What's New for Pumpkinville's 2026 Season in Great Valley, NY?

"My pet project for the last couple of years has been putting together what we're calling our Farmyard Friends Factory," Lisa Pawlowski said in an Ellicottville Now report, describing the newest corner of her family's farm. It sounds like a small thing. It isn't the biggest change at Pumpkinville this year. The biggest change is one most visitors won't even notice unless they've been coming long enough to remember what used to stand in its place.

Pumpkinville opened for its 58th season on September 12 and will run daily through October 31 at 4844 Sugartown Road. If you've lived in or around Great Valley for more than a season or two, you already know the rhythm: pumpkins, the corn maze, the hayride, the smell of the BBQ pit drifting across the parking lot on a Saturday afternoon. That last part is the one that's different this year. The weekend chicken barbecue, a fixture of the farm for years, has been discontinued. In its place stands a new, permanent structure called the Coop & Crust.

That swap is worth sitting with for a second, because it tells you something about how this farm operates that the Spookley decorations and the photo-op stations don't. A family business that's been the oldest pumpkin farm in New York state for 58 years doesn't tear down a beloved tradition on a whim. When Pumpkinville replaces a seasonal cookout with a year-over-year building, it's making a bet on staying exactly what it is, just with sturdier infrastructure underneath it.

What the New Building Actually Serves

The Coop & Crust is open weekends and keeps the menu simple: pizza, chicken tenders, and what the farm calls loaded Extreme Tater Tots, described as tots piled high with toppings. It's not trying to be a departure from what Pumpkinville has always fed people. It's trying to feed them the same kind of food, just from a building that doesn't have to be assembled and broken down every October 31.

Di's Pies and Bakeshop is still doing what it's always done, turning out the donuts and sweets the farm is known for, and the front farm market and retail shop remain free to walk into any day, no admission required. If you're only there to grab a cider donut and let the kids see the goats, that part of the visit hasn't changed at all.

The Anniversary Layer Sitting on Top

Separate from the building change, this year also happens to be the 25th anniversary of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, the title character of Joe Troiano's 2001 children's book about a pumpkin who gets teased for his shape and ends up saving the whole patch. Pumpkinville is leaning into it: a Spookley-themed corn maze, photo-op stations with a large inflatable Spookley near the maze entrance, a scavenger hunt with weekly prize drawings, and merchandise for sale.

None of that required new construction. It's decoration and programming layered onto a season that would have happened anyway. The distinction matters if you're trying to figure out what's actually different about Pumpkinville in 2026 versus just louder. The Coop & Crust changed the physical footprint of the farm. Spookley's anniversary changed the theme.

Two New Things to Actually Do

Beyond the building and the anniversary theme, two genuinely new activities are worth knowing about if you haven't been yet this season. Pawlowski's project referenced above includes a Build-a-Buddy experience where guests choose from bears, farm animals, and creatures like unicorns and dragons, stuff them, and take them home, similar in spirit to Build-a-Bear but under Pumpkinville's own branding.

The other addition is Groove Grove, described as a musical adventure tucked among pumpkins and hay bales where visitors find chimes, drums, and other instruments scattered through the setting. Both are additions to the Fun Zone, not replacements for anything that used to be there.

If you're trying to keep straight what's new construction, what's seasonal theme, and what's simply been part of the farm since before most of us moved here, it looks roughly like this:

If You're Planning Around the Pumpkin Carver

Eric Jones, the Guinness World Record holder and Food Network personality known for competitive pumpkin carving, is back for his third year of live sculpting demonstrations. His appearances are scheduled for specific Sundays rather than running all season, so it's worth checking the calendar before you head out expecting to see him on a random weekday. He already carved on opening weekend, September 13, so if you missed that one, here's what's left on the schedule:

• Sunday, September 27
• Sunday, October 4
• Sunday, October 18
• Sunday, October 25

Miss one of those Sundays and you'll still get the full farm, just without the live carving.

Season Passes and Payment

For families who visit more than once a season, the season pass includes unlimited visits for one person through October 31, along with access to the Farmyard Fun Activity Area. Pumpkinville ran a buy-one-get-one-free promotion on season passes with the code pumpkinpass26 through September 20, before this post was published. The farm is also fully cashless this year, so plan to bring a card if you're headed out.

What This Says About Great Valley More Broadly

Pumpkinville isn't the only fixture in town that's held its shape while quietly updating around the edges. Katy's Fly-In, the diner directly across from Great Valley Airport, still serves the same country fried chicken and hand-pressed burgers it always has, the kind of place where local pilots land, park, and grab breakfast without much fanfare. It's the second location of the Katy's Cafe most people know from Ellicottville's main drag, and it operates the same way Pumpkinville's corn maze and hayride do: reliably, without needing to reinvent itself every year.

That's the pattern worth noticing if you live here. Great Valley doesn't chase novelty for its own sake. When something changes, like a chicken BBQ pit becoming a permanent kitchen, it's usually because the old version had reached its limit, not because the farm got bored with tradition. The corn maze still runs through the same fields. The hayride still smells like hay. The parts that made this town what it is are still standing. There's just a sturdier building where the smoke used to rise on Saturday afternoons.

If you're weighing whether Great Valley or a neighboring Western New York community fits the way you want to live, from four-season recreation to the kind of local businesses that stick around, Jennifer Courtney can walk you through what's currently available and how these towns actually function day to day. Let's Connect.