If autumn is approaching, it must be time for pumpkins, and you can get your pumpkin fix at the annual Wimberley Merchants Association Pumpkin Festival on October 13.

This is the eighth year for the festival that offers up all sorts of events to keep children and adults occupied all day long, 9 am to 4 pm. Especially children.

Activities include a bounce house, train rides, face painting, balloon art, and pumpkin painting. Specialty pumpkins, Cinderella Pumpkins, Fairy Tale Pumpkins, and Jack-o-Lanterns will be for sale.

What’s a Cinderella or Fairy Tale pumpkin? Their shapes look like Cinderella’s fancy carriage—orange pumpkins for Cinderella’s and green squashes for the Fairy Tale version.

A pumpkin carving contest is also scheduled.

See all those scarecrows all around town? They’re competing in the Scarecrow Contest that’s held among Wimberley merchants.

The Wimberley Merchants Association sponsors the Pumpkin Festival along with several other events throughout the year.

The idea for the event came about when pumpkins were hauled in to Wimberley merchants and people started taking pictures of their children with the pumpkins, explained Cissy Yeates, president of the WMA.

“Seeing that, a bunch of members thought we should do a children’s activity day in October,” she said. “It’s become quite popular.”

Do you dress your Pomeranian up to look like Elvis? If so, another event is happening at the same time as the Pumpkin Festival: The Wimberley Pet Parade.

Any pet can march in the parade, but those who draw the most interest are dressed up in some sort of costume. Perhaps your little doggie might prefer marching as Justin Bieber or a Lord of the Rings elf, perhaps even your favorite zombie. The more outrageous the costume, the better chance at winning first prize. The parade begins at 10 am at the Ozona Bank parking lot and moves through the Square.

The Pumpkin Festival is a fund-raiser for Winter’s Eve, the WMA’s featured event of the year, a Christmas Festival set for December 8, Cissy said.

Winter’s Eve is an old-fashioned Christmas celebration featuring Santa Claus, festive foods, holiday lighting, and late night shopping as all the merchants around the Square stay open late to accommodate bargain hunters.

Formed in 2000, the Wimberley Merchants Association members represent more than 90 eclectic shops and inns in this Hill Country village.

Cissy and husband Michael, for example, help his father Kent run Southwind Bed and Breakfast in Wimberley.

The WMA has another event before the Pumpkin Festival, this one focused on adults. Wine Tasting Wimberley happens on September 15. Visitors get to sample some of the Hill Country’s best wines and food and get to bid on items and gift certificates donated by WMA members.

The Pumpkin Festival will be held around the Wimberley Square with special events behind the Wimberley Café. For more information, call 512-757-4881 or visit the website at wimberleymerchants.com. For information on the pet parade, call 512-847-1818.