Peanut Valley Festival in Portales 2026: What's Changing

"It's two full days of fall family fun," Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce executive director Quaylene Parkey told columnist Betty Williamson in The Eastern New Mexico News before last year's festival. That year the vendor slots had filled up, and a ticketed country concert was set up on the other side of the fairgrounds.

The 53rd annual Peanut Valley Festival runs October 17 and 18, 2026, at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds. The weekend has been rebuilt around a different idea. The Chamber's theme this year is "Returning to Our Ag Roots," and the plan puts local growers at the center, where last year a headliner held the north end. This year the weekend centers on shopping, and the best day for a peanut run is Friday.

Last October Was Really Two Festivals Sharing a Fence

In 2025 the fairgrounds held two separate events side by side, according to Williamson's column in The Eastern New Mexico News. The 52nd Peanut Valley Festival was free and ran Saturday and Sunday on the south side. ENMU's One Portales Music, Beer, Wine, and Peanut Festival took the north side, where the carnival usually sets up, for Saturday only.

The two sides used different gates. Festival visitors parked on the south side and came in through the south gate on Saturday. Concert ticket holders used the west gate and wore wristbands. A connecting gate let people with free admission upgrade if they wanted more music. Mark Chesnutt headlined from 7 to 9 p.m. Phil and the Phil Goods, Thomas Hinds, and the Karson City Rebels Band played earlier in the day. Enchantment Vineyards of Portales poured beer and wine inside the paid area only.

The free side had its own lineup. On Sunday the Project 5 Band played from noon to 1:30 p.m. and Will Banister played from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The pumpkin patch was described as a spot for photos.

The 2026 Plan Puts Growers Where the Stage Was

The Chamber's 2026 announcement says the festival started as an "in-gathering," a harvest celebration where neighbors met at the end of the growing season. This year's lineup is built around that history.

The Harvest Market is the biggest change. The Chamber's event post describes it as locally grown, raised, homemade, and producer-made goods sold directly by the people who made them. It also describes the pumpkin patch as a place to "choose from thousands of pumpkins and assorted winter squash." That makes it a place to shop, which last year's photo spot was not. The music moves to the slab in the middle of the fairgrounds, where it shares space with demonstrations about agriculture, homesteading, and rural life.

The Saturday close also moves up an hour, from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. If last year you counted on a late-afternoon stop after errands, you have less time this year.

What Happened to the Concert

The festival will still have live music on the slab, but ENMU's pages show no 2026 One Portales event. The university's One Portales page now returns an error. Its Monday Memo issues through October 5 list choir, recital, and jazz events, and none of them mention a fairgrounds concert. As of this week, ENMU's published calendar lists no headliner for Saturday.

The 2025 coverage explains why these shows are hard to keep going. ENMU's John Houser told The Eastern New Mexico News that the university had brought Wade Bowen in 2022 and Aaron Watson in 2023, when about 2,000 people came, followed by Rodney Atkins and about 1,900 people in 2024. "The biggest challenge right now is cost," he said. "When this event is a success ENMU can start to put together funding to bring larger groups and bigger names to town."

The Chamber's 2026 lineup of producers, pumpkins, crafts, and music on the slab follows its "Ag Roots" theme, and admission is free.

Saturday also overlaps with ENMU Homecoming. The university's Homecoming schedule runs October 12 through 17 and lists a Saturday parade on U.S. Highway 70, a tailgate, and the ENMU–West Texas A&M football game. The festival's Saturday hours and the Homecoming events land on the same day. If you want both, the parade and game are on Saturday, and Sunday's 11-to-5 hours give you a second chance at the fairgrounds.

Fresh Peanuts Sell on Weekdays Only

The Harvest Market is the weekend's local-food event. The two places in town that sell local peanuts all year keep weekday hours.

The Peanut Patch at the Chamber. The Roosevelt County Chamber sells locally grown fresh Valencia peanuts from its office on the Square at 100 S. Ave. A, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The phone number is 575-356-8541. The Chamber's listing runs through 2029, so this isn't a seasonal pop-up.

Hampton Farms Retail Store. The Chamber directory lists Hampton Farms at 620 E. Lime St., phone 575-356-8545. Directory listings for the retail store mention roasted peanuts, super-extra-large peanuts, gourmet nuts, nut butters, bulk products, gift sets, and grinders where you make your own nut butter. They put weekday closing time anywhere from 4:30 to 5 p.m. and show the store closed on weekends. The Valencia collection on the company's website currently shows as unavailable. Call ahead before counting on New Mexico Valencias at the counter.

The Chamber's peanut hours run Monday through Friday, and the store's listings show it closed Saturday and Sunday, so neither one is open during the festival. Friday, October 16, is the last day before the festival when both are open.

A Festival Week That Runs Friday to Sunday

1. Friday, October 16, daytime. Buy fresh Valencias at the Chamber by 4 p.m., or grind a jar of nut butter on Lime Street before the store closes in the late afternoon.
2. Friday, October 16, evening. ENMU's Homecoming schedule lists a bonfire, pep rally, and drone show that night.
3. Saturday, October 17. The parade on Highway 70 and the fairgrounds both open in the morning. The festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the football game is also Saturday.
4. Sunday, October 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is the slower day. It's a good time to pick pumpkins and squash from the patch and go through the Event Center crafts without the Homecoming crowd.

The Chamber and the Square stay busy after the festival. Safe Trick or Treat runs around the Portales Square, the courthouse, and nearby businesses on October 30 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and is free. Flea Market Friday returns November 5 and 6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Farmers Market area behind the Chamber at 100 S. Ave. A. Sellers bring their own tables. On the ENMU side, Chocolate Sunday runs October 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Food Science Building, with tickets at $25 in advance and $30 at the door. On November 7, the Turkey Trot starts with 8 a.m. sign-in at the Agriculture Building, and Community Outreach Science Day runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Performer names and the vendor list for the festival hadn't been published as of this week. The Chamber at 575-356-8541 is the best source for updates.

Tammy Waters and the team at The Waters Group will be glad to see neighbors at the fairgrounds this weekend. If you're thinking about a place with room for a garden plot, a few laying hens, or your own pumpkin rows, we know the Roosevelt County properties that make that work. Call us or request your free buyer/seller packet, and we'll start with what you want your land to grow.