Come tomorrow night, the Toadstool Pub in Highwood will lift the curtain on “The Pumpkin Project,” an artistic endeavor intended to decorate downtown and raise money for charity.
About 20 local artists collaborated on the works, which are imitation pumpkins that have been painted or otherwise incorporated into artwork, said Tom Garrity, Toadstool owner. They’ll be on display at the bar on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
In the weeks leading up to the Highwood Pumpkin Festival, the pumpkin art will be displayed throughout town, Garrity said.
During the festival, which runs Oct. 17-19, they’ll be moved to Everts Park, where people can bid on them.
Partial proceeds of the art sale will go to three different charities: the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center in Gurnee; the CURE Epilepsy, headquartered in Chicago; and Misericordia, also based in Chicago, Garrity said.
“It’s going to be something special,” Garrity said. “The artists put a lot of work into this.”
A Toadstool bartender and his brother thought up the idea, Garrity said, inspired by the butterfly sculptures in neighboring Highland Park.