HARTSBURG, MO. -- It was very patriotic on the last day of the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival.
An estimated 55,000 to 60,000 people filled the streets in this tiny town of 108 people Oct. 9 and Oct. 10.
"It was just a beautiful day out, wanted to get out and enjoy the weather," festival attendee Matthew McShay said.
The annual festival started in 1991 and has only grown since.
"The first year we had approximately five to six thousand people,” Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival chairperson Ganelle Cunningham said.
The smell of funnel cakes, corn dogs, and everything deep fried filled the air.
Hartsburg Resident Kathleen Sheridan said without hesitation that her favorite part of the festival was the food!
Vendors with arts and crafts, music, and Halloween decorations lined the streets. But, it seemed that the most popular item at the pumpkin festival were of course the pumpkins.
"Somebody has grown pumpkins in Hartsburg for the past 40 years I'd say,” pumpkin vendor Landon Nahler said.
While children from across the Midwest picked out the perfect pumpkin to carve, a local brewery brought something for the adults.
"We even have a brewery in Columbia that comes and buys pumpkins to make pumpkin beer out of, never tasted it but there is pumpkin beer," Cunningham said.
As the festival ended in Hartsburg there was one general consensus.
"Once a year for a weekend its phenomenal," Sheridan said.
"If I still live in Columbia, I'll be back next year," McShay said.
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