Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest returns Oct 6-8
The city of Highwood and Celebrate Highwood will host their eighth annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival in downtown Highwood, benefiting Make-A-Wish Illinois, and sponsored by HGTV Magazine and Muller Auto Group.
This year's event will kick off with a Community Appreciation Night from 5-10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5. This preview night features free admission, carnival rides, live music, a full bar and more.
The official event runs Friday through Sunday, Oct. 6-8, will feature costume contests, a pie-eating contest, carnival rides, horse-drawn hayrides, pony and camel rides, a petting zoo, kids crafts, three stages for music, food and beverages, the second annual Superhero 5K Run/Walk and more. Festival hours are 4-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. The main gate will be near the intersection of Highwood Avenue and Green Bay Road
Regular admission is $3 per person per day of $5 for the weekend, which includes all-you-can-carve pumpkins. Admission is free for ages 6 and younger.
Last year's festival raised $60,000, with all proceeds donated to grant wishes for children with life-threatening conditions in Illinois. Pumpkin Fest 2017 hopes to double that figure, and will again attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest display of lit jack-o'-lanterns; the current record is 30,851. Three local Make-A-Wish families will light the grand pumpkin wall ceremoniously each night.
Because every single pumpkin counts, festival organizers are inviting the community to come and carve early, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. now through Oct. 5, at Highwood City Hall, 17 Highwood Ave. As an additional incentive, those who bring their own pumpkin on-site will receive free weekend admission.
"Every year The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival event organizers come together to create a weekend for families that they will talk about for years to come," Highwood Alderman and President of Celebrate Highwood Eric Falberg said. "It is always rewarding to see attendees of all ages excited to attempt to break the Guinness World Record of 30,851 for the largest display of lit Jack-o'-lanterns, all while benefiting a great cause like Make-A-Wish Illinois."
For details, visit highwoodpumpkinfest.com and follow The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival on Facebook. You can also find links to sign up for contests and events like the Superhero 5K, Phone App Scavenger Hunt Presented by Inciteful Games, fastest carver competition, or pie-eating contest on Saturday; and the pet, kids or teen/adult costume contests on Sunday.
For information on Make-A-Wish Illinois or to donate, call (312) 602-9474 or visit www.illinois.wish.org.