The Dalston pumpkin festival — one of east London’s best-loved Halloween traditions — has been shelved for next year. Organisers have confirmed the lantern festival will not go ahead in 2026, blaming a combination of runaway popularity and one of the driest summers on record.
More than 20,000 people descended on the Dalston Curve Garden for last year’s edition — unprecedented numbers that led to long queues and left many families unable to get through the gates at all.
“Taking a year off from the festival has not been an easy decision,” the organising team said in a statement.
Crowd pressure was only half the story. Organisers said the 2025 event drew groups of adults who had not taken part in the pumpkin carving at the heart of the evening, admitting that at times it “no longer felt like the magical experience that our team of staff and dedicated volunteers work so hard to create”.
This summer’s prolonged extreme temperatures, drought and the resulting hosepipe ban then piled on further pressure, forcing the garden’s small team to devote all of its energy to keeping plants alive and nursing the site back to health.
“However, this summer’s prolonged extreme temperatures, drought and hosepipe ban has meant that all of our focus and efforts have – and still are – going into keeping our plants alive, restoring the Garden and planning for future challenging environmental conditions.”
Key facts
- Event: Dalston Pumpkin Lantern Festival — cancelled for 2026
- Venue: Dalston Curve Garden, 13 Dalston Lane, Hackney
- Crowds: more than 20,000 visitors attended the 2025 edition
- Reasons given: record attendance and an exceptionally dry summer with a hosepipe ban
- History: the festival has run for 15 years
- Future: organisers say the event will return
Why the 2026 festival was cancelled
The decision came down to two separate problems. The first was the sheer scale of the 2025 crowd. With more than 20,000 visitors squeezing into the modest garden off Dalston Lane, queues built up quickly and many families with children — the very people the festival exists for — never made it inside.
The second was the climate. London has sweltered through an exceptionally dry summer, and the capital’s water network has been under visible strain, with south-west London homes left without water during a low-pressure outage. For a community garden, the priority had to be survival: watering, restoration and planning for even tougher conditions ahead.
Fifteen years of glowing pumpkins
The festival has run for the past 15 years, transforming the Dalston Curve Garden each autumn with hundreds of glowing pumpkin lanterns, all carved by children and families from the surrounding community.
What began as a small neighbourhood gathering grew into one of the area’s signature autumn events — and, organisers suggest, ultimately became a victim of its own success.
Community green spaces have had a moment in the spotlight this year, with the Tiny Forest at Hammersmith Grove taking a top prize for urban greening — a reminder of how much Londoners value the pockets of nature on their doorsteps.
Will the festival return?
Despite the 2026 cancellation, organisers insist the Dalston pumpkin festival is not gone for good. They say they are exploring ways to bring it back in a form that protects the community atmosphere that made it special in the first place.
For now, the garden’s team remains focused on restoration work and preparing the site for future environmental challenges.
Halloween alternatives for 2026
Families disappointed by the news still have plenty of seasonal options. Halloween trains and steam workshops are on offer at a Kent heritage railway, while those who prefer the outdoors can try these riverside walks to enjoy this autumn.
Local councils and community groups across east London typically announce their Halloween programmes in early October, so it is worth checking listings closer to the date — or picking up a pumpkin and starting a lantern tradition at home.
Featured image: The Dalston Eastern Curve Garden on Dalston Lane. Photograph: Ewan-M, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
