Fox Valley fall festivals offer old-fashioned fun

From the changing leaves to the cool, crisp days, fall is in the air.

For those who aren't quite ready to dive into Halloween, area park districts and museums invite you to celebrate the season with old-fashioned games, treats and plenty of apple cider.

From Aurora to Union, these one-day fall celebrations, all taking place on Sunday, Oct. 3, are simply sweet treats that are sure to satisfy an appetite for fall family fun.

Harvest of the Acorn MoonWhat: Outdoor event featuring old-fashioned games, crafts and live musicWhen: 1 to 4 p.m.Where: Oakhurst Forest Preserve, 1680 Fifth Ave., about a half mile east of Farnsworth Avenue in AuroraAdmission: Free; small fee for craftsDetails: (847) 741-8350; kaneforest.comTen years ago the Kane County Forest Preserve District chose to build a one-day fall festival around old-fashioned games and crafts to welcome autumn.Potato sack races, pumpkin painting and hayrides will be the order of the day Sunday as visitors celebrate the onset of cooler, crisper weather amid the colorful backdrop of Aurora's Oakhurst Forest Preserve."(Harvest of the Acorn Moon) is sort of a title that gives a feeling to this time of year," said Ben Katzen, a naturalist with Forest Preserve District of Kane County. "It might be a little early for the best (leaf) colors but it's nice to be outside in the fall."Harvest of the Acorn Moon is free, but for a small fee children will get the opportunity to make nature-related crafts. Cookies and cider will be available for purchase. Harvest of the Acorn moon is one of the Forest Preserve's more popular events and organizers expect 300 or more visitors, weather permitting."People really enjoy that sort of fall feeling," Katzen said. "We've had really huge success with this program."Apple Fall FestWhat: Historic-themed fall festival featuring apple cooking demonstrations, heirloom apple samples and Victorian living demonstrationsWhen: 1- 4 p.m.Where: Durant House Museum at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, 37W370 Dean St., St. CharlesAdmission: $3 for adults, $1 for childrenDetails: (630) 377-6424; ppfv.orgThe summer season is ending, the days are getting shorter and the folks at the Durant House Museum in St. Charles are inviting you to turn back your clocks and fall back - into an old-fashioned autumn harvest season.To celebrate the last day the museum is open to the public for the tour season, Durant House invites visitors to stop by for an afternoon of old-fashioned games and a chance to see 19th century apple cooking and preservation techniques.There will be plenty of apple cider on tap and visitors will get the chance to sample some delicious heirloom apples - "antique" apples from Michigan that can't be found in your average grocery store.The Durant House was built where it currently stands in 1843. The Apple Fall Festival is designed to celebrate a time of year when people of the late 1800s would have been busy harvesting preserving food for the long winter ahead."People are very interested in trying the old kinds of apples and are very interested in how people used to provide for their families and what their lives were like back then. Life was just a lot different," said Alice Mapin, Durant House Museum Director.Harvest DaysWhat: 29th annual fall festival; this year featuring a celebration of the 175th anniversary of Campton's settlementWhen: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Where: Garfield Farm, five miles west of Geneva off Route 38 on Garfield Road, La FoxAdmission: $6 for adults and $3 for children younger than 12Details: (630) 584-8485; garfieldfarm.orgGarfield Farm invites people of all age to dig into history - literally.On Sunday the farm is holding its annual Harvest Days, complete with an archeological dig around homes on the property to find artifacts from when the original settlers lived there in the 1840s. Harvest Days will also offer demonstrations on 1840s household and farm skills and feature traditional music and storytelling throughout the day. A demonstration will be held on the invention of traditional photography.This year's Harvest Days celebration is also a celebration for Campton Township, which was settled 175 years ago. There will be a public premier of a 155-year-old map of Campton Township, which will be displayed next to a current aerial map of the town so residents can take a peek into what their properties looked like long ago."(The old map) shows how much can change in what seems to be a not long period of time," said Jerome Johnson, executive director of Garfield Farm. "Changes occurred in a very short time and celebrations like this, observing such events, are really quite important."Cider FestWhat: McHenry County event featuring demonstrations of hand cider pressing and old-time barn raisingWhen: 10 a.m.to 4 p.m.Where: McHenry County Historical Museum, 6422 Main St., UnionAdmission: freeDetails: (815) 923-2267; mchsonline.orgThe McHenry County Historicial Society's annual Cider Fest promises to full of delicious fall flavor.Starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, visitors will get a chance to observe how cider was hand cranked in the 1800s. Home baked apple goods will be available for purchase and children will get the chance to make corn husk and apple head dolls.From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. an accordion group will perform at the museum. A parade will be held at 1 p.m. through downtown Union and around noon there will be a barn raising to celebrate the harvest season."(Farm life) has been a major part of our heritage in McHenry County," said Nancy Fike, an administrator at the McHenry County Historical Society. "Usually we get around 500 people (at Cider Fest), and where else can you help crank a cider press and make cider apples?""This is an ideal thing to get information on our heritage and we've got activities that would fit everybody."False20001328Chuck Bauer talks about oxen driving at a previous Harvest Days festival at Garfield Farm Museum in Kane County. The event includes demonstrations of how the harvest time was used to prepare for the winter in the 1840s.John Starks | Staff Photographer, 2008False