"Let's Meet At.."

...at the annual Sycamore Pumpkin Festival!

Oh my gosh...for a lifetime, it seemed,

it was an October tradition my family to gather in Sycamore

for the weekend of Pumpkin Festival.

(The link above has all kinds of interesting info, if you have time.)

The arts and crafts fair would be on Saturday and Sunday...

And the big parade

...attracting over 100,000 visitors...

would culminate the festival on Sunday.

Anyone

who had moved away from home

would be back in town for the celebration.

There were carved pumpkins on the courthouse lawn,

pumpkin pie eating contests, carnival rides, vendors along the streets...

fireworks, family reunions, sloppy joes, caramel apples,

10K runs, politicians campaigning, leaves crunching,

antique shows, excited school kids,

painted faces,

a "down home" flavor everywhere you went.

The crispness of Fall was is the air...and life was totally good!

I miss autumn celebrations in the midwest

and

warming up by crackling fires at night...

It was so comforting and fun for all of us to be together.

This post is dedicated to all friends, colleagues,

and former students,

who are in town this weekend for the celebration!

I will be thinking about you!

"The nice part about living in a small town

is that when you don't know what you're doing,

someone else does."

~Unknown