A 24-foot blow-up pumpkin, lovingly dubbed Big Mac, greeted visitors at the front entrance of Cal Poly Pomona’s Pumpkin Fest.

More than 80,000 people a year come to the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect orange gourd to grace their front porches and keep out the spirits during Halloween season.

On Sunday, they stumbled through the corn maze to solve the mystery of the hidden word and took rides on the back of a tractor. Families, friends, and couples wandered through the 20 acres of farmland over hay-covered ground to the tune of a live band that crooned ‘90s country and bluegrass jazz favorites.

The Pumpkin Fest is a monthlong event celebrating the arrival of fall while providing a hands-on learning experience for Cal Poly Pomona students. All proceeds go toward supporting agriculture students and programs.

The patch is a showcase of Cal Poly Pomona’s learn-by-doing process that puts students in hands-on training scenarios, university spokesperson Samantha Gonzaga said.

Pumpkin Fest started in 1993 as a roadside pumpkin patch where visitors cut pumpkins off the vine. Over the next 31 years, it grew into a monthlong series of family-friendly and farm-themed activities.The fest is now the university’s largest community event — and one of the state’s largest pumpkin patches.

“People get to come to the farm and hopefully they have a better appreciation for where their food comes from,” said Craig Walters, director of AGRIscapes Outreach at Cal Poly Pomona.

The event uses more than 100 students a year to work the event. They staff information booths, take part in animal handling, grow the crops and even stock the farm store, which is open year-round.

Cole Coffman, 22, a Cal Poly Pomona alum, is in his third year at the patch and currently acting as the petting farm supervisor.

Coffman, who graduated with a degree in animal science last year, said working with the animals and being a part of the event brought him back.

Emily Deleon, a 19-year-old junior studying to become a veterinarian, is also in her third year at the patch.

As a freshman, she saw the job posting. Now she enjoys the experience of planting crops and being a part of the community.

“For me, this brings me joy seeing the community honestly come together,” Deleon said. “Because you just see families coming in and enjoying the time together, and it is honestly why I keep coming back.”

Over its 31 years, the patch has moved locations, expanded its acreage, added more dates and brought in new events.

The university has added added agriculture demonstrations, costume and eating contests, hay rides, an additional pumpkin patch, rubber duck races, specialty pumpkins, a train, an extra corn maze and a sunflower patch.

The event is open through Oct. 27, on Fridays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cal Poly Pomona’s AGRIscapes Center, 4102 S. University Drive.

Tickets, which are required to enter the pumpkin patch, can be purchased by clicking here.

Other pumpkin patches in the Inland Empire include the Big Horse Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch in Temecula and Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Farm in Yucaipa.