9th Annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival

THE 9THANNUAL GREAT HIGHWOOD PUMPKIN FESTIVAL RETURNS

BENEFITTING MAKE-A-WISH ILLINOIS

Join the official festivities October 5thto 7thin Downtown Highwood

With FREE Community Appreciation Night Thursday October 4th

HIGHWOOD, IL (OCTOBER 5-7 2018)- Kick off the Fall season with The City of Highwoodand Celebrate Highwoodas they host the The 9th Annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival, October 5-7, in Downtown Highwood, benefittingMake-A-Wish Illinois, and sponsored by HGTVand HGTV Magazine.The last two Fests have raised $120,000, with all proceeds directly donated to grant wishes for kids with critical illnesses in Illinois.Pumpkin Fest 2018 plans to double that donation and again attempt to break the Guinness World Recordof 30, 851 for the most pumpkins carved and lit at once. With a focus on the good will of the greater community, three local Make-A-Wish families will host each night’s ceremonial pumpkin wall lighting tying it all together for 70,000+ attendees! It’s the kick-off event to Fall not to be missed!

Because EVERY SINGLE PUMPKIN COUNTS toward the grand total to break a world record, festival organizers are inviting the community to BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) for free entry to the fest, and come out early to help carve and fill the walls for the Prelude to Pumpkin Fest, October 1-4 from 3:30–9 p.m., at City Hall (17 Highwood Ave.).

Recognizing the amazing community that are an integral part of pull this event off, Celebrate Highwood is once again hosting a Community Appreciation Night on Thursday, October 4thfrom 5–10 p.m. With a relaxed atmosphere, this preview night features free admission, carnival rides, live music, a full bar and more. Celebrate Highwood welcomes the community to come out, carve pumpkins and help fill the scaffolding before the event officially kicks off. The Highwood restaurants and bars will be open and many festival vendors will be open for business as well.

All lit jack-o-lanterns will be placed on pumpkin walls throughout the Festival grounds, with ceremonial wall lightings Friday and Saturday nights, and the grand lighting on Sunday evening. A $3/day per person admission and $5 for the weekend includes all-you-can-carve pumpkins.

The official activity packed weekend will feature a full schedule of fun Friday through Sunday with: four stages of live music, food court, three bars, costume and pie eating contest, carnival, pony and camel rides, a petting zoo, kids crafts, vendors galore, the 3rdannual Superhero 5k Run/Walk honoring “Superman Sam” Sommer, Highwood resident and Make-A-Wish child that lost his battle with cancer in 2013, and more.

“Every year The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival event organizers and volunteers come together to create a weekend for families that they will talk about for years to come,” says Eric Falberg, Highwood Alderman and President of Celebrate Highwood. “It’s truly an event for all-ages!”

The weekend activities and events schedule will be constantly updated as activities are confirmed. Please visit www.HighwoodPumpkinFest.comfor event and music schedule.

Thursday, October 4

Community Appreciation Night.

5:00 – 9:00 p.m. — Unlimited Carnival Ride Special- ONLY $25 per person

5:00 – 10:00 p.m. — Free Admission, Live Music, a Full Bar,All-You-Can Carve Pumpkins

Friday, October 5

4:00 p.m. – Festival Opens – Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can Carve Pumpkins

4:00 – 6: 00 p.m. — Trick or Treating throughout festival grounds

5:00 – 9:00 p.m. — Unlimited Carnival Ride Special- ONLY $25 per person

7:45 p.m. — Make-A-Wish Family Presentation on Main Stage and Wall Lighting

10:00 p.m. — Festival Close

Saturday, October 6

9:00 a.m. — Superhero 5k Run/Walk

11:00 a.m. — Festival Opens: Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can Carve Pumpkins

12:00 – 4:00 p.m. — Unlimited Carnival Ride Special - ONLY $25 per person

3:00 p.m. — Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest at the Food Court Stage

8:00 p.m. — Make-A-Wish Family Presentation on Main Stage and Wall Lighting

10:00 p.m. — Festival Close

Sunday, October 7

11:00 a.m. — Festival Opens – Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can Carve Pumpkins

12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.— Unlimited Carnival Ride Special - ONLY $25 per person

12:00 p.m. — Pet Costume Contest- Sponsored by Pet People at the Food Court Stage

1:00 p.m. — Kids Costume Contest at the Food Court Stage

2:00 p.m. — Teen-Adult Costume Contest

7:00 p.m. — Make-A-Wish Family Presentation on Main Stage and Wall Lighting

7:10 p.m. — World Record Attempt for Most Lit Jack-O-Lanterns on Display

9:00 p.m. — Festival Closes

All the proceeds from The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival will go to Make-A-Wish Illinois. Additionally, generous sponsors such as HGTV, HGTV Magazine, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Burris Equipment,Fields Alfa Romeo, Fields Maserati, Banner Kitchen & Bath Showroom, Bath Fitter, 22nd Century Media, Foss Swim School, Goslings Rum, School of Rock, Lifeway Kefir, Renewal by Andersen, Lakeshore Beverage, Goose Island Beer, Old Man Grumpy, Goose Oktober Fest, Virtue Cider, Bud Light, Chicago Executive Airport, The Home Improvement Network, Yelp, Passanante’s Home Food Services, Gallery A+D, Midwest Gutter Guard, The Great Oregon Wine Company, Burris Equipmentand The Home Improvement Networkmake Pumpkin Fest possible and there are many opportunities for additional businesses to sponsor as well!

For a complete list of musical performances visit https://www.highwoodpumpkinfest.com/music-schedule/.

To sign up to volunteer visit: https://www.highwoodpumpkinfest.com/volunteers/.

For more information on this fall weekend extravaganza, be sure to visit http://highwoodpumpkinfest.comand follow The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival on Facebook. Don’t wait until October to give back, donate now at Make-A-Wish Illinois.

ABOUT CELEBRATE HIGHWOOD:

Formerly, a collaboration between the City of Highwood and the Highwood Chamber of Commerce, the newly established 501(c)(3) Celebrate Highwood produces events that cater to the wants and needs of the citizens, businesses and visitors of Highwood. The goal is to build strong community spirit and establish Highwood as the prime entertainment destination for dining, festivals and events on the North Shore through inter-organizational collaboration, sharing resources and promoting the City as a wonderful place to live, eat and play. For more information on all of Highwood’s festivals, please visit www.CelebrateHighwood.org, www.facebook.com/celebratehighwood, or call 847-432-6000.

ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH:

Make-A-Wish Illinois will grant more than 715 wishes to children across the state this year. Wishes are granted to children with life-threatening medical conditions such as cancer, organ transplants, genetic diseases and many more. Wishes can be an important part of the treatment process, empowering children to make decisions and providing strength to comply with medical treatments.

Since being founded locally in 1985, Make-A-Wish Illinois has granted more than 14,000 wishes and continues its mission to share the power of a wish with children across the state. For more information or to find out how you can help, call 312.602.WISH or visit www.illinois.wish.org.

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