One of the Absolute Best American Halloweentowns is in Illinois
Looking for a Halloween celebration that doesn't have that big-city hustle and bustle?
Well, you're in luck if you live in Illinois because there's a small town Halloween festival that was just named one of the best in America.
Thrillist's Get Spooky in These Halloweentowns Around the U.S. mentions "Regardless of which phase of the Halloween life cycle you're in, nothing beats a good old-fashioned small-town Halloween festival."
While Thrillist mentioned cool-sounding Halloween celebrations in Oregon, Colorado, Massachusets, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Kansas, and Minnesota, the one that stood out the most to me was in Illinois.
The Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, located in, you guessed it, Sycamore, was also named one of the best small-town Halloween festivals in America.
The Sycamore Pumpkin Festival began with a single resident wanting to liven up his neighborhood in the 1950s, and today, it’s the biggest city-wide event of the year. More than 1,000 pumpkins are entered for display, plus there are two carnivals, three craft shows, and a grand parade on Sunday.
Each year, festival organizers task Sycamore students with coming up with the theme for the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival.
Harper Freiberg, a 3rd-grade student from North Grove Elementary, had the winning theme this year, dubbing the 2021 Sycamore Pumpkin Festival the "Old Pumpkin Festival."
According to the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival website, the festivities kick off on Thursday, October 27, with a giant cake cutting ceremony and wraps up on Sunday, October 31 with a pumpkin festival parade.