When someone asks you to describe the state of Illinois, a few things may come to mind: the Cubs, Blackhawks, Bears, Chicago, the Land of Lincoln, and so on. However, did you know that Illinois is also home to the \u201cPumpkin Capital of the World\u201d?<\/p>\n
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Illinois Pumpkin Capital of the World<\/b><\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever been to Morton, Illinois during the month of September, then chances are you may have noticed a few characteristics that make this town somewhat unique compared to most. The water tower, streetlights, and the local shops window displays are adorned with anything and everything pumpkin. Being the \u201cPumpkin Capitol of the World\u201d since 1978, this small town in central Illinois certainly has an excuse for being so pumpkin obsessed. Not to mention the fact that over eighty percent of the world\u2019s canned pumpkin is processed in Morton.<\/p>\n
Each year, thousands of people from all over, flock to Morton for their annual Pumpkin Festival. This year\u2019s theme, Pumpkin Carnivale, brought in a crowds of people from neighboring states such as Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, and Kansas. As a three-day long festival, Morton supplies games, food, rides and musical entertainment. With a carnival\/Mardi Gras feel to this year\u2019s festival, Morton had bands from New Orleans come in and perform on the festival\u2019s main stage. Saturday night provided a southern blues-jazz aura to the festival that had people up on their feet dancing the night away.<\/p>\n
For those who came to Morton for pumpkin flavored foods, they didn\u2019t leave feeling unsatisfied. In fact, some took home containers of the famous pumpkin donuts and some went back for seconds of pumpkin ice cream. For those who have more of a sweet tooth, the \u201cPumpkin Sweet Shoppe\u201d included pumpkin ice cream sandwiches, pumpkin caramel shakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin praline cheesecake, pumpkin cookies, and so on. For those who wanted something heartier, one could find delicious foods in the \u201cPumpkin Grille\u201d tent. In there, you can find pumpkin pasta salad, pumpkin jambalaya, pumpkin chili, pumpkin baked beans, and several other non-pumpkin laced foods.<\/p>\n
For many of Morton\u2019s residents, the Pumpkin Festival has been embedded within their own family\u2019s traditions. With that being said, it is unlikely that you won\u2019t find your neighbor\u2019s and her best friend\u2019s, son\u2019s daughter twirling her baton in the Sunday morning parade at 10:30 a.m. In fact, the good majority of the town huddles together on Jefferson Street just to catch a glimpse of people dressed in costumes, waving to the crowds as they move on down the road in their floats. Sunday\u2019s parade provides a lot of both adults and children to see.<\/p>\n
People from neighboring towns take place in the Pumpkin Festival Parade each year, and perform whatever dance routine or musical ensemble they\u2019ve put together for the people who came to join in on the fun. The parade usually lasts somewhere between two to three hours, and kids end up coming home with bags of Halloween candy a bit earlier than October 31st<\/sup>. In fact, some of the children who stand on the sidelines of the streets bring bags \u2013 even their Halloween baskets \u2013 so they can catch as much candy as they possibly can.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard to pick a favorite thing about the Pumpkin Festival,\u201d says local resident Paige Clayton, \u201c\u2026 but my top two would definitely be the food and atmosphere.\u201d Ms. Clayton has been going to the Pumpkin Festival for 21 consecutive years, and considering she is 21-years-old, that is truly saying something about how she and those close to her look at this special time of year. She said, \u201cthe small town atmosphere ties it all together\u2026 I see so many familiar faces when I am [at the Pumpkin Festival] and it makes me feel very comfortable.\u201d Ms. Clayton goes on to say how wonderful the Pumpkin Festival is because it showcases how great Morton is as a small town, \u201cit\u2019s a nice, safe, and clean place to raise a family.\u201d<\/p>\n Mind you, if you are not a pumpkin lover, that\u2019s ok because the Pumpkin Festival has a little something for everyone. Whether it\u2019s pumpkin-less foods, different activities, rides or music, the Pumpkin Festival has more than one bargains for. If you need a baby changing station \u2013 they have it, a job \u2013 visit their career fair, homemade d\u00e9cor \u2013 check out their crafts fair, competitions \u2013 try your luck in a pumpkin decorating contest. The list goes on and on, and people come back to Morton every year to be a part of this great festival that so many rave on about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n