Five-week Fall Color Festival begins at Morton Arboretum

It's a festival of reds and oranges and yellows and browns, a party of fall favorites and beauty.

The five-week Fall Color Festival begins this weekend at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle where the changing leaves will take center stage and a host of activities will be the supporting cast.

"The trees are the stars of the show," Special Events Manager Marilyn Baysek said. "It's all about the progression of the fall color. That's why we do it for five weeks. Any number of our trees do different things."

To compliment the trees, a number of activities are planned throughout the month, including a 5K run that steps off at 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4. A kids' dash begins at 9 a.m.

Daily throughout the month, take a scenic walk along the Scarecrow Trail. From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., people can admire nature-themed scarecrows along Meadow Lake.

Witness the birth of coffee in a daily exhibit in the Visitor Center. Forty black-and-white photographs document the process of making coffee throughout the world from the seeds planted to the final cup. The birth of coffee artists will give a guest lecture Oct. 10.

On the weekends, let your little pumpkin engage in some pumpkin play. For $3 each, decorate a pumpkin in the children's garden from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, let the little ones guess the weight of pumpkins and how many seeds are in them.

Or catch the GourdWorks, as artists from the Illinois Gourd Society make beautiful creations from gourds. Decorative and useful gourds will be for sale.

Stop by the Ginkgo Grille between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the weekends and Columbus Day for some fall festival fare such as grilled corn and brats, or for $4 build your own taffy apple at the taffy apple bar.

Those 21 and older can enjoy the taste of fall with free wine samples from Bonterra Vineyard.

Mix exercise with theater in one of the most scenic settings around and catch "Sleepy Hollow," billed as "a charming family musical about romance and other terrors," as schoolmaster Ichabod Crane vies for the love of a wealthy woman and the Headless Horseman exacts his revenge. The musical unfolds in various settings around the arboretum.

The theater hikes run 3 to 5:30 p.m. on the weekends beginning at Thornhill Nature Center. Member tickets are $17 for adults and $10 for children in advance. Nonmembers pay $24 for adults and $15 for children. At the gate, tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for children.

Dress the kids in costumes for Trick or Trees from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25. Children can trick-or-treat in the Children's Garden, walk through the haunted maze, attend the live bat show or participate in a number of ghoulish games and crafts.

General arboretum admission is $11 for adults, $10 for seniors, $8 for children and free for kids 2 and younger.

For information, call (630) 968-0074 or visit mortonarb.org.

<p class="factboxtext12col">If you go </p> <p class="factboxtext12col">What: Fall Color Festival </p> <p class="factboxtext12col">When: Weekends in October</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Cost: $11 adults, $10 seniors, $8 children, free for ages 2 and younger</p> <p class="factboxtext12col">Info: (630) 968-0074 or mortonarb.org</p>