10/10/2025
The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival returned to its roots at Elysian Brewing Capitol Hill Pub for its 21st year in 2025. Part carnival, part concert, and full community ritual, this year’s fest ran October 3 & 4 and featured 60+ pumpkin and seasonal beers from local and national breweries. The weekend included live music, food trucks, a costume contest, and of course the giant pumpkin keg tapping. For the uninitiated: a massive pumpkin is hollowed, scorched to sterilize, filled with beer, and resealed until it’s tapped mid-festival. Once drained, the empty gourd is triumphantly smashed to cheers.
R90 Lighting helped illuminate this legendary fall event, lighting it up from stem to stern. Huge thanks to our client Connors & Co. Events, Inc. for letting us carve into the Halloween spirit. “Go big or gourd home” was our mantra, and we kept it glowing until the last pour!
R90’s PM for the event was Rachid Schultz who oversaw everything from concept to ex*****on. Lead tech Dwight Upton and stage LD Kegan Manker made the magic happen, while resident mad-scientist Joe Cole ran custom gobo effects in the food court using our new Elation Paragon M fixtures.
Lighting package included:
Elation Professional : Paragon M, SixPar 300IP, KL Panel XL IP, Paladin Panel, Proteus Rayzor 760
CHAUVET Professional : Ovation E-260WW IP, Cumulus HP, Geyser P7
ACME Lighting : Pixel Line IP
ADJ Lighting : Encore LP7IP
Eliminator Lighting: Stryker Max
ROBE lighting : Pointe
Antari USA : F-5 Fazer, 1500 Series 2 Fogger
Consoles & Control: MA Lighting International grandMA3 Lite (stage), ChamSys MQ50 (scenic Paragon M), Obsidian Control Systems Netron EN4 / EN12 / RDM6
Pumpkin patch partners:
Audio: Carlson Audio Systems
Staging: Put A Stage On It
As the Great Pumpkin met its glorious beer-soaked demise, R90 Lighting wrapped up another glowing chapter in Seattle’s fall folklore full of tricks, treats, and pumpkin pride. Here’s to keeping the glow alive until next year’s rise of the Great Pumpkin!