festival history

In 1967, the first Morton Pumpkin Festival was organized by the Morton Chamber of Commerce as an annual fundraiser 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 1,500 volunteers. The festival welcomes an estimated 75,000 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 Advisory Committee that includes Chamber board members, community leaders, and Festival chairs.

The 30+ events and venues that occur during the Festival are organized by Chamber members and community volunteers. Each activity has one or several volunteer chairs along with volunteer team members.

In 2012, Libby’s Pumpkin became the official sponsor for the Morton Pumpkin Festival!

Morton Pumpkin Festival: Celebrating 50 years, 1967 – 2016 History Book

Available at Morton Public Library 

Available for purchase at Amazon