Every October, a patch of grass beside New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring fills with pumpkins grown on Navajo Nation land in New Mexico and shipped east. Fall Fest at Transfiguration Parish, running October 22 through 29, 2026, is one of the places they land.
The event is free and entirely outdoors, rain or shine. The parish bills its pumpkin selection as the biggest on New Hampshire Avenue, and the squash are non-GMO and pesticide-free. Alongside the patch there are food trucks, a bonfire, music, and crafts vendors on weekends. Two dates anchor the schedule: October 17 brings a bake sale at 2 p.m. and scarecrow building at 4 p.m., with free sticks and straw provided and judging to follow; the parish thrift shop opens at 10 a.m. that day. On October 24, carved pumpkins go before judges at 4 p.m.
That model is why a suburban Maryland parish ends up with a truckload of New Mexico squash instead of a local farm's surplus. The pumpkins are a fundraiser and a draw, and the festival built around them is a low-key, open-gate affair — no tickets, no capacity limit, no need to plan ahead. Transfiguration itself describes its mission as "Uniting Diverse People. Serving One God," and its thrift shop, a 501(c)(3) of the parish, sells donated clothing and household goods at low cost, with some buyers sending items to their homelands to help people in need; proceeds support the church's outreach programs. The thrift shop's Saturday hours during the fest fold that work into the celebration.
The vendor lineup published by the parish gives a sense of the weekend texture: Miss B's Crafty Corner with "all sorts of bling," Laila's Arts & Crafts selling jewelry and Christmas ornaments, the Painted, Pasted and Photographed artist collective showing photos, paintings and art, Jamaican food from Positive Vibes, sliders from DM Slider, and a Video Game Music Jam. It is a small, eclectic fair rather than a polished production, which is roughly the point.
For anyone who has priced a pumpkin at a supermarket or paid admission to a farm attraction with a corn maze and a hayride, the appeal is straightforward. The gate is open, the fire is lit, and the squash came from a farm on Navajo Nation land. Fall Fest runs daily from noon to 7 p.m. at 13925 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring.