Arboretum festival celebrates fall

An after-dark cemetery visit, a weekend chock full of family events and a wine tasting paired with an expert's insight into oak-aging top the list of new events added this year to Morton Arboretum's annual October Fall Color Festival.

The Halloween season gets started Friday, Oct. 9, when the new Fright in the Forest tram tours and hikes will take visitors through spooky spots, including a stop at the arboretum's cemetery, where several members of the founding Morton family are buried.

Later, visitors will have the chance to gather around a roaring campfire and enjoy live music, a buffet and cocktails, said Gina Steele, the arboretum's special events coordinator.

"It's not terrifying, but it's going to be after dark and not suited to younger visitors," Steele said, adding that the tours are open to ages 16 and older. Tickets are $30 for members, $40 for others.

Family-style fun featuring a fall theme highlights the arboretum's new Family Weekend, set for Saturday through Monday, Oct. 10 to 12.

"There will be a storyteller, face painters, critter shows, science experiments and live music," Steele said.

Family Weekend events will be staged in tents just outside the Visitors Center and are free with arboretum admission.

Young children and their parents can look forward to the new Boo Breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

Steele said costumed characters will visit with children in the Gingko Restaurant, where breakfast will be served. Adults may choose from two types of quiche, bacon and fruit crepes, while children may dine on pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.

The morning also will include an arts and crafts project, she said.

"We're encouraging families to come in costume," she said.

The cost ranges from $27 to $30 for members and $31 to $34 for others. Children younger than 3 are free.

Samples of wines aged in oak barrels will be served at Oaks Uncorked, a new event debuting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the Gingko Restaurant.

Wine-tasters will learn about the making of their favorite wines during a presentation by Murphy Westwood, a conservation specialist.

"She has a passion for endangered oaks," Steele said.

Westwood will talk about the history of oaks, Steele said. Several members of the arboretum's plant clinics also will be on hand, she said. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for others.

The one other new event this year, a mystery dinner theater at the Thornhill Mansion, has been sold out, Steele said.

A schedule of old favorite events will return this year and tickets remain available.

From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, a Cider and Ale Tasting will give visitors 21 and older a chance to sample up to 15 craft ciders and brews from 36 brewers.

"We're asking brewers to bring seasonal (beverages), favorites and popular ones," Steele said. "It's on our concert lawn. We'll have live music. There'll be food out there."

Tickets are $35 for members and $45 for others.

On Oct. 31, all children ages 17 and younger will be admitted free to the arboretum. A scavenger hunt from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will lead children through a series of clues while revealing facts about the arboretum and its treasured collection of leafy denizens.

"It's kind of our version of trick-or-treating, where we can get them to learn about the trees at different locations," Steele said.

Other fall events include a bulb sale Saturday, Oct. 3, at the visitors center and the 12th annual Fall Color 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, Oct. 4, which takes athletes through the east side of the arboretum.

The fifth annual Glass Pumpkin Patch will feature demonstrations and glass sculpture displays on the west lawn Wednesday to Sunday, Oct. 14 to 18.

The Scarecrow Trail, an exhibit decorating the perimeter of Meadow Lake, along with the Lego exhibit, will run through the end of October, Steele said.

And hikes that feature a theatrical presentation of "In This Final Century," an adaptation of "War of the Worlds," along the way will be presented Saturdays and Sundays through the end of October. The cost for theater hikes is $5 to $10 for members and $10 to $20 for others.

"Definitely, you want to come out and enjoy the Morton Arboretum multiple times in the fall," Steele said.