It started in 1991 but - thanks to the record-setting floods of 1993, which severely damaged Hartsburg, washed away the pumpkins and canceled the fall event - this year is only the 24th Hartsburg Pumpkin Fest.
It will run 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
But it will be the first "vehicle-free" event, as festival planners and the Boone County Sheriff's Office continue to wrestle with thousands of visitors descending on a town of 103 people.
"One of the major struggles over the years has been the safety of the festival-goers, as we have been forced to commingle vehicles with pedestrians due to the makeup of the city streets," the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival Planning Committee explained in a statement on its website, hartsburgpumpkinfest.com. "Many alternatives have been explored over the years, but unfortunately, there are too many limitations inside the town to accomplish alternative parking, traffic routes or shuttles."
State Route A and Christian School Road will be open only to "local" traffic, while festival-goers will be required to go to Hartsburg by way of South Mount Pleasant, Soft Pit and Hartsburg Bottom roads and to leave Hartsburg by way of River Road to Route M at Wilton, then back through Ashland to U.S. 63.
"We understand this change may cause issues for both local residents and those attending the festival," the planners say on the website. "However, it is necessary to provide a safe environment for all in attendance."
The routes will be marked.
Last year's festival drew an estimated 65,000 visitors - a record turnout, and almost 11 times the 6,000 who went the first year.
The eight-member "Hartsburg Bike and Social Club" launched the festival in 1991 "as a celebration of the pumpkin and the promotion for the village of Hartsburg," the website reports.
People continue to come each year, organizers say, because of Hartsburg's "big family-friendly charm and hospitality."
The organizers also note many know of Hartsburg as "The Garden Spot of Boone County."
"That rich Missouri River bottom soil produces unique and bountiful harvests of grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables," and organizers in 1991 thought it "was a time to share our wealth with Mid-Missouri," the festival's organizers explain in the online history of the event.
Each year's festival has featured a variety of arts and crafts booths, pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, apple butter making and entertainment.
And, of course, food.
Those wanting to enter this year's "Cutest Pumpkin (Baby)" Contest must register at the information/T-shirt booth at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, for the 10 a.m. contest at the Park Gazebo.
"Please join us by dressing your little one as a pumpkin or in just everyday clothes," the contest invitation says.
There's a $5 entry fee, due at the check-in.