Libby’s Pumpkin, a brand of the Nestle Corporation, will be the Leading Sponsor for this year’s Morton Pumpkin Festival. Their support will include financial assistance for festival promotion and improvements and festival promotion through Libby’s website, www.verybestbaking.com, and products. “This partnership is such a win-win situation for Morton and for Libby’s,” said Jennifer Daly, Executive Director for the Morton Chamber of Commerce. “They are going to help us improve some of our activities and events and also promote the festival to a broader audience including featuring the winners of our Cookery Competition, and their recipes, on the Libby’s national website. In return, we will be promoting Morton as the home of Libby’s Pumpkin throughout our celebration.”

The Morton Pumpkin Festival began in 1966 as a celebration of the beginning of the pumpkin canning operations at Libby’s. The festival continues to grow and currently draws over 70,000 people to Morton each year in mid-September for a variety of activities, entertainment, and homemade foods. “Libby’s was the inspiration for the creation of the festival 46 years ago,” said Daly. “We feel this new partnership is ideal for the event and for Libby’s.”

The national marketing team for Libby’s Pumpkin traveled to Morton from their offices in Solon, Ohio to meet with festival organizers in May. During the meeting, the group finalized some of the involvement that Libby’s will have in this year’s Pumpkin Festival including appearances at various events, a booth in the Pumpkin Business Expo, and participation in the Cookery Competition. “Our festival goers are going to see a much stronger presence of Libby’s at this year’s festival,” said Daly. “Their team is really excited about getting more involved.”

The Morton Pumpkin Festival is hosted by the Morton Chamber of Commerce and over 2,000 local volunteers. Proceeds from the Festival are used to support the programs and activities of the Chamber, community development projects, and funding assistance to local non-profit organizations. “In the past 10 years alone, the festival has donated over $200,000 in revenue back to the community,” said Daly. “Those dollars have helped to establish our community foundation and economic development council, build Morton welcome signs, provide tools for local schools and our library, and so much more.”

For more information about Libby’s Pumpkin, go to www.verybestbaking.com.