Autumn Drive in McHenry features food and fine art
Fresh scents of fall are inviting families to more than just pumpkin farms and corn mazes.
The 24th annual Autumn Drive will feature, among other things, jewelry, doughnuts and pottery vendors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Oct. 14-16, along Garden Valley Road in Woodstock.
“We try to give back to the community as best as we can with helping artists explore their talents,” said Robert Blue, coordinator of the Autumn Drive and owner of Blue Eagle Pottery.
Blue’s studio sells homemade decorative pottery and provides a venue for seven other crafters to sell woodwork, metal and clothing.
“I’ve been selling pottery for 24 years on my country farm,” Blue said.
After 23 years of selling ceramic supplies, Karen Schneider of Ceramic Bug Supplies has cleaned out and retired her pottery studio and opened it up to different vendors. Some of the items for purchase include gourmet taffy apples, books and woven baskets.
“I think attendees will be surprised at the great outdoors,” Schneider said. “The colors this year are of beautiful quality.”
Autumn Drive gets its name from attendees having to drive and park at each section of a road and walking to each barn. All 13 participating stops offer different varieties of food, art and games.
“We have a lot more charity events this year, like a blood drive, an animal shelter and the lunch barn,” Blue said.
The lunch barn sells sandwiches, pizza and brownies. Proceeds from the barn go to the Marengo and Woodstock food pantries. Charity events also include a bake sale sponsored by the Woodstock High School cheerleaders and breast cancer awareness organizations.
New exhibitors will include a raspberry and apple farm.
The Autumn Drive features plenty to keep kids from getting bored. Children can participate in a corn maze, petting zoo and enjoy a go-cart, hay or barrel ride at Cody’s Farm Fresh Vegetables.
“(Whether you are) picking pumpkins or listening to music, Autumn Drive has something available for everyone,” Blue said.
Depending on the weather, Blue is expecting 5,000 to 12,000 visitors. Because most of the events are held inside barns, the Autumn Drive will run rain or shine.
“Our motto has always been ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ when we open up our barns for people to come in and visit,” Blue said.
For details, including a list of all the stops, visit autumndrive.net. The GPS address for the Autumn Drive is 16105 Garden Valley Road, Woodstock.