On the road: Northerly Island hosts Fall Adventure Day

Chicago

Fall on you

Enjoy the crisp autumn weather right on Lake Michigan during Fall Adventure Day at Northerly Island. Kids will get into fall themed arts and crafts and families can check out the local harvest. Watch and learn about fall bird migration, enjoy a guided nature hike and get into the changing of the season.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at Northerly Island, 1400 S. Lynn White Drive. Chicago. Call (312) 745-2910 or visit tinyurl.com/3hofqou.

Design Harvest, Chicago's annual street festival celebrating the home, offers tents and courtyards filled with modern, vintage and handmade furniture and home accessories from more than 50 vendors. The second festival of home and garden design features live music and refreshments.

11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday to Sunday, Oct. 1-2, at Grand Avenue from Damen Avenue to Wood Street, Chicago. Free admission. Visit design-harvest.com.

You dig?

If tickets for most festivals are a little steep for you, consider visiting Cultivate Chicago. See 11 top chefs from Chicago and the farmers who grow their favorite ingredients in the pretty backdrop of Lincoln Park. There will be cooking demonstrations along with food and drink vendors. Bring the youngest cooks to enjoy a special kids' area for games and activities like Plant the Seed, the Interactive Chalk Board and Paint Your Produce. Expect a full day of music with Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Calexico, White Rabbits and the Rural Alberta Advantage.

11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Free admission. Lincoln Park, 1600 N. Stockton Drive, Chicago. Visit chipotle.com/en-us/html/cultivate.html.

Midwest

A-maize your family

If you go to one festival in celebration of the mighty ear, make it the Annual Grundy County Corn Festival in Morris, Ill. After 63 years, the festival folks have shucked their way to perfection with firefighter water fights, pie eating contest, bed races, acres of entertainment and food vendors, arts and crafts, parades and fireworks. Sup on brats, pork sandwiches, chocolate éclairs, strawberry shortcake and lots of sweet corn.

10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, to Wednesday, Sept. 29; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday to Saturday, Sept. 30- Oct. 1; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, in downtown Morris. Admission is $1. Call (815) 942-2676 or visit cornfestival.org.

Gathering for boaters

The Abbey Resort on Lake Geneva, in Fontana, Wis., will be the host site of the international meeting and show of the Antique & Classic Boat Society Sunday, Sept. 25. The show will highlight more than 125 antique and classic watercraft from the Midwest and North America. The show will include vendors and booths showcasing marine amenities, accessories and services.

Sunday, Sept. 25. No admission charge. Visit grandandglorious2011.com or theabbeyresort.com.

Artists show off their talent

Experience the creative process for a weekend at the 22nd Blue Coast Artists annual Studio Tour when you can see a piece of pottery form, watch glass beads take shape in a torch and a tree come alive through brush strokes. The 2011 tour includes six working artists' studios located between South Haven and Saugatuck, Mich., and each site offers demonstrations, original artwork and refreshments. In addition, there will be hands-on art making projects, a haunted garden and fall color.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday to Sunday, Oct. 1-2, at 6322 113th Ave., Fennville, Mich. Call (269) 236-9260 or visit bluecoastartists.com.

Bog's the bomb

The drive up to Eagle River, Wis., during its 32nd annual Cranberry Festival is worth it. There are sales, demos and samples of all types of cranberry foods; a cranberry cook-off; an arts and crafts show, cranberry marsh and winery tours, and an antiques and flea market. You can't miss the world's largest cranberry cheesecake and all the tasty food and drink, cranberry based and otherwise. Bring the kids for family entertainment and activities and stop at the fiber arts and weavers show and farmers market to bring home goodies and gifts.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, at Vilas County Fairgrounds, Eagle River, Wis. Call (800) 359-6315 or visit eagleriver.org.

Worth the trip

Combine bikes and brats and what have you got? Biketoberfest, in Daytona Beach, Fla., is a fun-filled weekend that attracts more than 125,000 motorcycle enthusiasts from across North America and Europe to ride, take in concerts, food and a lot more. Festivities include street rallies, bike shows, racing, charity rides, expos, seminars and celebrity appearances.

Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 13-16. Biketoberfest takes place at various venues all across the Daytona Beach area. Admission is free. Call (866) 296.8970 or visit biketoberfest.org.