The 36th Annual Pumpkin Race returns to Manhattan Beach Boulevard on Sunday, Oct. 18, with a free festival at noon and races at 2 p.m.

The event transforms the pier area into what organizers call "Pumpkin Race Land," according to the city's Parks and Recreation page. Competitors decorate a pumpkin, equip it with axles and wheels, and race in heats to see whose creation rolls downhill to the finish line fastest. The event runs until about 5:45 p.m., with quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship race closing out the afternoon.

The tradition traces back to Halloween Eve 1990, when Manhattan Beach residents Karl Rogers, Michael Aaker and John Holliday invented the pumpkin racer for Rogers's birthday party in East Manhattan Beach. What started as a backyard stunt grew into an official city event that won the National Recreation and Park Association's Special Event of the Year award in 2007, The MB News reported.

The rules are simple but enforced. Each racer needs one pumpkin, two independent axles running through the body, wheels no wider than 12 inches and axles no longer than 18 inches. No chassis, no bumpers, no pushing at the start. Break the rules and the Head Race Official smashes your entry with a large wooden mallet called the Mallet-O-Justice. In 2025, referees caught a watermelon in the field and brought the mallet down on it.

Official race kits cost $35 before Sunday and $40 on race day. They are available at the Parks and Recreation Department, 1400 Highland Ave., while supplies last. Several downtown Manhattan Beach shops also carry kits, including Bella Beach Kids, {pages} a bookstore, Becker's Bakery & Deli and Culture Brewing Co. A Pumpkin Pit Crew will be on-site to help first-timers build a racer from scratch, and a Tinker Zone offers tools, wheels and decorations for last-minute fixes.

Optional Turbo Passes, which cost $7 and cover two pumpkin entries with a timed slot in a separate line, went on sale Oct. 5 for Manhattan Beach residents and Oct. 12 for non-residents.

Daily Breeze columnist Melissa Heckscher called the race "… one of those wonderfully weird hometown traditions that make me so proud to call Manhattan Beach home" in a Sept. 24 column listing her must-do South Bay Halloween events.

Drivers heading to the pier should plan ahead. Manhattan Beach Boulevard from the pier to Ocean Drive and the lower pier parking lots close Saturday, Oct. 17, at 6 a.m. through Sunday at 10 p.m. The city's MB Wave Rider on-demand shuttle costs $5 per person, or $2.50 for adults 55 and older, and can be booked through the Circuit app.

Upcoming South Bay community events

  • Saturday, Oct. 24: 38th Annual Family Halloween Carnival, 1–5 p.m., Manhattan Heights Park, 1600 Manhattan Beach Blvd. (ages 2–14)
  • Thursday, Oct. 29: Halloween Trunk or Treat, 5–7 p.m., Civic Center upper parking lot (enter off 15th Street between Valley Drive and Highland Avenue)