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Local Food Journey

Fall festivals abound this weekend

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 10/13 at 06:59 AM

Downtown State College fall festival

The leaves are changing, even if the weather has been feeling like August lately. If you are a fan of fall festivals, this weekend is your time.

The choices this weekend are plentiful, so get ready to stroll among the leaves and check out the crafts, live music, people, and of course, local food that makes a Central Pennsylvania fall festival so much fun. Here’s a list of local fall fests to help you plan your festival time, and make a day of it.

- Hundreds of lighted jack-o-lanterns highlight The Arboretum at Penn State’s Pumpkin Festival, held at the Arboretum on the Penn State campus from 6:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m. Friday and 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday. Seasonal displays containing hundreds of squashes representing 24 different varieties will be featured throughout the gardens. On Saturday, the band Bluegrass Redemption will play from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Food vendors will be on site, and make sure you bring a flashlight for the evening activities.

- On the second and third Saturday in October, Way Fruit Farm holds its Fall Festival from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event will feature wagon rides out to the Way pumpkin patch to pick the best pumpkin, an apple sling shot, craft vendors, a petting zoo, and, of course, Way’s fantastic apple products including their wonderful cider. Ten percent of all proceeds will go to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

- The Hartslog Heritage Day is a pretty big fall festival held each year in Alexandria, PA. The event celebrates an actual log that was a local landmark during the 18th Century. The log is no longer there but at this festival you can find a lot of vendors, great food, children’s activities, and live music.

- The Hollidaysburg Community Partnership will host the annual Pumpkin Festival on Allegheny Street in Downtown Hollidaysburg Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The pumpkin-themed community event features a variety of pumpkin foods, games, and something called pumpkin bowling. There will also be magic, clowns, jugglers, and story time for the kids.

- The 18h annual Fall Festival (including Kids Day and the Community Resource Fair) will take place on the 200 block of Allen Street in State College from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday. There will be free pumpkins for the kids at the PSECU Pumpkin Patch , a bounce house, Tumble Bus, pony rides, a dessert contest (entry info here), live music, and more.