"As the crowds kept getting bigger, we wanted to make sure every family could enjoy the festival comfortably and safely." That's how Will Clark of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County explained the biggest format change in PumpkinFest's 41 years to the Williamson Herald. This year the festival runs Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's the first time PumpkinFest has ever covered two days.
The published schedule puts the festival's best-known moments on Saturday and gives Sunday a shorter, different job. If you live a few minutes from Main Street, that split is what decides your weekend.
Why a second day exists
Last year's 40th PumpkinFest was a single Saturday, October 25, 2025, running 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ahead of that day, WSMV reported that Franklin Police expected more than 100,000 people. The Herald now puts the 2025 crowd at more than 110,000. All of those people fit into eight hours on one stretch of downtown.
The Herald calls this free festival Middle Tennessee's largest fall festival. It comes from the same organization that runs Dickens of a Christmas and the Main Street Festival. Clark told the Herald the second day "lets us welcome even more people while keeping that warm, hometown feel," and that it gives people more room to stroll, shop and enjoy fall in Franklin. So the goal is to spread the crowd out. Whether Sunday actually feels roomier won't be known until the weekend is over. Organizers are hoping it will, but this format has never been tried.
Saturday kept the signature moments
If a second day were only extra capacity, each day would get half of everything. Instead, Clark told the Herald the people and pet costume contests are "staying right where everyone loves them: on Saturday."
Here's how Saturday's Main Stage runs:
- 10 a.m. Southern Irish Dance opens the Main Stage
- 12:30 p.m. People costume contest
- 4 p.m. Pet costume contest
- 5:10 p.m. Brandon Scott closes the day
So the costumed kids, the dogs in pumpkin outfits and the full eight-hour day all land on Saturday, which is also the only day the festival has ever had. If your household plans around the contests, the second day doesn't really change your plans.
Sunday is a stage-and-shop day
Sunday starts an hour later and ends an hour earlier. Ann Carroll School of Dance opens the Main Stage at 11:10 a.m., and Brandon Scott returns to close it with a set starting at 4:15 p.m. The Herald says Sunday's stages are "packed with" live entertainment. The weekend lineup also includes Rocky Top Revue, School of Rock, Mark Anthony Ensemble, Histown Dance and Performing Arts, Nashville Opera, Music City Strings and Musicville, spread across three stages, with a KidZone running too.
One timing detail could catch you out. The City of Franklin calendar lists Sunday as running until 6 p.m. The Heritage Foundation's own event page and the Herald both say 5 p.m. The organizer's time is the one to go by.
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Sunday, Oct. 25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Festival hours | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Main Stage opens | Southern Irish Dance, 10 a.m. | Ann Carroll School of Dance, 11:10 a.m. |
| Costume contests | People 12:30 p.m., pets 4 p.m. | None scheduled |
| Main Stage closes | Brandon Scott, 5:10 p.m. | Brandon Scott, 4:15 p.m. |
| Shuttle starts | 10 a.m. | 11 a.m. |
What both days share
On both days, more than 200 merchant, food and business vendors line Main Street. The Herald names The Heirloom Shop, Welded Permanent Jewelry, Port Royal Woodworks and The Potters Hand among them. For anyone who comes to PumpkinFest mainly to shop, a second day is a real gain. Those vendor rows used to get one day of foot traffic, and now they get two.
Landmark Booksellers is making the most of the longer weekend. Its PumpkinFest page advertises 35 authors across nine signing sessions over both days and says more may still be added. Names on the posted schedule include Jack Carr, Tony L. Turnbow, Rachel Dodge, Nola Nash, Dorena Williamson, Walter Green and Mitchell S. Karnes. The full session-by-session schedule is on the store's site. If there's one author you want to meet, check which session they're in before you pick your day.
The downtown storefronts behind the booths are also joining in. Williamson Source reports that downtown Franklin merchants and restaurants will run PumpkinFest specials and promotions, though the report doesn't name specific businesses or deals. Atmos Energy is this year's presenting sponsor.
Getting downtown, and the dog problem
Getting there works the same way on both days, with Sunday shifted an hour later:
- Shuttle. Franklin Transit runs $1-per-person shuttles from Harlinsdale Farm to 1st Avenue and Main Street. Service starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday and ends 15 minutes before the festival closes each day.
- Garages. The 2nd Avenue and 4th Avenue parking garages will be open.
- Street closures. The City of Franklin has posted a street closure map with its October 24 calendar entry. The map shows where roads close but doesn't list closure times. Last year, according to WSMV, downtown closures began Friday at 8 p.m., lasted until Saturday at 11 p.m., and barricades blocked vehicles from Main Street. That was a one-day event, so expect this year's timing to be different.
This is where the Saturday-only schedule gets awkward. Pets aren't allowed on the shuttles. The pet costume contest is at 4 p.m. Saturday, during the busiest day of the weekend. If your costumed dog is entering, you'll need to walk in or use a garage, so plan your route before Saturday morning.
So which day?
The schedule answers it for most households. Go Saturday for the costume contests, the Southern Irish Dance opener and the full eight hours. Go Sunday for the shorter day: Ann Carroll School of Dance at 11:10 a.m., Brandon Scott at 4:15 p.m., and the same 200-plus vendors without the two contests drawing crowds to the Main Stage. Organizers built Sunday to give people more room, and this is the first year anyone will find out whether it does.
If one Main Street weekend isn't enough, the City of Franklin's events calendar lists Wine Down Main Street for November 7, 2026. It's a downtown wine tasting that benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Franklin/Williamson County. Family Day at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm is the same day, at the same farm that serves as the PumpkinFest shuttle stop.
Few weekends show off downtown Franklin like this one, and Gracie Youngblood loves helping neighbors who already live here understand what their own home is worth. If PumpkinFest weekend has you wondering how being close to Main Street factors into your home's value, start with an easy first step and Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
