Saturday’s pumpkin composting and downtown craft sales

Saturday morning at Lombard Common’s east parking lot, residents can drop off leftover Halloween pumpkins so the gourds become compost instead of landfill waste. The drop-off runs from 9 a.m. to noon at 433 E. St. Charles Road.

The Lombard Park District says the event accepts pumpkins only. Excess paint, glitter, googly eyes, and candles are not allowed, because those items contaminate the compost. The park district notes that Illinois is the top pumpkin-producing state in the nation, and composting keeps the material from generating greenhouse gases in a landfill.

The village’s September news update listed the same hours and place, describing the gathering as a free event presented by the Lombard Junior Women’s Club, the Lombard Park District, the Village of Lombard, the Kiwanis Club, Waste Management, and SCARCE. SCARCE coordinates similar Pumpkin Smash collections across the Chicago area and has done so for more than a decade.

A few blocks south, the annual Christmas Mart fills several downtown locations from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the same day. The Lombard Historical Society describes the sale as a tradition that brings local artists, crafters, and vendors together for handmade gifts, holiday decorations, and jewelry.

Shoppers can visit participating churches and stops along Maple Street, including the society’s own Lilac Emporium Gift Shop at 23 W. Maple Street. The society says this year’s edition adds the free Historic Downtown Lombard mobile app, which lets visitors browse vendors and their locations and collect punches on a digital Christmas Mart punch card. Admission is free.

The village’s events calendar also lists the Christmas Mart for Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Historical Society address. Other listings place craft sales at additional downtown churches, including St. John’s Lutheran School’s west gym.

At Yorktown Center, the City2City Card Show runs both Saturday and Sunday. Vendors offer sports cards, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, One Piece, and more in Center Court on the lower and upper levels. Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

The three events sit within a short drive of one another: composting at Lombard Common, craft shopping along Maple Street, and card collecting at the mall. The park district and village pages direct residents to the Common lot for pumpkins; the Historical Society page points shoppers to the app and the society’s gift shop; Yorktown’s event page lists the card-show hours.

Leaf collection continues through Dec. 11, and the village’s Veterans Day ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Sunken Garden in Lombard Common. For Saturday, the pumpkin drop-off, Christmas Mart, and card show are the largest public gatherings on the local calendar.