The city of Highwood has announced its seventh annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival will be held Oct. 7-9, and will benefit Make-A-Wish Illinois.
One of the main focuses of the event has always been to beat the Guinness World Record of 30,581 for most jack-o’-lanterns carved and lit at the same time. This year festival organizers have a bigger goal in mind: to raise more than $600,000 for Make-A-Wish Illinois to help grant 100 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions in Illinois.
Local Make-A-Wish Illinois children will be on-site nightly to participate in the lightings and share their stories.
Festival hours are 4-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9. The carnival will also be open from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6.
Festival activities will include the Great Pumpkin Maze, trick-or-treating, a pet costume contest, a kids costume contest, a pumpkin parade, pumpkin pie eating contests, hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, carnival rides, kids crafts, two stages packed with entertainment, seasonal food and beverage vendors and more.
Lit jack-o’-lanterns will be placed on pumpkin walls throughout the festival grounds, with a ceremonial wall lightings set to music Friday and Saturday
nights, and the grand lighting on Sunday evening.
“This Festival has always been based around breaking records and making a difference, and this year is no exception,” Highwood Alderman and founder of the fest Eric Falberg said. “We’ve set a lofty goal to grant 100 wishes and I’m certain we can break it with the help of our amazing community and network of caring volunteers.”
In order to make their goal, organizers within the Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival have created several ways for the community to come together and support Make-A-Wish Illinois.
• Superhero 5K Run/Walk: This annual race kicks off at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8. Participation is $35 and online registration is currently open.
• Acclaimed pumpkin carving artist Hugh McMahon will be on-site carving gourds, including Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump themed creations, to name a few. Joining in will also be Hugh’s brother, Highwood-based artist Mark McMahon and creator of the official Highwood Pumpkin Festival poster.
• Businesses are invited to sponsor the event.
To break the world record of most pumpkins carved and lit at one time, the community is encouraged to bring their own carved pumpkins and candles within the pumpkins to the event to receive a free admission pass good for the entire weekend. The world record cannot be broken with only the limited number of pumpkins available on-site.
All are invited to join the Prelude to Pumpkin Fest Carving Party from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 2-6 at Highwood city hall, 17 Highwood Ave., to help carve pumpkins to be placed on the main Pumpkin wall in preparation for the first night’s light show. It is free to join the carving party and participants will receive everything necessary to create their own jack-o’-lantern.
In addition to these fundraising and record breaking efforts, admission will be $3 per day or $5 for a weekend pass. Children 6 and under are free.
For more information including the musical lineup, visit www.highwoodpumpkinfest.com.
For more information about Make-A-Wish Illinois, call (312) 602-9474 or visit www.illinois.wish.org.
