(Photo By Flickr User Doug Pieper)
Each September, in celebration of the pumpkin canning season, the city of Morton, IL hosts the Morton Pumpkin Festival.
2019 will be the Festival’s 53rd year. Come and celebrate with them!
This year’s theme is, “Luck o’ the Pumpkins!”
History about the Morton Pumpkin Festival:
In 1967, the first Morton Pumpkin Festival was organized by the Morton Chamber of Commerce as an annual fund raiser and celebration of the beginning of the pumpkin harvest and canning season at the local Libby’s Pumpkin Plant.
In 1978, the Governor of Illinois signed a proclamation that Morton, Illinois was the “Pumpkin Capital of the World” since 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin was processed at their Libby’s Pumpkin plant.
Today, the Morton Pumpkin Festival includes over 30 special events and venues hosted and organized by over 2,000 volunteers. The festival welcomes an estimated 70,000 visitors. Each year, a theme for the festival is selected through a voting process by community members and the Morton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
The festival is governed by the Morton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and a Pumpkin Festival Oversight Committee that includes both Chamber Board Members, Community Leaders, and Festival Chairmen.
The 30 plus events and venues that occur during the festival are organized by Chamber Members and community volunteers. Each activity has one or several volunteer Chairmen along with volunteer team members.
In 2012, Libby’s Pumpkin became the official sponsor for the Morton Pumpkin Festival!
If you will be attending this event or want to get more information on the Morton Pumpkin Festival, give the Morton Chamber Of Commerce a call at 309-263-2491 or go online to www.mortonpumpkinfestival.org!
