Hard to believe it’s been two decades, but Elysian Brewing’s Great Pumpkin Beer Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The two day celebration returns to the Seattle Center on Friday and Saturday, October 4 and 5. This year’s event is presented by The Vera Project, and you can see details here.

As the largest purveyor of pumpkin beer in the country, Elysian Brewing is excited to bring back the pumpkin madness and celebrate 20 years of pumpkin beer with an impressive selection of 80+ beers and cider from local and national breweries, including eight new, exclusive brews from Elysian that will only be available at the festival! From decadent, aged pumpkin creations, rare offerings, seasonals and fresh hop delights, the selection for the 20th anniversary is not to be missed. Attendees will also have the chance to sip on beer straight from a several-hundred-pound pumpkin (pre-scooped and scorched before being filled with beer, then sealed and conditioned before being tapped live at the festival.)

In addition to indulging in the best pumpkin brews, local DJs will be spinning wicked tracks, food trucks will be serving carnival food, attendees can get readings from a fortune teller and beer floats will be served in partnership with Bluebird Ice Cream!

Plus, it wouldn’t be GPBF without a costume contest! This year’s theme is ORANGE. Join the revelry of pumpkin season worshippers and embrace the theme for your fest attire. Who knows, you might be crowned pumpkin royalty, but believe us, people go all out in this contest, so if you’re in it to win it, bring it.

100% of ticket proceeds benefit The Vera Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering personal and community transformation through collaborative engagement in music and art.

Tickets are already sold out—they sell out quickly in advance these days, and unfortunately you can’t buy tickets at the door—so if you didn’t get tickets already, you’re likely out of luck. But you can still attend the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off taking place at the Elysian Taproom on South Airport Way in Seattle on September 28:

Additionally, The Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off will be taking place the week prior on Saturday, September 28th from 12PM-4PM at Elysian Taproom (5510 Airport Way S in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood). All ages are welcome to check out farmers and their giant pumpkins from around the region as they compete to see who has the biggest in the patch. From the weigh-off, the largest pumpkins will be tapped and filled with beer to be enjoyed on-site at the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival the following weekend. The free event will also include a band, face painting and pumpkin carving.

It’s a free event and yes, there is beer pouring at that taproom, although I don’t know if pumpkin beer will be available yet. But it’s a good run-up to the main event the following week.