There are certain things you just expect when October rolls around in Lexington. Cooler mornings. Leaves piling up around town. And, if you’re anywhere near Transylvania University, a LOT of pumpkins.
PumpkinMania is back this October for its 16th year, which means hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns will once again take over the steps of Old Morrison and one of our favorite Transy traditions will light up campus. If you’ve been before, you probably already know the thrill. If you haven’t? This is a pretty good year to fix that.
PumpkinMania returns to Transylvania
What started as a campus event in 2011 has grown into a Lexington Halloween tradition that brings thousands of people to Transy each fall. The idea is wonderfully simple: We invite the community to campus, carve a whole bunch of pumpkins together and then put them on the steps of Old Morrison for everyone to enjoy. Some of the pumpkins are legitimately impressive. Others have a little more … personality.
We love them all.
This year’s PumpkinMania festival will be Sunday, Oct. 25, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Transylvania University’s campus in downtown Lexington. The event is free and open to the public.
Why pumpkins? Why Transy?
Well. Have you seen our name?
Transylvania was founded in 1780 — more than a century before Bram Stoker introduced the world to a certain famous count. But we’ve never been opposed to having a little fun with the connection, especially in October. PumpkinMania has become one of those traditions that just feels like Transy.
Students carve pumpkins alongside faculty and staff. Alumni come back to see the display. People even get engaged to be married in front of the display. Lexington families return year after year, often with kids who have been coming since they were little. And plenty of people wander onto campus for the first time because someone told them they really need to see all those pumpkins glowing on the steps of Old Morrison.
They do.
A Lexington Halloween tradition in the heart of downtown
There’s also no mistaking where you are. Old Morrison has stood at the center of Transy’s campus for nearly two centuries. For a few nights each October, its historic steps look very different. Once the sun goes down, hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns start to glow.
That’s the moment.
It’s why people stop for pictures on Third Street. It’s why families come back. It’s why students remember PumpkinMania years after they’ve graduated. And it’s pretty hard not to smile when you see it.
Make PumpkinMania part of your October
If PumpkinMania is already one of your family’s fall traditions, we’ll see you there. If you’ve never been, come carve with us this year. Walk around campus, see Old Morrison lit up after dark and experience a Halloween tradition that makes a lot more sense when your university is named Transylvania.
October 25 | 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Transylvania University | 300 N. Broadway, Lexington, Kentucky
Free and open to the public
Learn more about PumpkinMania 2026 and make plans to join us on campus.
Sponsored by Kentucky Event Co, Bim Group, Forcht Bank, University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union, L Young, Equity Solutions Group and Black Soil KY