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About 33 years ago, Kelly Schultz told his friends and family that he was going to open a pumpkin farm<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody laughed at me,\u201d he said in a new interview<\/a> with CNBC Make It.\u00a0<\/p>\n The endeavor was outside Schultz\u2019s area of expertise. He was a second-generation antiques seller<\/a> and didn\u2019t know anything about farming. He bought the small farm in Clarence, New York, anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n No one\u2019s laughing at him now.\u00a0<\/p>\n Schultz, 74, now runs The Great Pumpkin Farm<\/a>, located about 15 miles northeast of Buffalo. More than 100,000 people visit the seasonal attraction each fall.<\/p>\n The farm generated $2 million in revenue in 2025, according to financial documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. It operates for just seven weeks a year.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s season runs from September 19 through October 31<\/a>. Pumpkins are only part of the draw. Visitors can ride a pumpkin-themed train, enter pie-eating contests or explore a five-acre corn maze. Weekend admission is $20, though some activities, including the corn maze, cost extra.<\/p>\n Schultz had the idea to open a farm of his own after visiting a crowded pumpkin patch in upstate New York in the early 1990s. He observed a simple operation with \u201cmuddy parking lots\u201d and \u201cnot a whole lot of restrooms,\u201d but there were still \u201ca zillion people\u201d browsing and buying pumpkins anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI looked around, and I said, \u2018I could do this, better than this,\u2019\u201d Schultz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the former cattle farm next to his antique store hit the market in 1993, Schultz bought the 85-acre property for about $650,000, intent on transforming it into a pumpkin farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Schultz noted that more people visit the farm every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people that come here almost every weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cThey love it so much, they just keep coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n For Schultz and other seasonal entrepreneurs, Halloween brings a short but lucrative window of opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the National Retail Federation\u2019s annual Halloween survey<\/a>, released on September 22, Americans will spend about $13.5 billion celebrating the holiday in 2026, up from $13.1 billion last year. The survey asked 7,889 consumers about their Halloween plans.<\/p>\n Consumers expect to spend an average of $115.14 per person, with purchases ranging from costumes to decorations.<\/p>\n Halloween has become an important holiday for more people. Nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed, or 74%, plan to celebrate this year, compared with 68% in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among those celebrating, 42% plan to carve pumpkins, and an identical percentage plan to decorate their homes and yards. Handing out candy remains the most popular tradition, at 61%, followed by dressing in costume, at 50%.<\/p>\n The sales opportunity also starts well before October 31. Nearly half of Halloween shoppers, 49%, said they planned to begin buying in September or earlier, compared with 34% a decade ago. Businesses have more of a chance to sell seasonal Halloween products weeks before the holiday itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n About 33 years ago, Kelly Schultz told his friends and family that he was going to open a pumpkin farm<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody laughed at me,\u201d he said in a new interview<\/a> with CNBC Make It.\u00a0<\/p>\n The endeavor was outside Schultz\u2019s area of expertise. He was a second-generation antiques seller<\/a> and didn\u2019t know anything about farming. He bought the small farm in Clarence, New York, anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHow he got started<\/h2>\n
Americans are spending more on Halloween than ever before<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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