🎧 The Texas Current Podcast

Fall Weekends With Kids, Part 4: Follow the Community Calendar in the San Antonio Suburbs

Season 1 · Episode 26
Hosts: Tyler Brooks & Maddie Lawson
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San Antonio suburbs fall festivals and pumpkin patches in Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, and Universal City — The Texas Current podcast, Texas Home Talk
Photo · Texas Home Talk

About This Episode

The best San Antonio suburbs fall festivals are community-run and mostly free: Cibolofest on October 17, Seguin Pecan Fest on October 24, and the volunteer-run Universal City Pumpkin Patch, open daily through October 30. In the series finale of The Texas Current’s fall family guide, Tyler Brooks and Maddie Lawson show families how to follow the community calendar across Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, and Universal City.

The episode contrasts two Seguin pumpkin patches — Braune Farms, where you pick pumpkins from the vine, and the First Methodist Church patch, stocked with pumpkins raised by Navajo growers — and explains how Universal City’s patch rotates its proceeds among more than 27 local nonprofits. It also covers free Halloween-week stops in Schertz and Converse, then wraps up all four parts of the series, from North Austin to the San Antonio suburbs.

In This Episode

  • Why the northeast San Antonio suburbs are the most community-run fall calendar in the series — and the “Follow the Community Calendar” strategy.
  • How JBSA-Randolph and a military community shape the region’s fall events.
  • Cibolofest on October 17: free admission, wristbands for rides, the Air Force Band of the West, and how to handle a 9:45 p.m. fireworks finale with young kids.
  • Seguin Pecan Fest on October 24, the Big Red Barn, and Seguin’s giant pecan.
  • “Grown here” vs. “trucked in”: picking pumpkins from the vine at Braune Farms vs. the Navajo-grown pumpkins at First Methodist Church in Seguin.
  • The Universal City Pumpkin Patch and its rotating nonprofit beneficiaries.
  • Free Halloween-week stops: the Schertz library Crafternoon and Converse Police’s Boo with the Blue!
  • The four-part series wrap-up, from North Austin to the San Antonio suburbs.

Episode Chapters

  • 0:00
    Opening Sponsor: Eric Newland

    A sponsor message from Eric Newland of House Hunters New Braunfels Realty.

  • 0:46
    Welcome to The Texas Current & Part 4

    Tyler Brooks and Maddie Lawson open the series finale with how one pumpkin purchase can fund a robotics team on Tuesday and a pug rescue on Thursday.

  • 2:24
    Follow the Community Calendar

    Why the northeast San Antonio suburbs run on city festivals and volunteer-run patches instead of big commercial farms — and how JBSA-Randolph shapes it.

  • 4:33
    Cibolofest: Free Festival, Live Music & Fireworks

    Free admission on October 17, wristbands only for rides, the Air Force Band of the West at 6 p.m., and a 9:45 p.m. fireworks finale — plus how to pace young kids.

  • 7:58
    Seguin Pecan Fest: Harvest, Heritage & the Giant Pecan

    A harvest festival, not a Halloween event: Trade Days, Central Park music, the Big Red Barn, and Seguin’s giant pecan outside the Guadalupe County Courthouse.

  • 10:12
    Braune Farms: Pick Pumpkins from the Field

    A working family farm in Seguin where you ride a hayride out and pick your pumpkin from the vine. Closed-toe shoes, portable restrooms only, and closed when it rains.

  • 13:14
    First Methodist Church: Pumpkins Supporting Navajo Growers

    A free-to-visit church patch downtown, stocked by truck with pumpkins raised by Navajo growers and unloaded by local volunteers.

  • 15:09
    Universal City Pumpkin Patch: Supporting Local Nonprofits

    Free admission, free parking, pets welcome, and more than 27 nonprofits taking turns as the day’s beneficiary. Kids Day is October 17; Family Fun Day is October 24.

  • 17:56
    Schertz: Free Halloween Crafts at the Library

    The free Crafternoon: Halloween Edition on October 22 for kids 5 to 12 — sock pumpkins, handprint crafts, no registration.

  • 19:06
    Converse: Boo with the Blue Trunk-or-Treat

    The Converse Police Department’s reported October 30 trunk-or-treat at Converse North Park. Confirm details with the department.

  • 20:11
    Natural Bridge Caverns & Four-Part Series Wrap-Up

    A Bat Fest callback, then the lessons from all four parts — and whether community fall traditions can survive Central Texas growth.

  • 22:31
    Final Tips & Closing Thanks

    Check organizers’ websites and social media before you go, and thanks to the sponsors and listeners.

  • 23:08
    Closing Sponsor

    A disclosed related-party sponsor message that closes the episode.

"What you are seeing in Universal City is a shared equity model. The money never leaves the neighborhood. It turns a simple everyday seasonal chore into a powerful engine for local civic funding."

— Maddie Lawson

What Does “Follow the Community Calendar” Mean for Fall Near San Antonio?

Earlier parts of this series were about logistics: toll roads in North Austin, long drives to a single anchor in the Hill Country, and picking the right exit on I-35. San Antonio suburbs fall festivals work differently. Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, and Universal City sit close together along I-35, I-10, and FM 78, and many of the season’s headline events are run by cities, churches, and volunteers rather than commercial farms. Joint Base San Antonio–Randolph in Universal City brings a steady flow of families moving in and out, and the community calendar is how newcomers plug in fast. The strategy is simple: start with the free city events, know who your pumpkin money supports, and stack events that are a short drive apart.

What Are the Biggest Fall Festivals in the San Antonio Suburbs?

Two Saturdays anchor the season. Cibolofest takes over the City of Cibolo’s downtown event grounds at 200 S. Main St. on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free; a wristband is required only for carnival rides, train rides, the petting zoo, and pony rides. Music runs from noon, the United States Air Force Band of the West takes the stage at 6 p.m., and fireworks start at 9:45 p.m. — late for toddlers, so plan a quiet afternoon and leave early if needed. One week later, Seguin Pecan Fest fills downtown Seguin on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with Trade Days vendors and live music in Central Park. The Big Red Barn at 250 Cordova Road adds a pecan baking contest, hayrides, square dancing, children’s games and crafts, a youth scarecrow contest, and docent-led Heritage Village tours. Don’t miss a photo with the giant pecan Seguin bills as the world’s largest, outside the Guadalupe County Courthouse.

Where Can Families Pick Pumpkins Near San Antonio?

Seguin offers two very different pumpkin patches a few miles apart. Braune Farms, a family farm at 1300 Link Rd. founded in 2007, grows its pumpkins in the field: a hayride takes you out, you walk the rows, and you pick your pumpkin from the vine. Remaining 2026 dates are October 17–18, October 24–25, and October 31, plus pick-only Wednesday afternoons on October 21 and 28. Admission is paid on site only. Wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, bring sunscreen and bug spray, and plan diaper changes in the car — there are portable restrooms only and no baby-changing stations. Leashed pets are welcome, and the farm closes when it rains. Downtown, First Methodist Church at 710 N. Austin St. sets up a patch on its front lawn through October 31. It’s free to visit and take photos, and in past seasons the church has said its pumpkins are raised by Navajo growers and arrive by 18-wheeler, unloaded by local volunteers.

Why Is the Universal City Pumpkin Patch Different?

The Universal City Pumpkin Patch, behind the Universal City Fire Department near City Hall at 2160 Universal City Blvd., is free to enter and park, and leashed pets are welcome. It runs through October 30, Monday through Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; October 31 is pumpkin sales only. The volunteer nonprofit Parks Partners runs it with more than 27 local nonprofits, which are designated beneficiaries on scheduled days — school groups, the Civil Air Patrol, the Randolph Field Education Foundation, and others. The day you buy determines which group benefits. Kids Day is Saturday, October 17, and Family Fun Day is Saturday, October 24.

How Do You Stack a Fall Saturday in the San Antonio Suburbs?

Because the towns are so close, two Saturdays can each hold three outings without long drives. On October 17, pick pumpkins at Braune Farms in the morning, stop by the Universal City patch for Kids Day, rest at home, then head to Cibolofest for dinner and the Air Force Band of the West at 6 p.m. On October 24, spend the morning in Seguin at Pecan Fest and Braune Farms, then visit the Universal City patch for Family Fun Day in the late afternoon. Because Cibolofest and the Universal City patch are free to enter, leaving early when the kids are done costs nothing.

What Free Halloween Events Are in Schertz and Converse?

For a short, low-effort outing during Halloween week, the Schertz Public Library at 798 Schertz Parkway hosts Crafternoon: Halloween Edition on Thursday, October 22, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. It’s free for kids ages 5 to 12 with an adult, supplies are included, and no registration is required. In Converse, the police department’s Boo with the Blue! trunk-or-treat is reported for Friday, October 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Converse North Park, 8200 Spring Town Street — confirm the details with the Converse Police Department before you go. If you want something bigger, Natural Bridge Caverns’ Bat Fest, covered in Part 3, runs every October weekend a short drive from Schertz and Cibolo.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Cibolofest 2026, and is it free?

Cibolofest 2026 is Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the City of Cibolo’s downtown event grounds, 200 S. Main St. Admission is free. A carnival wristband is required for the rides, train rides, petting zoo, and pony rides. Live music starts at noon, the United States Air Force Band of the West plays at 6 p.m., and the fireworks finale is at 9:45 p.m.

When is Seguin Pecan Fest 2026, and what is there to do?

Seguin Pecan Fest is Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. across downtown Seguin. It includes Trade Days vendors and live music in Central Park. The Big Red Barn at 250 Cordova Road hosts a pecan baking contest, hayrides, square dancing, children’s games and crafts, a youth scarecrow contest, and docent-led tours of the Heritage Village. The Seguin Heritage Museum holds an open house the same day.

Is the Universal City Pumpkin Patch free?

Yes. Admission and parking are free, and leashed, well-behaved pets are welcome. The patch sits behind the Universal City Fire Department near City Hall, 2160 Universal City Blvd., and runs through October 30 — Monday through Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The nonprofit Parks Partners runs it with more than 27 local nonprofits, which are designated beneficiaries on scheduled days. October 17 is Kids Day, October 24 is Family Fun Day, and October 31 is pumpkin sales only.

Where can you pick pumpkins off the vine near San Antonio?

Braune Farms, a family farm at 1300 Link Rd. in Seguin, grows its pumpkins in the field. Remaining 2026 dates are Saturdays, October 17, 24, and 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, October 18 and 25, from noon to 4 p.m.; and Wednesdays, October 21 and 28, from 1 to 6 p.m. for picking only. Admission is paid on site only. Wear closed-toe shoes and long pants, expect portable restrooms with no baby-changing stations, and check the farm’s social media before you go, because it closes when it rains.

What free Halloween events are in Schertz and Converse?

The Schertz Public Library’s Crafternoon: Halloween Edition is Thursday, October 22, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 798 Schertz Parkway. It is free for kids ages 5 to 12 with an adult, and no registration is required. In Converse, the police department’s Boo with the Blue! trunk-or-treat is reported for Friday, October 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Converse North Park, 8200 Spring Town Street. Confirm the details with the Converse Police Department before you go.

Full Episode Transcript

Click to expand the full transcript

Opening Sponsor: Eric Newland

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Eric Newland of House Hunters New Braunfels Realty. Eric’s a retired Army Medical Service Corps officer with tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and Germany. And he brings that same precision and follow-through to every closing. He’s a certified military relocation professional, so whether you’re active duty, a veteran, or PCSing into the area, he knows the timelines and the paperwork cold. Same-day callbacks? In person at your inspections and walkthroughs, and the kind of after-the-sale availability most buyers don’t realize they need until they need it. Active duty, retired, first-time buyer, or longtime local. Everybody gets the same high level of service. Reach Eric at 830-643-4386.

Welcome to The Texas Current & Part 4

Tyler Brooks: Welcome to The Texas Current, presented by Texas Home Talk. I’m Tyler Brooks, joined by Maddie Lawson.

Maddie Lawson: Thanks, Tyler. I’m Maddie Lawson.

Tyler Brooks: So Maddie, I want you to imagine this for a second. You go out, um, you buy a pumpkin on, I don’t know, Tuesday afternoon, right?

Maddie Lawson: Okay. Tuesday pumpkin shopping. I’m with you.

Tyler Brooks: And by doing that, you just accidentally funded a robotics team.

Maddie Lawson: Which is, I mean, that’s incredible.

Tyler Brooks: Right? And then say Thursday rolls around and you decide, hey, I needed another pumpkin.

Maddie Lawson: As you do.

Tyler Brooks: Exactly. But this time your purchase ends up saving a local pug rescue.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, I love that.

Tyler Brooks: It’s just so unique. But that is the actual reality of fall in the northeast San Antonio suburbs. Maddie, we have finally made it.

Maddie Lawson: We really have. It’s been quite the journey.

Tyler Brooks: It has. This is Part 4, the series finale of our fall weekends with kids in Central Texas. And today we are zeroing in on Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, and Universal City.

Maddie Lawson: And Tyler, I mean, it honestly feels like we’ve crossed entirely different cultural zones to get here.

Tyler Brooks: Oh, completely.

Maddie Lawson: Yeah. And what really stands out about wrapping up the series in this specific, you know, cluster of towns is how the underlying architecture of your weekend it just has to change.

Tyler Brooks: Yeah, it’s a total shift.

Maddie Lawson: It is. Because if you think back to our previous explorations, um, the strategies we talked about were heavily logistical.

Tyler Brooks: Very much so.

Maddie Lawson: I mean, for you listening, think back to our North Austin or our Hill Country discussions.

Tyler Brooks: Right, with all the traffic.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. You were out there plotting out these complex traffic strategies along the I-35 corridor, or you know, you were committing your entire Saturday just to navigate one of those enormous commercial entertainment farms.

Follow the Community Calendar

Tyler Brooks: Which takes a lot out of you. It really does. But in this region, that playbook is just useless. The paradigm shift here is completely different. Basically, you follow the community calendar. Yeah. So, Maddie, I want you to break down the mechanics of this for us. Like, why does this particular pocket of South Texas totally reject that commercial farm model?

Maddie Lawson: Well, it really comes down to this fascinating intersection of geography and demographics. Okay. Because if you look at a map of the region, these towns are practically interwoven along these really short stretches of I-35, I-10, and FM 78. Right.

Tyler Brooks: They’re super close together.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. You aren’t driving an hour out into the remote countryside. The borders between like Schertz and Cibolo and Universal City, they almost blur together.

Tyler Brooks: You don’t even know when you leave one and enter the other.

Maddie Lawson: You really don’t. But the actual heartbeat of the area, like the engine driving the culture here, is the huge military presence.

Tyler Brooks: Ah, you’re talking about Joint Base San Antonio–Randolph.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly that. JBSA Randolph sits right there in Universal City. And you know, when you have a strong military installation, you have a population that is inherently transient. Right.

Tyler Brooks: Families are transferring in and out every few years.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. So to counter that constant turnover, the local municipalities, the churches, and the voluntary networks, they have to work aggressively to build immediate community cohesion.

Tyler Brooks: Because people need to feel at home right away.

Maddie Lawson: Yes. Because of that tight-knit, welcoming necessity, the biggest fall events here aren’t outsourced to like private, for-profit, agricultural promoters. They are engineered from the ground up by the communities themselves.

Tyler Brooks: Which completely alters the physics of your weekend planning.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, 100%.

Tyler Brooks: Because the geographic footprint is so compressed, right? And the events are deeply localized. So families can execute a strategy that I like to call stacking.

Maddie Lawson: Stacking. Okay. I like that term.

Tyler Brooks: Yeah, because you can seamlessly piece together multiple distinct events into a single Saturday without spending, you know, three hours burning fuel and exhausting your kids in the backseat.

Maddie Lawson: Which is the dream for any parent, really.

Tyler Brooks: Honestly, yes. So let’s examine how this works with the two major weekend anchors in this region. We’re looking at October 17th and October 24th.

Cibolofest: Free Festival, Live Music & Fireworks

Maddie Lawson: Okay.

Tyler Brooks: We’ll start with October 17th, which brings us to Cibolofest.

Maddie Lawson: Yes, Cibolofest. So this takes over the downtown area right at the City Hall event grounds.

Tyler Brooks: Right in the middle of everything.

Maddie Lawson: Right in the middle. And Tyler, it is the textbook definition of civic investment. The city wants you there, so admission to the festival grounds is completely free.

Tyler Brooks: Wow. Zero barrier to entry.

Maddie Lawson: Zero. So they remove the financial barrier completely. If your kids decide, you know, they want to do the carnival rides or take a turn on the train or feed the animals in the petting zoo.

Tyler Brooks: Which they always do.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, inevitably. Then you simply purchase a wristband for those specific attractions.

Tyler Brooks: See, I really appreciate that economic model.

Maddie Lawson: It makes sense, right?

Tyler Brooks: It does. You aren’t handing over a huge chunk of money at a gate just for the privilege of walking around and looking at vendor tents.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. You only pay for what you actually use.

Tyler Brooks: But Maddie, looking at the schedule here, the entertainment lineup is what really underscores that military connection you mentioned earlier.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, it anchors the whole event. They feature live music running throughout the afternoon, but the definitive moment happens at 6 p.m.

Tyler Brooks: Okay, what happens at six?

Maddie Lawson: That is when the United States Air Force Band of the West takes the main stage.

Tyler Brooks: I mean you certainly don’t get that level of performance at a commercial pumpkin patch.

Maddie Lawson: You really don’t. And it serves a dual purpose, right? Yes, it’s incredible entertainment, but it’s also a mirror reflecting the identity of the people standing in the crowd.

Tyler Brooks: Because so many of them are military families.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. It grounds the festival and the reality of the residents who live and work in the area. It really bridges that gap between the civilian and military populations.

Tyler Brooks: Okay, I see the value in that, totally. But, and I have to challenge you on the logistics here. I was reviewing the official uh Cibolofest timeline, and the city has the grand fireworks finale slated for 9:45 p.m.

Maddie Lawson: Yeah, that is a late night.

Tyler Brooks: Maddie, as a parent, keeping a young child at a bustling fall festival until almost 10 p.m. sounds like a tactical error.

Maddie Lawson: It is a risk.

Tyler Brooks: A huge risk. That is a guaranteed recipe for what I call a toddler pumpkin hangover on Sunday morning. Like, how do you justify pacing a family for a schedule like that?

Maddie Lawson: The toddler pumpkin hangover is a devastating reality, Tyler. You cannot just power through a 12-hour day with a three-year-old.

Tyler Brooks: You really can’t.

Maddie Lawson: No. And this is where that stacking strategy you mentioned requires some serious discipline.

Tyler Brooks: Okay, so what’s the playbook?

Maddie Lawson: My advice, you do a really low-key morning activity. Maybe grab some breakfast, um, visit a local pumpkin patch when everybody still has a full tank of energy.

Tyler Brooks: Right. Beat the heat, too.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. And then you retreat.

Tyler Brooks: Retreat?

Maddie Lawson: You go home and you enforce a strict, non-negotiable afternoon nap or, you know, just quiet time.

Tyler Brooks: Good luck enforcing that. But yes, in theory, perfect.

Maddie Lawson: You have to try. Then you arrive at Cibolofest later in the afternoon, refreshed. You grab dinner from the local vendors, enjoy the Air Force Band of the West at six, and then you evaluate.

Tyler Brooks: You check the mood.

Maddie Lawson: Right. If the kids are energized, you stay for the fireworks. But remember the economic model we talked about.

Tyler Brooks: The free admission.

Maddie Lawson: Yes. Because you didn’t pay a steep entrance fee, there is zero sunk cost fallacy.

Tyler Brooks: Oh, that is so true. Sunk cost fallacy at fall festivals is so real.

Maddie Lawson: It really is.

Tyler Brooks: But here, if the kids start melting down at 7:30, you simply walk to your car and go home. You don’t feel like you wasted your money.

Maddie Lawson: The free admission totally removes the guilt of leaving early.

Seguin Pecan Fest: Harvest, Heritage & the Giant Pecan

Maddie Lawson: I love that.

Tyler Brooks: It’s a game changer. Okay, let’s advance the calendar one week to our second major Saturday anchor, October 24th. This shifts our focus slightly east to the Seguin Pecan Fest.

Maddie Lawson: Ah, yes. The Seguin Pecan Fest is this sprawling, comprehensive harvest celebration. And I really want to emphasize the word harvest here. Right, because it’s not a spooky Halloween-themed event. Got it. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it utilizes the entirety of downtown Seguin.

Tyler Brooks: So it’s a big footprint.

Maddie Lawson: Very big. You have trade days and live music dominating Central Park, and over at the Big Red Barn, a highly competitive youth scarecrow contest.

Tyler Brooks: Oh, I bet that gets intense.

Maddie Lawson: You have no idea. The Big Red Barn is a really robust satellite location, and it also features a pecan baking contest, tractor hay rides, and an open house at the Heritage Village.

Tyler Brooks: Okay. I cannot let us discuss Seguin without addressing the elephant in the room, or rather the giant nut in the room.

Maddie Lawson: I knew you were going to bring this up.

Tyler Brooks: We have to. The famous giant pecan statue sitting right out in front of the Guadalupe County Courthouse.

Maddie Lawson: It is iconic.

Tyler Brooks: It is a mandatory photo opportunity if you are anywhere near the area. Seguin bills it as the world’s largest, and it is just a classic, unapologetic piece of quirky Texas roadside architecture. It really is. But Maddie, I have to ask, why do towns do this? Like what is the actual function of building a giant concrete pecan?

Maddie Lawson: You know, it basically functions as an agricultural flag in the ground. It’s civic branding.

Tyler Brooks: Okay, making their mark.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. Towns like Seguin use these monuments to cement their historical identity. If you recall our Part 3 discussion where Wurstfest completely defined the New Braunfels cultural experience around its German roots, well, Pecan Fest serves the exact same mechanism for Seguin. It is a public celebration of the local economy and literally what the soil beneath their feet naturally produces.

Tyler Brooks: That concept, what the soil produces, that actually creates a really interesting transition for us.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, does it?

Tyler Brooks: It does. Because while these municipal festivals anchor your Saturday afternoons, you still need morning activities. True. And when you look at the local pumpkin patches, this region offers a fascinating side-by-side contrast in supply chain philosophies.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, this is my favorite part.

Braune Farms: Pick Pumpkins from the Field

Tyler Brooks: We are looking at the grown here model versus the trucked-in model. Let’s examine the grown here approach first over at Braune Farms in Seguin.

Maddie Lawson: Yeah. So Braune Farms is increasingly rare in South Texas. This is not just some pop-up lot. It is a functioning working family farm that was established back in 2007. Oh. Yeah. They open their gates to the public on the weekends of October 17th and 18th and October 24th and 25th, plus Halloween Day itself.

Tyler Brooks: Okay, so pretty limited window.

Maddie Lawson: Very limited. And they charge a small admission fee, which you handle right there on site. There are no complicated online ticket portals to navigate.

Tyler Brooks: Let me pause you there, Maddie, because I think we need to define functioning farm.

Maddie Lawson: Good point.

Tyler Brooks: When you say that, you mean visitors are not walking onto a manicured emerald green lawn to pick up a perfectly polished pumpkin that was unloaded from a pallet two hours prior.

Maddie Lawson: Not at all. You are engaging in the raw agricultural process.

Tyler Brooks: So dirt.

Maddie Lawson: Yes, Tyler, lots of dirt. You board a hay ride that takes you out into the actual cultivation fields. You walk the uneven rows of vines, you search through the leaves, and you physically pull your pumpkin straight out of the dirt where it grew.

Tyler Brooks: I mean, for a child, the cognitive leap of seeing exactly how and where a plant produces a pumpkin, that is a completely different sensory education than picking one out of a cardboard bin at the grocery store.

Maddie Lawson: It really is. It connects them to where their food and their seasonal items actually come from.

Tyler Brooks: I understand the educational value. I really do. But let’s be pragmatic for a second.

Maddie Lawson: Okay. Pragmatic, Tyler. Let’s hear it.

Tyler Brooks: Raw agricultural process often translates to highly inconvenient for parents. Well like why would a family choose an authentic dirt field with bugs over a clean, easily accessible setup in a paved parking lot?

Maddie Lawson: Because the inconvenience is part of memory making, Tyler.

Tyler Brooks: If you say so.

Maddie Lawson: Provided you prepare for it, of course. The practical realities are crucial here. Because you are navigating a real dirt field with tall grass. Um close-toed shoes and long pants are non-negotiable.

Tyler Brooks: No flip-flops.

Maddie Lawson: Absolutely no sandals, and you need to apply sunscreen and bug repellent.

Tyler Brooks: Naturally.

Maddie Lawson: They do welcome well-behaved pets on leashes, which is a fantastic benefit for families. But parents, you need to listen closely to this. A working farm means infrastructure is limited.

Tyler Brooks: What does that mean exactly?

Maddie Lawson: It means there are only portable restrooms available, which means zero baby changing stations.

Tyler Brooks: Oh wow. Okay, that’s a big detail.

Maddie Lawson: Right. You will be conducting diaper changes in the back of your SUV. So you really need to organize your supplies before you leave the house.

Tyler Brooks: Good tip.

Maddie Lawson: And finally, because it’s an actual dirt farm, they are entirely at the mercy of the weather. If it rains, the fields turn to mud and they have to close. You must check their social media updates before you put the car in drive.

Tyler Brooks: So the authenticity demands a much higher level of tactical readiness.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly.

Tyler Brooks: That makes sense. Now, if we look just a few miles down the road from that working family farm, we find the exact opposite philosophy.

First Methodist Church: Pumpkins Supporting Navajo Growers

Maddie Lawson: We do.

Tyler Brooks: We have the trucked-in model hosted at the First Methodist Church in downtown Seguin.

Maddie Lawson: Right. So the First Methodist Church utilizes their prominent front lawn for their patch. It is open every day through Halloween, and it costs absolutely nothing just to visit, walk around, and take photos of the kids among the pumpkins.

Tyler Brooks: See, what captivates me about this specific location is the underlying supply chain mechanism. We briefly touched on this model in our Part 3 discussion, but I feel like it deserves a closer look.

Maddie Lawson: It really does.

Tyler Brooks: Maddie, trace the journey of these pumpkins for us because they certainly aren’t growing in downtown Seguin.

Maddie Lawson: No, they are not. The logistics behind this are genuinely inspiring, honestly. These pumpkins are cultivated hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest by Navajo growers. Wow. Yeah. This church patch in Seguin operates as a vital decentralized economic pipeline for those farmers.

Tyler Brooks: So it’s a huge economic driver.

Maddie Lawson: It provides, well, an immense source of steady income for them. And the community involvement locally, it doesn’t stop at the purchase.

Tyler Brooks: How so?

Maddie Lawson: When those 18-wheelers finally roll into Seguin, it requires a tremendous amount of manual labor to unload them. It is often local volunteer groups like the Seguin High School football team who show up to physically move the inventory.

Tyler Brooks: Man, just visualize that scene. You have a crisp October morning, an 18-wheeler parked next to a church lawn, and a roster of high school athletes forming a human assembly line, just tossing pumpkins to one another.

Maddie Lawson: It’s very cinematic.

Tyler Brooks: It is. It is this incredible intersection of Friday night lights culture and autumn harvest logistics. And you have these two completely divergent models: the family farm where you cut the vine yourself, and the church lawn, driving an interstate agricultural economy, operating simultaneously within the exact same city limits.

Maddie Lawson: It just proves there is no single right way for a community to celebrate the season.

Universal City Pumpkin Patch: Supporting Local Nonprofits

Tyler Brooks: Absolutely. But Maddie, if we are analyzing community mechanisms, we have to talk about the Universal City Pumpkin Patch.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, without question.

Tyler Brooks: This might be the most structurally fascinating setup we’ve encountered in the entire series.

Maddie Lawson: I agree.

Tyler Brooks: It is located right behind the Universal City Fire Department, and it’s open daily through October 30th. Like the church, it features free admission and free parking, and pets are welcome.

Maddie Lawson: Very accessible.

Tyler Brooks: Very. They’ve also programmed specific highlight days. So October 17th is Kids’ Day, featuring dinosaurs and inflatables. And October 24th is a broader family fun day. But um the operational logistics. I look at this and I see the ultimate neighborhood booster club.

Maddie Lawson: That is the absolute perfect way to categorize it.

Tyler Brooks: Right.

Maddie Lawson: Yeah. The overarching management is handled by a local nonprofit called Parks Partners. But operating a pumpkin patch every single day for a month leads to rapid volunteer burnout.

Tyler Brooks: Oh, for sure. You can’t ask the same five people to stand out there all month.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly. So they engineered this brilliant solution. They rotate the daily beneficiary among more than 27 different local nonprofit organizations.

Tyler Brooks: I mean, consider the impact of that structure. When you buy a pumpkin at a commercial farm, your money goes to a private owner. Here, your money is hyper-targeted microphilanthropy.

Maddie Lawson: Microphilanthropy, I like that.

Tyler Brooks: Think about it. If you show up on Tuesday, the volunteers ringing you up might be a robotics team and your purchase funds their equipment.

Maddie Lawson: Right.

Tyler Brooks: If you come back on Thursday, the staff is rotated, and now your money is keeping a local pug rescue operational. The next day it might be the Civil Air Patrol or an elementary school’s parent-teacher organization.

Maddie Lawson: It completely changes the consumer relationship, doesn’t it?

Tyler Brooks: It really does.

Maddie Lawson: You are essentially browsing the community calendar to decide which local charity you want your autumn decorations to finance.

Tyler Brooks: Exactly. So, Maddie, does that specific hyperlocal structure exist precisely because these towns lack those giant commercial anchor farms?

Maddie Lawson: You know, I think causality runs both ways there. Okay. When a community doesn’t have a pre-packaged commercial entertainment option handed to them, the residents have to step up and manufacture the magic themselves.

Tyler Brooks: They have to build it.

Maddie Lawson: Right. What you are seeing in Universal City is a shared equity model. The money never leaves the neighborhood. It turns a simple everyday seasonal chore into a powerful engine for local civic funding.

Tyler Brooks: It really is an elegant solution to volunteer fatigue.

Maddie Lawson: It is.

Tyler Brooks: Now, as deeply as we respect these weekend festivals and complex supply chains, we have to acknowledge parent fatigue.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, yes. Very real.

Tyler Brooks: Because not every family has the stamina for a full Saturday excursion. Sometimes it’s a random Thursday afternoon, a cold front is blown in, the kids are restless, and you just need a low-stakes victory.

Maddie Lawson: We’ve all been there.

Schertz: Free Halloween Crafts at the Library

Tyler Brooks: That brings us to Halloween week and these smaller tactical weekday stops. Let’s look at Schertz.

Maddie Lawson: So the City of Schertz has a brilliant solution for that exact scenario. On Thursday, October 22nd, the Schertz Public Library is hosting a Crafternoon Halloween edition.

Tyler Brooks: Crafternoon. Fantastic. Yes. Yeah.

Maddie Lawson: It is totally free, designed for kids ages five to twelve. The staff provides all the materials for the kids to create sock pumpkins and Halloween-themed hand print crafts, and there is no advanced registration required. You just show up.

Tyler Brooks: When I look at the calendar, this is the tactical parent retreat.

Maddie Lawson: Walk me through your thinking on that.

Tyler Brooks: Well, by late October, the novelty of fall has completely worn off for parents.

Maddie Lawson: Oh, yeah.

Tyler Brooks: You do not want to lace up boots, you do not want to hike through a dirt field with mosquito repellent, and you certainly do not want to open your wallet for another overpriced cup of cider.

Maddie Lawson: No, you do not.

Tyler Brooks: The library crafternoon is the ultimate hack. It is a guaranteed one-hour climate-controlled environment.

Maddie Lawson: Climate controlled is key.

Tyler Brooks: Absolutely. The kids are actively engaged, they get a tangible item to take home, and you don’t spend a dime. Libraries are the unsung heroes of fall programming.

Converse: Boo with the Blue Trunk-or-Treat

Maddie Lawson: They really are. They provide essential infrastructure for parents who just need an hour of peace. Truly. And as we push closer to Halloween night itself, the City of Converse offers another highly localized option. On Friday, October 30th, the Converse Police Department is organizing Boo with the Blue at Converse North Park.

Tyler Brooks: So it’s a trunk or treat directly managed by law enforcement.

Maddie Lawson: Precisely. It is an evening event centered around costumes, candy, and creatively decorated vehicles. Sounds fun. It is. Now, a quick logistical note for you listening: always verify the final operational details and exact timing directly through the Converse Police Department’s official channels as the date approaches. Right.

Tyler Brooks: Things can always change.

Maddie Lawson: Definitely. But stepping back, this represents a fantastic philosophy of community policing. They are creating a low-stress, highly festive environment to build trust and rapport with the families in their jurisdiction. That makes a lot of sense. If you want to avoid the chaotic crowds of the larger city festivals, staying right in Converse with your neighbors is a superb alternative.

Tyler Brooks: It perfectly encapsulates the theme of this region. Everything you need is right in your own backyard.

Maddie Lawson: Exactly.

Natural Bridge Caverns & Four-Part Series Wrap-Up

Tyler Brooks: And just as a quick logistical callback, if you do find yourself wanting something a bit more elaborate, but still geographically close, refer back to the Natural Bridge Caverns Bat Fest we detailed in Part 3.

Maddie Lawson: Oh yeah, that’s a great event.

Tyler Brooks: It is only a short drive from Schertz and Cibolo and operates every weekend in October.

Maddie Lawson: That is a highly efficient way to merge the strategies from our different regional discussions.

Tyler Brooks: Well, Maddie, we have reached the finish line.

Maddie Lawson: We made it.

Tyler Brooks: The end of Part 4 and the conclusion of our Central Texas Fall series. Reflecting on the core lessons from these four distinct areas, it really is a masterclass in how geography and infrastructure dictate our seasonal experiences.

Maddie Lawson: The contrasts are striking when you look at them sequentially.

Tyler Brooks: They really are. I mean, in Part 1, North Austin was an exercise in navigating dense suburban corridors and calculating toll road routes to uncover hidden patches.

Maddie Lawson: Lots of math involved there.

Tyler Brooks: So much math. Part 2 forced us out to the Hill Country, requiring a commitment to long highway miles and selecting one singular destination to anchor a whole day.

Maddie Lawson: Right.

Tyler Brooks: Part 3, moving down the I-35 corridor, was essentially a tactical operation in traffic avoidance and exit ramp precision.

Maddie Lawson: Survival mode.

Tyler Brooks: Pretty much. And finally, Part 4, here in the northeast San Antonio suburbs, has been an entirely different curriculum. It’s about ignoring the GPS map and letting the community calendar dictate your moves.

Maddie Lawson: Tyler, analyzing all four regions of Central Texas we’ve explored, it prompts a new question that I think we really need to consider.

Tyler Brooks: What’s that?

Maddie Lawson: Well, as Central Texas continues to experience this unprecedented urban sprawl, land is becoming exponentially more valuable for housing developments and tech corridors than it is for agricultural use.

Tyler Brooks: Yeah, we see it every day.

Maddie Lawson: Right. So we’ve talked about the charm of these volunteer-run festivals and dirt pumpkin patches, but how long can they survive when the very soil they rely on is being paved over for subdivisions?

Tyler Brooks: That’s a tough reality.

Maddie Lawson: Will these hyper-local, community-backed traditions eventually be pushed out completely? Or will this rapid urbanization actually force neighbors to cling to these events even harder as a way to preserve their local identity?

Tyler Brooks: Wow. That is a phenomenal and honestly slightly sobering thought to leave everyone with. As the concrete spreads, protecting these agricultural and community traditions might require even more intentional support from all of us.

Maddie Lawson: I completely agree.

Final Tips & Closing Thanks

Tyler Brooks: And speaking of being intentional, before you head out to support any of these local organizations this weekend, a vital reminder.

Maddie Lawson: Always check ahead.

Tyler Brooks: Yes. Always consult the organizers’ websites and social media platforms. Weather fronts can alter a farm’s operational hours in an instant, especially a real dirt field like Braune Farms. Always verify the status before you load your family into the car.

Maddie Lawson: Save yourself the headache.

Tyler Brooks: Exactly. Thank you so much for joining us on this four-part journey on The Texas Current. We have thoroughly enjoyed dissecting the Central Texas landscape with you. Thank you to our sponsors for making this series possible. Have a great fall weekend, Central Texas.

Closing Sponsor

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Steve Tomaselli, your Texas mortgage broker. With 33 years of lending through every kind of market, Steve has learned the job isn’t selling you a loan. It’s getting you to the closing table on time, with no surprises. Whether you’re moving to the Hill Country, moving out, or buying your next place in Central Texas, Steve tells you straight where you stand. To get started, visit Steve at homequalify.ai. That’s homequalify.ai. Steve Tomaselli, NMLS number 358920. Equal Housing Opportunity.

More From The Texas Current

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Sources & Further Reading

  • Cibolofest — City of Cibolo

    Date, hours, wristband rules, and the official entertainment lineup, including the Air Force Band of the West and the fireworks finale.

    Visit City of Cibolo →
  • Pecan Fest at the Big Red Barn — Visit Seguin

    Big Red Barn activities at 250 Cordova Road: pecan baking contest, hayrides, square dancing, youth scarecrow contest, and Heritage Village tours.

    Visit Seguin →
  • Annual Events — Visit Seguin

    Seguin Pecan Fest hours, downtown events, and the First Methodist Church pumpkin patch season and hours.

    Visit Seguin Events →
  • City of Universal City

    Pumpkin patch dates, hours, special days, and the nonprofit beneficiary schedule.

    Visit Universal City →
  • Braune Farms — Official Site

    Pumpkin patch dates, hours, admission rules, activities, and rain closures.

    Visit Braune Farms →
  • Crafternoon: Halloween Edition — City of Schertz

    The library calendar listing for the October 22 kids’ craft program.

    Visit City of Schertz →
  • Converse Police Boo with the Blue! — My Neighborhood News

    Community news report on the Converse Police Department’s October 30 trunk-or-treat at Converse North Park.

    Read the Report →
  • Texas Home Talk — Community Guides

    Our hyperlocal guides to Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, Converse, Universal City, and the rest of the Central Texas footprint.

    Explore Guides →

This Episode's Sponsors

Our opening and closing sponsors for this episode. Disclosure: Texas Home Talk is owned by Steve Tomaselli. His mortgage placement is a related-party placement, not paid third-party advertising.

Eric Newland

House Hunters New Braunfels Realty
Certified Military Relocation Professional · New Braunfels & Central Texas
Call 830-643-4386 Visit Eric →

Steve Tomaselli

Mortgage Broker · Edge Home Finance Corporation
NMLS #358920 · Company NMLS #891464 · Equal Housing Opportunity · Related-party placement
Visit HomeQualify →

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