PENFIELD – Autumn is in full swing, and for many, this is their favorite time of the year. Some enjoy the cooler weather.
Others venture out to see nature’s brilliant leaf displays. Still more look forward to fresh apple cider and other treats normally enjoyed during the fall and harvest season.
These experiences and more will be available at Parker Dam State Park’s 15th annual Fall Festival and Pumpkin Float, Saturday, Oct. 16.
Make plans now to come out and help celebrate the traditions of fall. From 12 p.m. until 5 p.m., be sure to check out educational and traditional activities such as apple cidering, bannock bread making, butter making, candle dipping, natural dyes, primitive fire, autumn art, pioneer games, pumpkin carving, blacksmithing, lumber camp cook and other interpretive stations.
Several vendors, artists, and craftspeople will also be on hand to showcase and sell their wares throughout the afternoon.
The concession stand will also be open during the afternoon for festival-goers to purchase many delicious items.
The Friends of Parker Dam organization will be sponsoring a concert at 3:30 p.m. on the Beach House lawn featuring the local band Almost Mulberry.
At 4:30 p.m., there will be a costume parade for children, and children at heart, through the festival area. Anyone wishing to participate in the parade should meet near Pavilion 1 before 4:30 p.m. (look for Smokey Bear).
Following the costume parade there will be a Trunk-or-Treat period in the designated parking area near the Park Office until 5:30 p.m. Any campers or day visitors who wish to provide treats are asked to park in the designated Trunk-or-Treat area prior to 4:30 p.m. and be at their vehicle by 4:45 p.m.
Vehicles may not depart the Trunk-or-Treat area until 5:30 p.m., or following the conclusion of the Trunk-or-Treat.
The evening activities start at 6:45 p.m. when the Beach Bonfire will be lit – please bring along a lawn chair or blanket. The Pumpkin Float will take place at 7 p.m., when the lighted jack-o-lanterns will be set adrift on the lake (please have any participating jack-o-lanterns on the Beach House wall by 6:45 p.m.).
Then, you can sit around the bonfire and listen to the tales of the storyteller, while the pumpkins, and with any luck – the stars – sparkle off the lake. Parking will be available all day along Mud Run Road in the Day Use Area and also in the turf parking area below the Park Office.
All activities are just a short walk into the Day Use Area near the Beach House and Pavilions 1 through 4. Admission, parking, and educational activities are free of charge. So, bring the entire family along and enjoy a whole day’s worth of fun activities at the park. Make the Parker Dam State Park Fall Festival and Pumpkin Float one of your fall traditions.
