Pumpkin Race History 
The Pumpkin Race was created in Manhattan Beach on Halloween Eve 1990 when Karl Rogers, Michael Aaker and John Holliday invented the Pumpkin RaceCar design and developed the Halloween Pumpkin Race format for guests attending Karl’s birthday party.
The fun and quirky event was such a hit with our friends that they insisted that we run the race again the following year, and again the year after that...
Despite our efforts to keep our event small and manageable over the past sixteen years, the Halloween Pumpkin Race has become a must-attend Halloween family tradition for a large and growing number of local residents, most residing in Manhattan Beach.
In 2006, approximately 850 local residents attended the Halloween Pumpkin Race at 1602 8th Street, Manhattan Beach – the Official Birthplace of the Halloween Pumpkin Race. A total of 122 hand crafted Pumpkin RaceCars competed in the race which began at 5:30pm and ended at 8:45pm.
Over 6,500 residents attended the 2007 Pumpkin Race at its new location at the Pier Manhattan Beach Pier Area. A total of 455 Pumpkin RaceCars competed. The event won the National Parks and Recreation Special Event of the Year Award.
Over the years, the Halloween Pumpkin Race has become a cherished hometown event that has garnered the attention of several local and national television news networks. It was even featured in an episode of Home Improvement starring Tim Allen. In 2004, Adelphia Cable produced and aired a documentary about the event.
Over the past sixteen years we have witnessed first-hand how the Halloween Pumpkin Race has rekindled a sense of good old-fashioned family fun for our own families and for hundreds of other families and friends who attend the race each year. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, teens, and younger siblings can all be seen working together as they build their very own Pumpkin RaceCar and then cheer it on to victory. Even after a loss, families and friends gather to support one another and vow to return the following year with an even better Pumpkin RaceCar!
In addition to enhancing a sense of family and community, the Halloween Pumpkin Race embodies other traditional American values such as ingenuity, creativity, equality, fairness and diversity. There is a keen spirit of teamwork and competition among the more advanced Pumpkin RaceCar builders that often results in dramatic races that get the crowd roaring. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to enter the race. Overall, the event is much more thrilling and light-hearted than it is competitive.
Support and enthusiasm for the Halloween Pumpkin Race has grown beyond our wildest dreams. People of all ages and abilities enjoy the thrill of participating in the race, the old fashioned family fun, the community spirit that is shared by all who attend.
We’ll see you at the Pumpkin Races!
Left to right: Karl Rogers, John Holliday & Michael Aaker