Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival’s Triumphant Return

By Travis Naughton

Last weekend marked the much-anticipated return of the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival following last year’s cancelation caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Once again, vendors, volunteers, local residents, and out-of-town visitors converged upon the tiny Missouri River hamlet for one of the state’s largest and most popular Fall festivals.

Katy Lammers, a lifelong resident of Southern Boone County, has lived in Hartsburg for nearly 20 years. “Our family really enjoys the Pumpkin Festival. We look forward to it every year and were heartbroken when it was cancelled last year. We completely understood (the reason for the cancellation) but were still sad about it.”

Lammers said she enjoys being able to get together with friends that she doesn’t get to see regularly. “It’s almost like a homecoming,” she said. “It’s fun to see the town come to life. It starts buzzing Thursday, and it’s exciting to watch everything develop before our eyes.”

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal