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player ready...The Forest Preserve District of Kane County welcomed in the new season on Sunday with its annual Harvest Fall Festival at Oakhurst Forest Preserve in Aurora.
The three-hour family-friendly event at the forest preserve at 1680 Fifth Ave. offered a variety of activities including games, crafts, music and more.
Eric Peterson of Aurora and his daughter Abbie were throwing corn cobs into buckets in an effort to win some prizes during a game offered at the fest.
“I’ve come to this with the family before. I think this is the third time,” Eric Peterson said of the Harvest Fall Festival. “We’ve painted pumpkins, visited the raptors including the falcon and the owl they have here, did some crafts and made some pumpkins out of pipe cleaners and had some pumpkin and apple cider doughnuts.”
Abbie Peterson enjoyed the activities at the festival.
“I really liked making the crafts and I painted a pumpkin and it’s going home with me,” she said. “I like the fall and I like to trick-or-treat.”
New this year was a “Touch-A-Tractor” feature for kids, organizers said.
Laurie Metanchuk, director of community engagement for the Kane County Forest Preserve District, said the harvest festival has been held annually for more than two decades, and has undergone changes both in location as well as its name.
“It used to be called Harvest of the Acorn Moon but that name got a little long so it got shortened to the Harvest Fall Festival and celebrates all the things you would expect from a fall festival,” she said. “Kids can paint pumpkins and make crafts like a monster bookmark or a pipe-cleaner pumpkin. We have goodies for sale and people from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources who have brought out some of their fishing poles so kids can learn to fish if they like.”
The free annual festival has moved a number of times, Metanchuk said, but noted it has been held at Oakhurst Forest Preserve in Aurora “at least the last 12 years.”
“This is always about building community and seeing people you know,” Metanchuk said.
Marissa Happ of Aurora was a volunteer helping out at the event, something she said she has done “for years and years.”
She said that given that “I’m an educator and a social worker and these days with electronics” the hands-on nature of the event offered a healthy alternative.
“These days, all of this offers such an opportunity for families to come out and enjoy nature, see other people, communicate and use all of their senses and get away from the cellphones and the video games,” she said.
Maleeka Siddick of Aurora came with her children and said this was her first time visiting the Harvest Fall Festival.
“We’re going to paint some pumpkins and play some games, “Siddick said. “This is an awesome way to enjoy the fall season.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.