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Vassar will close part of M-15 on Saturday, Oct. 10, for one of Tuscola County’s most unusual fall traditions, Vassar’s Pumpkin Roll, a community event that began as a local prank and grew into an organized festival.
VASSAR, Mich. — Pumpkins will once again tumble, bounce and occasionally explode down the hill on M-15 when Vassar holds its 32nd annual Pumpkin Roll on Saturday.
The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 10 along M-15 in downtown Vassar. The city has approved a street closure for the event, which remains one of Vassar’s signature fall traditions.
The attraction is simple: participants send pumpkins rolling down the steep highway and try to guide them into barrels positioned along the course.
What sounds like organized chaos has roots stretching back more than three decades.
Vassar’s Pumpkin Roll – From Prank to City Tradition
The Pumpkin Roll began in the mid-1990s, after residents informally rolled pumpkins down Vassar’s steep M-15 hill for years.
A 2002 account of the event reported that city officials and police eventually decided to turn the recurring Halloween prank into a sanctioned community activity. Former Police Chief John Horwath allowed the rolling to go forward, and organizers created a controlled course with barrels, safety barriers and volunteers.
The Michigan Municipal League later noted that the first organized Pumpkin Roll was held in October 1994. Thousands of people have attended the event over the years.
What once created traffic hazards and cleanup problems became a fall attraction that brought residents downtown.
Pumpkins Aim for Prize Barrels
The basic contest has remained largely unchanged.
Participants purchase pumpkins and send them down the hill, aiming for barrels positioned along the roadway. In recent years, the grand prize for landing a pumpkin in the designated barrel has been $500.
Last year’s event charged 50 cents to purchase a pumpkin and another 50 cents to roll it. Organizers also offered antique tractors, live music, vendors, seasonal food and family activities. More than 1,000 pumpkins have rolled down the hill during some past events.
The City of Vassar’s current calendar confirms that the 2026 event will again take place from noon to 4 p.m. on M-15.
City officials also formally placed the Pumpkin Roll street closure on the Oct. 5 City Council agenda, clearing the way for Saturday’s event.
A Fall Event Built Around Downtown Vassar
The Pumpkin Roll has become more than the downhill contest.
Past editions have included antique tractor displays, food vendors, cider and doughnuts, crafts, children’s activities and performances. Local schools, churches and civic organizations have also participated, using the event as both a community gathering and fundraiser.
The Vassar Area Historical Society has traditionally joined the weekend with a soup lunch, adding another local-history element to the day.
That combination has helped the Pumpkin Roll endure.
Unlike many fall festivals built around pumpkins as decoration, Vassar’s event makes them the main attraction. Spectators gather along the roadside to watch each pumpkin pick up speed, veer toward the curb, strike another pumpkin or occasionally make the unlikely trip into a prize barrel.
M-15 Closure Makes the Event Possible
For most of the year, M-15 is a busy state highway through downtown Vassar.
On Pumpkin Roll day, traffic gives way to families, volunteers and hundreds of pumpkins.
The closure is central to the event’s identity. The same hill that once made unauthorized pumpkin rolling a problem now makes the sanctioned version possible.
Cleanup is also part of the tradition. Historical accounts describe city crews moving in after the event to collect broken pumpkins and sweep the roadway before reopening it to traffic.
Three decades later, the idea remains almost unchanged: close the highway, line up the barrels and let the pumpkins roll.
The 32nd annual Vassar Pumpkin Roll runs from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, on M-15 in downtown Vassar. The city lists the event on its official community calendar.
Official City of Vassar Pumpkin Roll listing
