 for a small pumpkin to $25 for a giant (with some weighing in at 70 pounds).

Across the island, Wai­ma­nalo Country Farms will hold its fourth annual Fall Harvest and Pumpkin Patch. Across from Wai­ma­nalo Beach Park, the farm offers two acres of pumpkins, which start at $2 and top out at about $20 for 35-pounders.

The Fall Harvest, which is held every weekend in October, also includes hayrides, a 2-acre sunflower maze, a cow train, games and a country market. For older kids there is also a shooting range where they can have some destructive fun shooting golf balls at pumpkins.

For those in East Hono­lulu, Holy Nativity School offers its inaugural Great Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 19. The fest will feature a man-made patch of more than 2,000 Aloun Farms pumpkins.

In addition to a country store and keiki fun zone that includes games, arts and crafts and other activities, there will also be several contests — pumpkin-carving, kids’ costume, watermelon-eating and corn-husking — starting at 12:30 p.m., but arrive early to sign up because each contest is limited to 10 contestants. The event benefits Holy Nativity School.