Every year, the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival takes place in downtown Sycamore near the corners of Main and State Street. This year’s festival will take place from Oct. 25-29.

The festival is Sycamore’s biggest citywide event. It begins with an opening ceremony and cake cutting, and ends with a parade. The festival has over 1,000 entries in the Lions Club Decorated Pumpkin Display, two different carnivals, non-profit vendors, indoor craft shows, entertainment and other various activities.

Back in 1956, Wally Thurow began what would become the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival by displaying decorated pumpkins on his front lawn. In 1962, Thurow and the Sycamore Lions Club created the Festival, which became an official celebration in Sycamore.

Each year, more than 30 non-profit groups from DeKalb County are united under the Pumpkin Festival. They display thousands of decorated pumpkins, do a house walk, a pie eating contest, a fun fair, a race and more.

The mission of the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival is to showcase local non-profit organizations.

Be sure to check out the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival this week!

Since 1998, the Wilkes family has put on elaborate Halloween displays in their front yard for their whole neighborhood to enjoy. Now, decades later, the Wilkes family has garnered national attention with one million followers on TikTok, over 637,000 followers on Facebook and 77,000 on Instagram. This has enticed people from across the state and the country to visit the Wilkes Family Halloween Display.

Their tradition started while the family lived in the western suburbs of Chicago. Now in Bensenville, they have managed to maintain the tradition. Each year a different theme is selected for the display. They have honored countless horror movie classics including the “Halloween” franchise, “IT,” “Saw” and many more. Each year the display grows creepier, eerier and more elaborate than the last!

This year, the family partnered with the Village of Bensenville to present their most elaborate display yet. The display has moved from their front yard to downtown Bensenville to provide the best possible experience for visitors and to allow for a larger area of fright. The display includes various animatronics, photo areas and different sections dedicated to iconic horror movie characters.

When visiting the display, expect to see the infamous couple Chucky and Tiffany, the slashers Jason, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger, as well as other notorious characters.

The display, located at 12 S. Center St. in Bensenville, is open and free to the public. The hours of operation are dusk until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and dusk until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Live actors are present Fridays and Saturdays. The display will operate through Oct. 31.

For more information, visit the Wilkes Family Halloween website.

Happy haunting!

Halloween is just around the corner – and thrill seekers couldn’t be more excited. Below is a list of the ten must-visit haunted houses across Illinois that are not for the faint of heart. Be prepared for creepy, eerie and ghoulish experiences when visiting one of these haunted attractions this season!

• Bartonville - Aura Haunted HouseAura Haunted House has been operating for four decades providing its visitors with a chilling horror experience. The haunted house is part of the old Bartonville Hospital Complex and is claimed to be truly haunted.
• Bloomington - Mind Trap Haunted Attraction Mind Trap Haunted Attraction is celebrating 10 years of frights. The haunted house also has a rapid escape room and a zombie paint ball experience.
• Creal Springs - Hile Farms Haunting in Little Egypt Hile Farms Haunting in Little Egypt is an outdoor experience that includes a walkthrough the haunted woods and a tractor ride to the entrance of the trails. This will be their third year open.
• Effingham-Night Terrors of EffinghamNight Terrors of Effingham is central Illinois’ newest haunted attraction. This year they will present their main attraction Carn-evil along with other spooky sights.
• Lockport - Hells Gate Haunted House Hells Gate Haunted House is the No. 1 rated haunted house in the Chicagoland area. This season the cast from Statesville Prison will be featured alongside the house staff of Hells Gate for the ultimate experience.
• Montgomery - Massacre Haunted HouseMassacre Haunted House is the largest haunted house in Illinois. With over 35,000 sq. ft. of fear, it is one of the highest rated houses in Illinois and features dozens of areas for photo-ops and almost 100 actors.
• Orion - Torment at Twelve HundredTorment at Twelve Hundred has been a top rated haunted house in Illinois for multiple years. Celebrating 20 years of making nightmares, they are prepared to reach the depths of our minds.
• Rantoul - Necrosis Haunted House Necrosis Haunted House has been a top rated attraction since its opening in 2018. This year will be their best show yet with live actors, professional sound and more for their fifth season.
• Roodhouse - 217 Terror haunted house217 Terror Haunted House features four haunted houses in one location and an escape room. This season visit Molly’s Play House, the Vampires of the Nest and more.
• Round Lake Beach - Realm of Terror Haunted HouseRealm of Terror Haunted House is the No. 1 rated haunted house in Illinois. It has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, the Huffington Post and more. It is the only haunted house in Illinois to have an onsite bar.

Happy haunting!

For the seventh year in a row, Chicago has been named the Best Big City in the U.S. by Condé Nast Traveler Magazine. Since its establishment, Chicago has been an enchanting city that has created an undeniable presence not only in Illinois and in the U.S., but across the globe. Chicago is a leader in higher education, business markets, architecture, history and culture.

The recognition was given to Chicago based on multiple surveys that recorded the responses of 520,000 readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine. The article attributes the win to Chicago’s impressive architecture, first-rate museums, food and brewing scene, as well as its 77 neighborhoods available to explore. Chicago has taken first place since 2017.

This past summer, Chicago reported record highs for hotel revenue following multiple events including sold out concerts and the first-of-its-kind NASCAR street race. Chicago continues to bring fresh experiences for locals and travelers across the world.

To find the best food, bars, art, and shows across the world, visit Chicago!

The remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico are preserved at Cahokia Mounds State Historic site, located a few miles west of Collinsville, Illinois in the southwestern part of the state. Here lie the archaeological remnants of the central section of the ancient settlement that is today known as Cahokia.

In 1976, The Cahokia Mounds Museum Society was founded as a not-for-profit to support the historic site. Their mission is to promote for the public benefit the educational and scientific aspects of Cahokia Mounds and associated archaeological sphere. The society recently received an award of excellence from the American Association of State and Local History for their augmented reality experience, “Back to the City of the Sun.”

“Back to the City of the Sun” brings the past to the present with audio and video through an app for personal smart devices. On the tour, visitors can see the temple that once stood on Monks Mound and other cultural aspects of the site that were present 1,000 years ago through the camera of a smart phone or other device.

The 2023 award of excellence is part of the American Association of State and Local History’s Leadership in History awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history.

The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is located at 30 Ramey St. in Collinsville. The site’s interpretive center and gift shop are currently closed for renovations, however the grounds are open to the public daily from 8 a.m. until dusk and guided tours take place twice per day, Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit IDNR’s website.