Jack O’Lantern World, annually held in Lake Zurich and expanding this year to Lemont, will carve more than 10,000 pumpkins this year for visitors to come see between its two locations.

Operated by All Community Events, the fall fun festival will open in Lake Zurich on Sept. 26 in Paulus Park, 200 S. Rand Road. In addition to the pumpkin exhibit, it will feature a pumpkin patch, 30-foot inflatables, food trucks, a beer garden, mini golf and other attractions.

“Originally, this started out as just a walk through thousands of hand-carved pumpkins,” said lead pumpkin artist Peter Starykowicz, owner of All Community Events. “It’s since grown each year to increase the excitement and energy of the experience.”

Starykowicz says the idea for Jack O’Lantern World came to him from his experience as a father looking for fun fall things to do with his kids.

“Everyone enjoys Halloween, but not everybody wants to go to a haunted house, right?” Starykowicz said. “So, what is a Halloween-themed experience that people who don’t want to go to a haunted house can go and enjoy?”

The pumpkins will be organized into thematic groups, including traditional Halloween imagery, famous people who passed in the 2020s, and YouTubers. According to Starykowicz, the show will be equal in scale at both locations.

In addition to normal-sized pumpkins, Jack O’Lantern World will feature more than 1,000-pound pumpkins that attendees will be allowed to climb. Starykowicz says his festival is the largest purchaser of these pumpkins in the world.

These behemoth orange-colored fruits can have flesh up to 18 feet thick and drink more than 150 gallons of water each day while they’re still on the vine, according to a news release.

They come in different shapes and sizes, but Starykowicz estimates his tallest will be around 4-and-a-half feet.

Jack O’Lantern World in Lemont, to be held at The Forge Lemont Quarries, 227 Heritage Quarries Drive, will open for its first year Oct. 2. Both shows run through Nov. 1 and open each evening between 6 and 7 p.m., depending on when the sun sets.

Tickets to enter, including fees, cost between $17.99 and $27.99. Saturday often is the show’s busiest day, and Starykowicz warns those tickets generally sell out.

For tickets, visit thejackolanternworld.com.

The carved pumpkins themselves are not available for purchase, but visitors can buy fresh pumpkins if they feel inspired “to then go home and have their moment to try and get the job done,” Starykowicz said.