Tri-county Halloween sales steady despite expected national decline
Retailers in the Tri-Counties aren’t frightened by projections of a national decline in Halloween spending. Shoppers are expected to spend $8.8 billion this year, down from 2018’s $9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey. Although only 36 percent of consumers plan to make their purchases at specialty costume stores, seasonal pop-up shops Read More →
Pumpkin patches are gourd mines: Specialty growers cash in on seasonal squash
The Golden State is No. 2 in the nation for pumpkins and last year produced about 93,500 tons of the crop on roughly 505,000 acres. Much of the crop is earmarked for commercial purposes and shipped out of state, but the growth of community-based pumpkin patches has accelerated over the past decade, according to California Farm Bureau Federation spokesperson Dave Kranz.
