Post-Halloween Pumpkins Meet Their Match at Breeden’s Orchard Nov. 1
Halloween ends at midnight. At Breeden's Orchard, the pumpkins get one more morning. On Sunday, Nov. 1, at 8 a.m., the orchard at 631 Beckwith Road in Mt. Juliet hosts a pumpkin destruction event, a loud, messy, all-ages way to close out the Halloween season by smashing, dropping and generally demolishing the jack-o'-lanterns' retired cousins.
The idea is as simple as it sounds. Bring your leftover pumpkins from home, or buy one at the orchard, and then take your turn at a series of activities designed around smashing, dropping and destroying them. The organizers describe it as a high-energy way to send off the season, and there is no part of the plan that involves keeping your hands clean.
If you go
- When: Sunday, Nov. 1, at 8 a.m.
- Where: Breeden's Orchard, 631 Beckwith Road, Mt. Juliet
- Tickets: sold online through the orchard's ticketing page. The announcement did not list a price, so check the event's Facebook page for the latest details before you head out.
- What to bring: a pumpkin, or buy one on site, plus shoes you do not mind getting splattered
There is a small bonus built into the date. Clocks fall back that same morning, so the 8 a.m. start arrives with an extra hour of sleep for anyone who remembered to plan for it.
An orchard that lives by the calendar
Breeden's has made the seasons its business. Spring brought Half-toberfest in mid-May, summer brought free Peach Fest weekends with live music and peach treats, and the farm has also hosted a John Deere Touch-A-Tractor day for the small-engine crowd. The orchard has been rebuilding and adding to its grounds since a 2020 fire took its store, and this kind of event, part farm day and part festival, is how it keeps the lawn full from one harvest to the next.
The pumpkin smash is the latest entry, and it lands at a natural moment: the first morning when the leftovers on every porch in Wilson County become a decision. Roll them to the curb, or roll them to the orchard.
Make a morning of it
Still planning the rest of your fall? Our list of pumpkin patches and fall farms near Mt. Juliet and the roundup of family fun around Mt. Juliet are good places to start, and this week's family things to do keeps the calendar current. When the smashing is done, our guide to where to eat in Mt. Juliet has breakfast covered.
Image: illustrative, AI-generated – not the actual location.
