When children returned to school last month, it’s likely they were asked to share the obligatory “what I did on my summer vacation” experience with their classmates. Rather than offering tales of jet setting to an exotic tropical island or taking a pricey stroll down Main Street at Disney World in Florida, we expect that many of them discussed their summer “stay-cation” spent exploring our community and enjoying themselves in their own backyard.
Given the current economic reality and a potentially skimpy holiday season looming on the horizon, many of us could use some further “stay-cation” inspiration as these days get shorter and shorter and money seems to get tighter and tighter.
Fortunately, Snohomish County farmers have joined together to pack the October calendar with enough fun and inexpensive excursions to fill many a family scrapbook page. The second annual Snohomish County Fall Farm Festival brings out the best this blustery season has to offer, encouraging folks to bundle up and visit a local farm to experience the agricultural side of our diverse community.
While the actual kick-off for the festival took place in late September, there’s still plenty of fun left in the month, with a veritable cornucopia of corn mazes to conquer and pumpkin patches to explore.
Be sure to mark your calendar with a big orange dot this Saturday when downtown Snohomish will be decked out in its autumn finery to host the Festival of Pumpkins celebration. Along with the traditional pumpkin carving and a costume competition, they’re also offering a “Critter Capers” pet costume contest, a side-walk parade and other free games and activities. Folks who stake out a spot near the Snohomish River Bridge are sure to spot the winner of the Great Pumpkin River Race set for 3:45 p.m. At 5 p.m. — the town will glow as the Avenue A Gazebo is illuminated with the pumpkins that were entered in the carving contest. More information on the activities in Snohomish can be found at festivalofpumpkins.org.
These kinds of outdoor, get-off-the couch, family-centered events can be found in every community of Snohomish County. Less organized activities also count, a lot. It’s free to look at beautiful leaves. Playing a game of touch football might cost you some sore muscles, but is totally worth it because someone has finally led a Northwest football team to victory. Linus never spent a dime in hope the Great Pumpkin would appear. Money would corrupt his pumpkin patch, it would no longer be sincere.
The traditions of fall give us great chances to get outside together, before darkness and hibernation take over. Take advantage.
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