Cantigny Park celebrates fall with seasonal gardens, festival

Sometimes it's better to enjoy the season without the fear factor.

Horror fans, hear us out: Imagine strolling through a garden of pumpkins and autumn accents at a leisurely pace without having to glance over your shoulder every few seconds to see if a guy in a creepy mask is going to jump out from behind a tree.

Finding such a sanctuary in this month of spooky thrills may seem like trying to find your way out of a haunted house with your dignity intact: nearly impossible.

But Cantigny Park in Wheaton offers the stunning fall backdrop for the pumpkin spice lover in all of us.

After a washout last year, the parade field again will host Cantigny's Fall Festival on Saturday, a family-friendly antidote to fright fests.

"The gardens are a big attraction, too," Cantigny spokesman Jeff Reiter said. "Hopefully people will wander off and see what we have in the gardens for fall."

Cantigny's new-look gardens have come a long way since reopening in July after extensive renovations - a centerpiece of "Project New Leaf," the ongoing $25 million redesign of the 500-acre Wheaton campus that began in 2016 and will be completed in phases over about five years.

Some of the climbing plants have reached the top of steel trellises at the entrance to the display gardens and in a circular layout around one of two giant bur oak trees inside. In the lower garden near the Robert R. McCormick Museum, Cantigny's horticulturists have planted mums amid straw bales and plump pumpkins.

"You can really see a lot of progress in the gardens, and what they've done for the fall planting is really, really colorful," Reiter said.

Another welcome sight: The south parking lot has officially reopened after a major expansion that added 350 spaces. Construction fencing also has been dismantled in front of the visitors entrance and a new arrival plaza as the first phase of Project New Leaf winds down.

All of that means there's plenty to see beyond the fall festival that typically attracts 4,000 to 5,000 visitors.

"It definitely is our biggest event of October," Reiter said. "And I would encourage families to come out, take advantage of all the things there are to do and see what's new at the park, because 2018 has certainly been a major year of progress at Cantigny."

Green thumbs inspired by the fall landscape should head to the festival's plant sale offering mums, of course, but also ornamental grasses and interior plants.

Cantigny organizers have designed many of the festival activities and booked live music with youngsters in mind, though a "scarecrow juggling show" sounds universally entertaining.

Children's book publisher Usborne will host its second book fair of the year in the Visitors Center gallery. For a $2 fee, pumpkins are available to purchase and decorate. Other festival highlights for kiddos are hayrides, a petting zoo and face-painting.

"We have some excellent face painters who really do an amazing job on some of these kids," Reiter said.

And for the grown-ups? Kick back with a glass of crisp ale and soak in the fall air at the beer tent from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Le Jardin patio. Festivalgoers also can sample fall flavors from Bertie's Bistro inside the Visitors Center.

Now a staple at Cantigny events, food trucks will provide concessions from Big Mama's Kitchen, Kernel Dan's Kettle Corn, Golden Eagle Hot Dogs, Gnarly Knots, Cupcakes for Courage, Jolly Posh, Mammie's Toffee and Treats and Timbo's Licorice Ropes.

And with that kind of menu and festival lineup, Cantigny will provide a serene fall celebration that we all - yes, even you nocturnal creatures - need right now during a scary time of year.

"It's one of those one-day events for us where there's just a lot to do for everybody," Reiter said.

If you go

What: Cantigny Fall Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13

Where: Parade field at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton

Cost: Free admission with $5 parking (some activities will include a fee)

Info: <a href="https://cantigny.org/event/fall-festival/">Cantigny.org/event/fall-festival/</a>