Articles, activities for boomers & seniors
Apple Picking
Solebury Orchards, Solebury. Quaint and simple, the orchard offers a simple picking experience. Wagon rides to the orchard. Thurs to Sun 9 am-6 pm. Soleburyorchards.com
Snipes Farm, Morrisville. Pick your own apples, a corn maze, face painting and pumpkin painting and barnyard animals. Starting late September to early November. Sat 9 am-6 pm & Sun 10 am - 5 pm. Snipesfarm.org
Styer Orchard, Langhorne. Corn Maze, Find Honeycrisp, Empire (semi-tart), Early Delicious (sweet), Gala (sweet) apples. 9 am to 5 pm. Styerorchard.com
Apple Festival. Nov 4 & 5. Enjoy apple treats and take home a bushel fresh from the orchard! Artisans, live entertainment, food, children’s activities and apple pie-eating contests both days. Sat & Sun 10 am - 6 pm, Peddler’s Village, Peddlersvillage.com/festivals/apple-festival
Pumpkin Picking
Active Acres Farm, Saturdays and Sundays beginning Oct. 7 For $15, take a hayride to the pumpkin patch and pick your own pumpkin (it’s just $5 for any size!), then visit the corn maze, or take a pony ride. After dark Haunted Hayride, Field of Fright and Haunted House with a cemetery and walk through crypt. 881 Highland Rd. Newtown, PA, Activeacresfarm.com
Hellerick’s Family Farm, more than sixty varieties of pick-your-own pumpkins, squash and gourds, plus tons of recipes on website. Sept 16 though Oct 29 Pumpkin Festival offers hayrides, pumpkin rolling, rubber ducky races, a potato slingshot and a 5-acre corn maze. This year, Hellerick’s has also added nighttime Harvest Moon Hayrides on Fri and Sat, with a flashlight trek through the corn maze and campfire. 5500 Easton Rd. Doylestown. Hellericksfarm.com.
Daily, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Shady Brook Farm. From pumpkin-picking and hayrides to monster truck rides and corn cannons, Pumpkin Fest runs from mid-September through October, including “not too scary,” After Dark activities similar to the daytime; inflatable amusements, the Barn of Horror, Jr. and Alien Encounter 3-D. 931 Stony Hill Rd. Yardley Shadybrookfarm.com Mon.-Sat., 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sun., 9 a.m. – 6 p.m
Festivals
Elmwood Park Zoo Harvest Fest Norristown’s Elmwood Park Zoo hosts its annual Harvest Fest, featuring games, activities, live performances and much more. The fest is free with zoo admission in Oct. 1661 Harding Blvd, Norristown 19401. Elmwoodparkzoo.org, 800.652.4143
Varner Farms
Head over to our farm for some fall fun and an amazing splash of color! The Farm market and Corn Maze will reopen at 9am on Friday September 15th. We will have fresh pressed Cider, Apples, Pumpkins, Corn Stalks, Strawbales &… more. The horse-drawn wagon rides and tractor-drawn wagon rides to the pumpkin patch will begin on Saturday Sept 23 rd, as well as all other harvest activities. Make sure to stop in and pick up some fresh made apple cider donuts, apple pies and pumpkin pies. Through October 30. 746 S Trappe Rd, Collegeville 610-489-8878 varnerfarms.net
Merrmead Farm. Fall Harvest Day Weekends 2017 in October. Activities Include Scenic Tractor Hayrides Around the Farm, Wagon Rides for Children, 700 ft. cornstalk Tunnel, children’s games, pumpkin painting, face painting, inflatable’s, animals, cornfield maze, and more. Cash only. 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sundays: 12:00PM to 5:00 PM. 2222 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale. 610-584-4410.Merrymead.com
Scarecrow Festival Sep 16 & 17. A weekend full of fall family fun: Scarecrow-Making Workshops, live entertainment and pumpkin pie eating contests and more. Peddler’s Village Rtes 202 and 263, Lahaska, PA 18931. Free. Peddlersvillage.com/festivals/scarecrow-festival
Pottstown Honey Festival Sep 23. Annual Honey Festival event with demonstrations by bee keepers and Penn State Extension Horticulture. Honey tasting, activities for children and more. Cedarville United Methodist Church, 1092 Laurelwood Road, Pottstown 19465. Free 10am-2pm.
Apple Butter Frolic. October 7, 2017 Celebrate 42 years of the Apple Butter Frolic on Saturday, October 1, in Harleysville. The Pennsylvania Dutch culinary tradition features food, family-friendly activities, arts and crafts, horse and buggy rides and farming demonstrations. Some enticing fare to expect: homemade chicken pot pie, ground cherry pie and funnel cake. 9:30 am - 4:00 pm. Free. mhep.org/apple-butter-frolic
Gingerbread Competition & Display
Nov 17 - Jan 6 Gingerbread Competition and Display, cash prizes in categories ranging from traditional to authentic reproduction of a significant building. Display Times: Monday to Saturday 10 am - 9 pm Sunday 11 am - 7 pm. peddlersvillage.com/festivals/gingerbread-competition-display