Join Kline Creek Farm's annual Corn Harvest Weekends in October

Harvest time needs lots of helpers!

Everyone's invited to join in some 1890s "fun in the fields" during Kline Creek Farm's Corn Harvest from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays in October.

Visitors will hear the history of this valuable crop as they pick some of the corn that will feed the farm's cows and sheep over the winter and seed next year's plantings. They can help load the wagons and may even help store the harvest in the corn crib.

Throughout the day, visitors can tour the 19th-century farmhouse, where heritage interpreters may be baking with corn, and explore the barn, chicken coop, sheepfold, and other buildings on the 200-acre living history farm.

At times, blacksmiths may be on hand to demonstrate the tools and techniques of the trade in the wagon shed. Call the Timber Ridge Visitor Center at (630) 876-5900 for more details.

Also, the volunteer beekeepers are getting ready to extract honey from the hives. Stop by the Honey House on Saturdays, Oct. 2 and 9, from 9 to 11 a.m. while they work.

Beekeeping is also a longstanding tradition at Kline Creek Farm. Since 1984, volunteer beekeepers have managed the farmstead's apiary by caring for the bees, extracting and processing honey, and leading educational programs and tours that focus on the honeybee's role as primary pollinator for two-thirds of all U.S. crops. The sale of honey at the Timber Ridge Visitor Center helps to support farm programs and operations.

The 1890s living history farm museum is located at 1N600 County Farm Road in West Chicago.

Registration is not required for this free program, and activities are ongoing.

Visitors should wear sturdy shoes for walking in the fields and be prepared to handle corn and stalks.

For more information about Corn Harvest, call the farm at (630) 876-5900. Updates and additional information about Corn Harvest can also be found on Kline Creek Farm's Facebook page.

For information on the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, call (630) 933-7200 or visit dupageforest.org, where you can also link to the district's e-newsletter, blog, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.