How do you redesign a downtown lake when, one Sunday each October, it has to hold a race of costumed people paddling hollowed-out giant pumpkins? Tualatin's Downtown Revitalization Community Advisory Committee spent its August 5, 2026 meeting on that question. Its answer shaped every idea on the table.
The 2026 West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta returns to Lake of the Commons, 8325 SW Nyberg St., on Sunday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. It's the 2026 edition of an event that has run since 2004. This year, though, the lake under the pumpkins is the subject of a citywide planning effort, and the Regatta has become the measuring stick for that effort.
The race lane became the design constraint
Lake of the Commons is a man-made lake of about three acres, built in 1994 as a community gathering spot. At CAC #14, committee members reviewed eight recommendations for it. These came out of the city's partnership with the University of Oregon's Sustainable City Year Program and earlier phases of the project.
The eight ideas covered a wide range:
- floating gardens to make the lake feel more natural
- converting it to a variable-level stormwater feature with native plantings
- running Clean Water Services "purple pipe" treated water through the lake before it reaches the Tualatin River
- adding fountains to aerate the water
- building an east-west pedestrian bridge
- the UO students' low-profile "lily pad" islands linked by bridges
- shortening the north end back to Seneca Street for a plaza
- shrinking the lake down to a fountain or water feature
Most of those ideas came back to the same question of whether the pumpkins could still race. On the bridge, members said any crossing should be arched to keep the Regatta possible. They showed "not much interest" in the alternative of removable bridge segments. The lily-pad concept was presented as islands "organized to preserve the Pumpkin Regatta." In earlier rounds, every group singled out that design for leaving room for the race while using more of the lake. Members also raised concerns about fountains, including whether they could get in the way of events.
The sharpest response went to the proposal to shrink the lake into a water feature. Members opposed it unanimously, and the minutes record why:
This would eliminate the distinct events and traditions shared by generations of Tualatin residents. Should focus instead on making the north end more useable.
The city's summary of the meeting puts it plainly. Members universally supported keeping the lake's footprint, though they were open to slightly shortening the northern edge to create a pedestrian corridor between the two Seneca Street spurs. They named the Regatta, along with sailing days run by the Portland Model Power Boat Association and the Rose City Model Sailing Club, as existing uses to keep.
Where the planning actually stands
None of this is a decision yet. The committee's feedback goes into Phase Three of the downtown project. That phase will produce an urban design framework and updated downtown design standards, and it runs from September 2026 through March 2028. A $740,000 Metro 2040 Planning and Development Grant is paying for it. On September 15, the city announced that a team led by Walker Macy will do the Phase Three work, with public involvement built in.
The city said a complete summary of the committee's lake feedback would be posted in September. As of the project page's September 21 update, it still described that summary as forthcoming.
A separate effort will reach the river first. A Berger Partnership-led team is designing the six-acre Riverfront Park between the Juanita Pohl Center and the Boones Ferry Road bridge. Construction is scheduled for 2029, and the stated priorities include ADA river access, gathering space and a connection to the Greenway Trail.
That leaves this October's Regatta on a lake whose basic shape the committee wants to keep. The places being studied for change are the same places the crowd will stand on October 18.
The weekend, in order
The Regatta is the centerpiece of a weekend that starts well before Sunday.
- Medallion Hunt, through October 15. Treasure hunters have been following clues to a hidden bronze medallion since September 24.
- Pumpkins and Pints, Saturday, October 17, noon to 5 p.m. Stickmen Brewing Company, 19475 SW 118th Ave., hosts the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers' Terminator Weigh-Off. Giant pumpkins, giant tomatoes and other oversized vegetables compete for cash prizes. Wood-fired pizza and Stickmen beer are on hand, and admission is free.
- 5K Regatta Run/Walk, Sunday, October 18, 9 a.m. The Tualatin Rotary hosts it from Tualatin Community Park, 8513 SW Tualatin Rd.
- Festival, Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mayor Bubenik opens it at 10 a.m. The Tualatin High School Marching Band follows with a pep rally at 10:15.
Saturday's weigh-off feeds into Sunday. The Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers grow the pumpkins used in the Regatta, and the top three winners from the Terminator Weigh-Off become the Giant Pumpkin Selfie Station at the lake.
Two sides of the lake, two stages
The festival uses both banks, and the program is built so that people move around the water. The main stage on the west side runs Jugglemania stage shows with Rhys Thomas at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The kids' costume contest is at 3 p.m. On the east side, along Nyberg Street, The Pillage People bring a cappella pirate songs at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the Rose City Dancing Witches perform at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Pumpkin races run at noon and 2 p.m. At noon, Heat One belongs to the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers members, who paddle their own pumpkins or hand them to a friend. Heat Two is for Sasquash Sponsors and invited guests. At 2 p.m., Tualatin Police, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue and paddlers chosen through the online paddling quest take Heat Three, and Heats Four and Five go to the rest of the quest paddlers.
The city tells visitors to walk all the way around the lake. Several of the places the committee discussed are named for streets and features around that loop. Bridge locations under consideration include reconnecting Nyberg Street, reconnecting Seneca Street, or a span between Veterans Plaza and the splash pad. The north-end idea would pull the shoreline back toward Seneca for a plaza. On festival day, costume-contest sign-up starts at 10 a.m. at the Information Tent at the end of SW Nyberg Street.
Activities fill in around the lake:
- pumpkin bowling across four lanes
- pumpkin golf, aimed at floating balls
- pumpkin checkers and tic tac toe
- pumpkin decorating sponsored by Tualatin Together
- a Zombie Shoot Out from Impact Action Sports
- face painting and a giant coloring mural
- pro carvers Tom Lindskog and Tim Pate at work
Costume-contest spots are capped at 25 kids in each age group: 3 and under, 4 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 11.
Food, makers and getting there
Food courts sit on both sides of the lake. The vendor list includes:
- Lee Farms for donuts and caramel apples
- Cousins Maine Lobster
- Crust and Corner Pizzeria's Detroit-style pizza
- Asona Cuisine's West African rice bowls
- Handmade Vietnam Food's banh mi and dumplings
- Rosa's Churros
- Pilgrim's Roasted Nut'Z
- Pacific NW Kettle Corn
- Arrow Coffee and Desserts and Vertical Grounds Coffee for the morning crowd
Regatta artist Brenna White returns to the main plaza with prints and cards. Glass artist Tim Jaquet of Lefty's Custom Glass will sell hand-blown glass pumpkins and ghosts. Roy McGill, The Bear Crafter, brings felt and wool ornaments, and Thistle and Tale Press brings handmade books and prints.
The city encourages carpooling, walking or biking to an event that Valley Times reports can draw more than 20,000 people in some years. The Pumpkin Shuttle runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. from four lots:
- Kaiser Permanente, 19185 SW 90th Ave.
- Bellagio's Pizza, 8835 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd.
- The Oregon Clinic, 19250 SW 90th Ave.
- Hedges Green, 8639 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd.
A free bike valet is available. Only service animals are allowed, so pets stay home, and the city recommends coming ready for any weather.
Ten days later, a different kind of gathering space
The committee's north-end discussion kept returning to activity. Members liked the idea of restaurant and café seating on a new plaza, and they said attracting active tenants to the north end should be a priority. A separate citywide change on the same theme takes effect soon after the Regatta. On September 28, City Council adopted Ordinance 1461-26, which allows food cart pods in most commercial areas. It takes effect October 28, 2026, replacing rules that had limited pods to part of the Basalt Creek Employment Area along Grahams Ferry Road. Council also asked staff to come back to discuss a smaller pod tier of two to four carts. The city has not yet named a pod operator or site.
On October 18, two food courts will line the lake, with pumpkin races at noon and 2 p.m. on the same water whose footprint the committee wants to keep.
If you own a home near the Commons and want to know how the downtown framework and design standards could affect your property's value over the next few years, Tracy Brophy follows each phase of Tualatin's revitalization work as it moves forward. Request a Market Consultation or Free Home Valuation, and we'll go over what the plans mean for your street.
