Around 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, someone from a Village department will ride a Westmont Fire Department bucket truck 20 feet above West Irving Street and drop a pumpkin at a target painted on the pavement. Then someone from another public agency will do the same. That's the Pumpkin Smash Extravaganza, and it gets a lot of laughs.
It's also an ad. The Village's own Wicked West Fest schedule says the smash is held "to promote the Village's pumpkin compost collection event on Nov. 7." So downtown Westmont's busiest Halloween Saturday ends three weeks later in a parking lot, with a drop-off that has moved this year. The rest of this post follows that pumpkin through the day and on to its last stop.
Morning on Irving Street
Wicked West Fest runs all month, but October 17 packs most of the downtown events into a few blocks of Cass Avenue and the two halves of Irving Street.
The costume contest starts first, on East Irving near Cass. Times changed shortly before the event. The festival page at westmontevents.com still says lineup is around 10 a.m. with judging at 10:15. The Village's October 7 release says to arrive at 10:15, with judging at 10:30. A free photo booth runs on the same block from 11 a.m. to noon. If you want a few minutes of slack, go by the earlier time.
There are seven categories, and costumes are judged on creativity and overall impact. Awards go to the top three in each category.
- Pets
- Newborn to 1 year old
- Ages 2 to 5
- Ages 6 to 9
- Ages 10 to 13
- Ages 14 and older
- Groups or families of at least three
"We are thrilled to bring back again the Wicked West Fest costume contest, featuring seven age categories, including a special family," said Kristina Kaniauskaite, executive director of Westmont Special Events, in the release.
Once judging ends, the crowd has three options at about the same time. The Trick or Treat Trail runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at participating businesses along Cass Avenue. The Pumpkin Smash goes from 11 to noon on West Irving, just across Cass from the costume contest. At 12:30 comes Caskets on Cass, a foot race of homemade caskets sponsored by community organizations, businesses, and residents.
Along the way you'll pass two projects that were finished before the day starts. The Westmont Chamber and the Historical Society host a scarecrow contest, with scarecrows set up across downtown and voting online. Westmont Special Events and the Creative Arts Network also arranged for local artists to paint fall and Halloween murals on business windows around town.
The Smash, and What It's For
Of all the morning events, only the smash has a stated purpose beyond being fun. The Village and its Environmental Improvement Committee, known as the EIC, host it each year to promote a collection that the EIC and Westmont Public Works hold on the Saturday after Halloween.
The program has been around for a while. Larry McIntyre, the EIC's staff liaison, described it in the Village's September announcement:
"This event provides an opportunity for literally tons of unwanted pumpkins to be collected and composted instead of ending up in landfills. Westmont has been a leader of this initiative for well over 10 years now."
He went on to say the goal is participation from every Westmont resident who decorates with a pumpkin. In other words, the town is promoting what happens to the pumpkin after Halloween, and the smash is the most visible way it does that.
The Two Gaps in the Schedule
The official schedule has two quiet stretches, and they line up with lunch and dinner.
The first opens at 1 p.m., when the Trick or Treat Trail ends. The casket race starts at 12:30, and nothing else is listed until the Haunted Forest opens at 3 p.m. The second is the half hour from 6:30 to 7 p.m., after the younger session ends and before the scarier one starts. Little Monsters ticket sales close at 6:00, so for a family heading to the evening session, the window for a meal really starts once those sales close. Both stretches work for eating, and the downtown blocks where the morning events happen have plenty of options.
| Where | Address | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Taurasi | 14 N. Cass Ave. | Sit-down meal; takes reservations |
| Dolce Restaurant and Wine Bar | 13 N. Cass Ave. | Wine bar and dinner |
| Johnny's Blitz Bar & Grill | 20 N. Cass Ave. | Opens at 4 p.m. Saturdays, in time for dinner |
| Golden Basket | 31 N. Cass Ave. | Restaurant on the same stretch of Cass |
| NEAT Kitchen + Bar | 246 N. Cass Ave. | Reservations or online ordering |
| Uncle Bub's BBQ & Catering | 132 S. Cass Ave. | Barbecue on South Cass |
| Tapatio Mexican Grill | 11 W. Quincy St. | Mexican, just off Cass |
| Galaxy Sushi & Ramen | 15 W. Quincy St. | Ramen for a cold evening |
| Uptown Tavern | 12 W. Burlington Ave. | Tavern on Burlington |
The Quincy Street spots are on the same street as Village Hall, which is where the pumpkins go in November.
Smith Woods After Dark
In the afternoon, the action moves to Diane Main Park, 200 W. 59th Street. That's the address on both the Park District's event page and the Haunted Forest entry in the Village schedule. The 300 W. 59th Street address in the same schedule belongs to an earlier StoryWalk listing.
A wagon takes visitors from the park along the wooded path into Smith Woods. Then everyone gets off and walks the rest of the way through the woods, where costumed characters wait. The Park District's Haunted Forest page lays out the timing in detail, and the evening break depends on that timing.
- 3:00 to 6:30 p.m., Little Monsters. This is the session recommended for younger visitors. Ticket sales close right at 6:00 p.m. so everyone gets through by 6:30.
- 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., the switchover. You can show up early, buy a Sheer Terror ticket, and wait in a separate line while the last Little Monsters groups finish.
- 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., Sheer Terror. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Ticket sales close right at 9:00 p.m.
Tickets are $9 at the gate, and both cash and credit cards work. The page also links to Fast Pass tickets and says you should expect some walking. The 6:00 cutoff is easy to miss. A family that lingers downtown until 5:45 could reach the park after Little Monsters sales have closed.
The Rest of October on the Village Calendar
Most of October's other events take place in buildings, and they give the pumpkin theme a few more chances. All of the library programs are at the Westmont Public Library, 428 N. Cass Avenue, which is on the same street as the casket race.
- Saturday, October 10, 5:30 to 9 p.m. "The Crime," a 1920s murder mystery dinner at Oakbrook Hills Resort, 3500 Midwest Road. It's $75 and includes dinner, dessert, and two drink tickets. Register through the Westmont Park District at 630-963-5252 with code 207723-A.
- Monday, October 12, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Book Page Pumpkin for adults, which turns an old book into a decorative pumpkin. Registration required.
- Wednesday, October 14, 5 to 6:30 p.m. Special-effects makeup for grades 6 through 12, taught by GlamBat Studios. Registration required.
- Thursday, October 15. Mini pumpkin painting at 4 p.m. for grades K through 2, at 5 p.m. for grades 3 through 5, and at 6:30 p.m. for teens. Registration required.
- Wednesday, October 21, 10 a.m. Costume and craft storytime for kids up to age 6 with a caregiver.
- Thursday, October 22, 6:30 p.m. Radio historian Steve Darnall plays clips from Escape, Inner Sanctum, and Lights Out to show how old radio shows created horror with sound. Registration required.
- Friday, October 30, 5 to 7 p.m. Spooktacular Fun Night at the Park District Community Center, 75 E. Richmond Street, with indoor trick-or-treating, Wacky Drac, crafts, and games.
November 7, at a New Address
After all that, the pumpkins collected at the end of October have one more stop, and it's in a new place.
The Village's announcement, titled "Pumpkin Composting Event Moved To Village Hall," sets the collection for Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to noon "at a new location, the commuter parking lot next to Westmont Village Hall at 31 W. Quincy Street." The detailed listing in the festival schedule gives the same lot. But that schedule's Pumpkin Smash entry, written to promote the collection, still says it's "at the Westmont Library." Anyone who reads only the smash description on October 17 could take their pumpkin to the wrong building on November 7.
Pumpkins must be free of candles and other decorations before drop-off. EIC volunteers and Village staff will check each one and collect it for composting rather than sending it to a landfill. The lot sits next to Village Hall on Quincy, the same street as Tapatio and Galaxy Sushi & Ramen.
If the October 17 schedule has you thinking about Halloween next year and where you'd like to spend it, Ginny and Paige would be glad to talk through Westmont and the nearby western suburbs with you. Ginny Homes can set up a time that fits around trick-or-treating. Schedule a Private Consultation.
