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Large crowds expected for Morton Pumpkin Festival

By WEEK Producer
September 14, 2012 Updated Sep 14, 2012 at 7:50 PM CDT

MORTON, Ill. -- Over 70,000 people are expected to visit Morton this weekend for the 46th annual Morton Pumpkin Festival.

The festival got underway Friday afternoon with rides, games and food, and Friday evening is the big Junior Pumpkin Idol competition on the live entertainment stage.

With a forecast calling for good weather, a spokesperson for the Morton Chamber of Commerce says attendance for the event could bring in over a million dollars.

"We do donations to non-profit organizations who help out during the festival," said Jennifer Daly of the Morton Chamber of Commerce. "And then this year, we also fund major community development projects. This year, some of the funds will go for the new downtown plaza that we're planning to build right off of Main Street."

Saturday's big event is the Morton Pumpkin Festival Parade which starts at 10:30 a.m.

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