It’s National Pumpkin Day!

(CNN) — It’s like a pre-game celebration for Halloween. Friday is National Pumpkin Day!

Pumpkins are a versatile vegetable used to make bars, cookies, coffee, cheesecake, pasta and oatmeal.

In addition to its edibility, pumpkins are also fun for families to carve and decorate for trick-or-treaters.

The US produces 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins total with Illinois making the most.