The Illinois Product Holiday Market is returning to downtown Springfield, offering a wide variety of vendors and gifts for everyone!

The market will take place Dec. 6-8 at Jackson Street, between Fourth and Fifth Street, located north of the Governor’s Mansion. Finding the perfect gift at the market is like discovering a little piece of holiday magic.

Along with many shopping vendors, the market also offers a wide variety of food that is ready to eat. Some of the tasty Illinois food vendors that you can experience include 17th Street BBQ, Custom Cup Coffee, Peter’s Produce, Zillions Chili, Space Cadets Candy, and many more.

In addition to Illinois products, there will be daily giveaways. Visitors can stop by the Illinois Department of Agriculture tent to take the Illinois Product Pledge, committing to spend $10 of their weekly grocery budget on local items. Those who take the pledge will receive an Illinois Product sticker.

Did you know? Illinois native LaRoyce Hawkins is best known for his lead role in NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” where he plays Officer Kevin Atwater.

Hawkins is an American actor born and raised in Harvey, Illinois, where he attended Thornton High School and first endeavored into acting and stand-up comedy. During high school, he was a member of the speech team, where he became a two-time state champion. In 2005, he captured the state title in the Illinois High School Association’s Original Comedy event.

Oct. 26 celebrates National Pumpkin Day! Throughout the month of October, pumpkins are all around us on porches, at stores, and in patches. A pumpkin serves as a tribute to fall and Halloween. There are numerous ways you can celebrate National Pumpkin Day including baking, carving pumpkins and enjoying pumpkin flavored treats. One of the best ways to celebrate National Pumpkin Day and to get a taste of Illinois’ greatness is to visit an exceptional pumpkin patch.

Illinois has many fun fall pumpkin patches for the whole family. Here are a list of some of the best pumpkin patches across the state:

As we get closer to Halloween, many enjoy watching horror movies to set the tone of the holiday. From ghosts, demons and goblins to evil, abandoned and haunted places, a wide range of these scary films were made right here in Illinois.

Here are just a few of the creepiest ghoulish movies filmed in the state:

• The Amityville Horror (2005) – The remake of the 1979 movie was filmed around St. Peter’s Catholic Church and the Sequoit Creek Lodge in Antioch as well as areas around Chicago, Buffalo Grove and Fox Lake.
• Poltergeist III (1988) – The popular film's third installment had filming locations including the Francis W. Parker School, the John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place in Chicago.
• Damien: The Omen II (1978) – This sequel was mostly filmed in downtown Chicago and was so popular it had an additional remake made in the 2000s.
• Child's Play 2 (1990) – The second film in the Chucky franchise was also filmed in Chicago.
• The Grudge 2 (2006) – This sequel to the remake of a Japanese film was also shot around parts of Chicago.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – This remake of the original 1984 film was shot at several Illinois locations, including Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin and John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
• The Relic (1997) – Noted as one of the best science-fiction horror movies ever made, it had filming locations at Lower Wacker Drive and other downtown Chicago spots as well as in Northbrook.
• The Rite (2011) – The filming of this movie took place in Blue Island, a picturesque city south of Chicago’s Loop.
• The Unborn (2009) – It was filmed in Kankakee, Lake Forest, Chicago and Montrose with many scenes shot at Liberty High School.

Have you watched any of these horror films? It’s thanks to the rich, filming history and locations across the state that flock movie producers here every year.

Illinois is a hub for merchandise with iconic city centers and modern shopping malls that bring the latest products and goods to locals and visitors from across the state and the country. Illinois also offers a variety of shopping experiences that cater to a large range of customers, including vintage shoppers.

Illinois is a hotspot for vintage with countless antique stores and local thrift shops. However, one of the greatest opportunities to shop vintage is the Illinois Vintage Fest. The Illinois Vintage Fest is a pop-up event that brings together numerous vendors of vintage goods in once place. The Illinois Vintage Fest originated in Joliet as a street pop-up in downtown. Over the years, the fest has grown in popularity and size and has begun hosting pop-ups in cities across the state.