The Sycamore Pumpkin Festival has been a town staple for the last 40 some years. I do not remember a growing up year when I did not watch the parade or decorate a pumpkin to enter in the contest or walk the block from my grade school to the Courthouse to view the decorated pumpkins. It was just always a part of living in Sycamore. We were steeped in pumpkins at kids. We were given pumpkin seeds at the end of the school year to plant. In October, we were given cardboard trick or treat boxes that were made and donated by Sycamore Containers. All of this started because a man named Wally Thurow, a.k.a. Mr. Pumpkin, began to elaborately decorate his yard for Halloween. The Lions Club was eventually involved and the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival was born.
The true magnitude of this festival cannot be conveyed through words alone (It is best to view it for yourself to understand how encompassing it is.) but I will try. Some of the events include a decorated pumpkin contest, the largest pumpkin contest, pie eating contest, pumpkin baked goods contest, a carnival, lots of food vendors up and down State Street, an enormous flea market and craft show at the high school (like a hundred booths or something crazy like that!), smaller but very nice craft shows at the Methodist and Catholic churches, a fun fair at the christian school, a 5K run, a 2 hour parade, a house decorating contest, a drum and bugle corps contest, a twirling contest, activities up and down State Street, and on and on and on.
This year the weather was wet and cold and we were unable to view the decorated pumpkins. However, by Saturday afternoon the weather had finally cleared off and we had good weather for the parade on Sunday. All along the parade route you will find design furniture (a.k.a. lawn chairs), blankets and benches holding people’s spots as early as Thursday. The parade is a big deal people! Thousands of people view the parade every year. The best seat I saw was this one carved out of a tree stump. It never has to be put out days before the parade since it is always there!
After we got all settled in our spots, we passed around snacks and drinks and waited. We always arrive at the parade route about an hour before parade time. Soon, though the color guard passes. Folks stand, clap and salute!
The Grand Marshal is an old family friend and Sycamore cornerstone Marilyn Burkett of Marilyn’s Majorettes. She is driven by her brother, another family friend, Bill Lenschow.
Mr. Pumpkin follows behind. He now resides in Arizona but makes the annual trip back every October.
The FFA had a really cool float this year!
Bands are a huge part of the parade. Our own Sycamore High School band is always the first high school band of the parade. They follow close behind the Northern Illinois University band.
Of course, there are lots of politicians in the parade. This is Bob Pritchard. He took my Dad’s House seat when he passed away.
There are always plenty of clowns but these were the absolute least scary and most funny ones!
And what is a pumpkin parade with out a huge, 1148 lb pumpkin?
Mater made an appearance!
Seeing a float dedicated to a childhood friend that recently passed away was very sad. Seeing his 2 kids on the float was even worse. RIP, Pete.
We always look forward to Jewel’s big shopping cart. We were sorely disappointed to discover that they had replaced it with a shopping basket. BOO!!!
This was my favorite float! It had the best use of the theme coupled with the use of pumpkins.
Another yearly hit of the parade is the local library’s book cart drill team! Its just hilarious.
Bigfoot is always fun to watch as it dogtracks down the street.
The parade marks the end of a very full weekend. And you couldn’t ask for a better weekend! Every year we look forward to the craziness of Pumpkin Festival. How about you? Do you have a local festival that you look forward to every year?
