Welcome to The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival 2019
The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival is the quintessential kick-off event to celebrate the Fall season! Be a part of history as we attempt to break the Guinness World Record of for the most pumpkins carved and lit at once (30, 851) and help us raise money for Make-A-Wish Illinois. Come experience a full schedule of family-friendly activities and the charm of our small town that’s bursting with good will and family fun.
Activities and Events Schedule | Music Schedule | Festival Map
→Download the Complete Festival Schedule←
$5 Daily Admission
Buy your tickets at the entrance gates upon arrival.
Children 10 years old and under free.
All major credit cards accepted.
Rain or shine event.
Pet friendly!
| Prelude to Pumpkin Fest Hours | |
| Monday, Oct. 7 | 3:30pm - 9pm |
| Tuesday, Oct. 8 | 3:30pm - 9pm |
| Wednesday, Oct. 9 | 12pm - 9pm *special extended hours |
| Community Night *on north end of festival grounds | |
| Thursday, Oct. 10 | 5pm - 10pm |
| Pumpkin Fest Hours | |
| Friday, Oct. 11 | 4pm - 11pm |
| Saturday, Oct. 12 | 11am - 11pm |
| Sunday, Oct. 13 | 11am - 9pm |
| Carnival Hours sponsored by Demuth Inc. | |
| Thursday, Oct. 10 | 5pm - 9pm Unlimited Rides - 5pm - 9pm |
| Friday, Oct. 11 | 4pm - 10pm Unlimited Rides - 5pm - 9pm |
| Saturday, Oct. 12 | 12pm - 10pm Unlimited Rides - 12pm - 4pm |
| Sunday, Oct. 13 | 12pm - 9pm Unlimited Rides - 12pm - 4pm |
2019 Calendar
BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin). The quantity of pumpkins delivered on site will NOT be enough to break the world record. Bring a carved pumpkin to our Pumpkin Drop Off location in front of Highwood City Hall at 17 Highwood Ave. in Highwood on Monday, October 7 through Thursday, October 10 or bring it with you to the festival and receive FREE admission to the event. BYOP pumpkins will be accepted at the festival through Sunday afternoon Oct 13th.
Prelude to Pumpkin Fest
Monday, October 7- Thursday, October 10
Monday, October 7
| 3:30pm - 9pm | Pumpkin Carving at Highwood City Hall |
Tuesday, October 8
| 3:30pm - 9pm | Pumpkin Carving at Highwood City Hall |
Wednesday, October 9
| 3:30pm - 9pm | Pumpkin Carving at Highwood City Hall |
Thursday, October 10
| 5pm - 10pm | Community Appreciation Night - Free Admission, Pumpkin Carving, Live Music, Cash Bar, Carnival & More! |
Friday, October 11 - Festival Begins
| 4pm | Festival Opens - Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can-Carve Pumpkin Stations (while supplies last), Carnival and More |
| 4pm - 11pm | Stop by the Forest Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry Kid Zone for some family fun! |
| 4pm - 9pm | Your Vote is Your Voice! Register to Vote at the Info Booth! |
| 4pm - 6pm | Trick-or-Treating Throughout Festival Grounds |
| 5pm - 9pm | Unlimited Carnival Ride Special ONLY $25 per person sponsored by Demuth Inc. and Radio Flyer |
| 7:45pm | Make-A-Wish Illinois Family Presentation on Xfinity Main Stage and Pumpkin Wall Lighting |
| 11pm | Festival Close |
Saturday, October 12
| 8am - 12pm | Come meet Batwoman, as she continues the legacy of her cousin Bruce Wayne aka Batman! She will be available for pictures or a quick hello. Also, her home base for the weekend will be at the CW26 booth so stop to say hello to the team and receive awesome freebies! If you miss her, don’t worry you can catch her Sundays at 7 PM only on CW26! |
| 9am | Superhero 5K Run/Walk - *Sign-Up* |
| 11am | Festival Opens - Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can-Carve Pumpkin Stations (while supplies last), and More |
| 11am - 1pm | Come meet the Brave, Strong and Fearless Volunteers from A Moment of Magic Wisconsin (formerly The Princess Project), a Foundation dedicated to bringing messages of hope and strength to children too ill to travel. Come meet the superheroes, princesses and princes that spread their magic and positivity through their visits to pediatric hospitals. Come to the Info Booth and say hello and have a picture taken with your favorite character |
| 11am - 4pm | Join the Highland Park-Highwood Lions Club and Foundation and Foundation for FREE vision and hearing screening. The screening bus is just a short walk away from the Metra Gate entrance/exit across the tracks at 428 Green Bay Rd., in front of Chicago Mike’s Ice Cream Co. and Tala Coffee Roasters. Free festival re-entry with hand stamp. |
| 11am - 7pm | Frightfully Fun DIY Frames with KILZ Blue Buffalo Bone Bar, California Walnuts Sampling, Kick Back in the KILZ Lounge & Photo Booth at the HGTV Magazine Tent |
| 11am - 11pm | Stop by the Forest Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry Kid Zone for some family fun! |
| 12pm - 4pm | Unlimited Carnival Ride Special ONLY $25 per person sponsored by Demuth Inc. and Radio Flyer |
| 12pm - 8pm | Your Vote is Your Voice! Register to Vote at the Info Booth! |
| 1:30pm | Celebrate Highwood Pride Fest donation check presentation to Highland Park High School Spectrum Club on the Xfinity Main Stage |
| 2pm - 4pm | Dark 'n Stormy’s with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers! $2 off all Gosling’s Rum Drinks at the Pumpkin Fest bars during the performance of Petty Kings, a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band. |
| 3pm | Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest at the The Benchmark of Highwood Party Lounge. The first person to finish 12 mini bundt cakes wins a gift certificate for a free bundt cake for a month for 12 months. Mini pumpkin spice bundt cakes provided by Nothing Bundt Cakes Deerfield - *Sign-Up* |
| 4:30pm - 5pm | Mina Starsiak Hawk, from HGTV’s Good Bones and the soon to be released Rock The Block will present a do-it-yourself project on the Xfinity Main Stage |
| 5:30pm - 6pm | Meet & Greet with Mina Starsiak Hawk, from HGTV’s Good Bones and the soon to be released Rock The Block at the HGTV Magazine Tent. |
| 7:30pm | Join Mina Starsiak Hawk, from HGTV’s Good Bones and the soon to be released Rock The Block, as she introduces the Make-A-Wish Illinois Family on the Xfinity Main Stage for the Pumpkin Wall Lighting |
| 11pm | Festival Close |
Sunday, October 13
| 11am | Festival Opens - Rides, Vendors Activities, All-You-Can-Carve Pumpkin Stations (while supplies last), and More |
| 11am - 9pm | Stop by the Forest Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry Kid Zone for some family fun! |
| 12pm - 4pm | Unlimited Carnival Ride Special ONLY $25 per person sponsored by Demuth Inc. and Radio Flyer |
| 12pm - 6pm | Your Vote is Your Voice! Register to Vote at the Info Booth! |
| 12pm | Pet Costume Contest sponsored by Pet People at the The Benchmark of Highwood Party Lounge - *Sign-Up* |
| 12:00pm - 2:30pm | Bloody Mary’s with the Beatles! $2 off all Tito’s Handmade Vodka Bloody Mary’s at the Pumpkin Fest bars during the performance of The Love, a Beatles tribute band. |
| 1pm | Kids Costume Contest at the The Benchmark of Highwood Party Lounge - *Sign-Up* |
| 2 pm | Teens to Adult Costume Contest at the The Benchmark of Highwood Party Lounge - *Sign-Up* |
| 7pm | Make-A-Wish Illinois Family Presentation on Xfinity Main Stage and Pumpkin Wall Lighting |
| 9pm | Festival Closes |
From Our Facebook Page
Here's a fun request for you- does anyone have any ADULT Disney princess or superhero costumes that we can use for a very special surprise Halloween treat for you all launching on Saturday?
If so, you can drop costumes off Slavin Insurance Agency - Farmers Insurance (832 Sheridan Rd)
Those not used will be donated to local families. We can't wait to unveil what we've dreamed up for all of you from deep in our BONES!
Hi friends- Our Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival was cancelled for this year, but we have every intention of bringing it back in 2021, BIGGER AND BETTER than ever!
We will miss seeing you all onsite this year but if you feel compelled, share some of your favorite carved pumpkin creations with us via this page! We'd love to see what you create safely and socially distanced this year!
And, if you have the means, you can still support our charity partner Make-A-Wish Illinois with a donation!
YAY- HERE'S TO Celebrate Highwood all year round!
We love this community!
abc7chicago.com
North suburban Highwood is celebrating helping make the small town a tourist destination and raise money for Make-A-Wish Illinois with its annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest.Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest celebrates 10 years of competing for jack-o'-lantern world record, fundraising for Make-A-Wish
abc7chicago.com
North suburban Highwood is celebrating helping make the small town a tourist destination and raise money for Make-A-Wish Illinois with its annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest.