Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:01 AM CDT

Comments (0) |

E-mail this page |

Print this page |

Enlarge type |

Reduce type |

Search archives |

RSS feeds |

Add to My Yahoo!

Bounty of fall fun on tap

By PANTAGRAPH STAFF

BLOOMINGTON -- As a sort of fall festival "last hurrah," the Twin Cities are getting a brand new outdoor event to close out October and bid welcome to the more confined activities of November and December.

Meet Harvest Festival 2007, debuting on the grounds of Bloomington's Interstate Center Saturday with a full slate of open-air events and entertainment, all designed to keep fall-festival junkies happy.

Even the non-junkies, too.

And with temperatures predicted in the upper-50s range, this just may be one of the first fall festivals of the balmy season to actually feel like a fall festival. (Should the unthinkable happen, precipitation won't stop anything -- the Interstate Center itself will be there to provide shelter for vulnerable attractions like the 45 arts and crafts vendors.)

The free event, which opens at 10 a.m. and continues until 6 p.m., is a co-production of the Pantagraph and the Interstate Center.

According to the venue's manager, Kate Burcham, the idea of a new fall festival was hatched back in the summer as an opportunity "to promote the Interstate Center in a non-traditional way, as well as to provide something to the community."

While conjuring a new event from scratch isn't easy, Burcham says she thinks Harvest Festival will come out of the gate looking good.

She says she would have preferred scheduling the event earlier in the season, which may happen down the road if the festival becomes the annual event it's hoped to be.

But, as mentioned, the crisp weather predicted should dovetail nicely with the autumnal ambiance.

Helping the latter along, Burcham says, is a full slate of fall-friendly attractions.

They include a Straw Maze provided by the U of I Extension of McLean County, and all the better to get lost in.

Over at the Pumpkin Patch, the plump orange gourds will be going for 30 cents a pound for those with the strength to lug them from here to there.

If punkin' pickin' isn't your thing, you're invited to paint them -- a decorative option that the impending All Hallow's Eve will doubtless impact.

Continuing the pumpkin theme onto a larger scale, the festival has snared a seasonal carnival ride involving spinning pumpkins on a tilt-a-whirl-type mechanism.

Did we mention the hayrack rides? The 45 arts and crafts vendors whose wares will doubtless reflect the season? The kids' costume contest? The one for pets, too? The wiener roast and s'mores-making area?

One of the more intriguing autumnal offerings, says Burcham, will be a cranny of the festival christened "The Scarecrow Laboratory," where anyone with $10 to spare will be given everything they need to make, stuff and garb a scarecrow (the Pantagraph is providing the 'crow guts, by the way -- shredded newspaper).

If you bring your own scarecrow attire, the materials cost goes down to $7.

For those into food and entertainment, there will be a performance stage in continual use with local favorites and an array of edibles and potables, ranging from Mackinaw Valley Vineyard wine tastes to Ropp Cheese.

In the end, says Burcham, creating the festival and its attractions boiled down to "our staff going back to their childhood days and saying, 'oh, we had fun when we did this!' "

Scheduled events

Following is a schedule for events at the first-ever Pantagraph and Interstate Center Harvest Festival, all day Saturday at the Interstate Center in Bloomington:

Entertainment

• 10 a.m.-noon: Storyteller Mike Lockett, on stage

• Noon-2 p.m.: Prairieland Dixie Band, strolling

• 2-4 p.m.: Dave Berchtold, on stage

• 4 to 6 p.m.: Adam Larson Trio, on stage

Special events

• 10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Face painting by The Zoo Lady

• 1-5 p.m.: Balloon artist Doug Smith of The Unique Twist

• 2 p.m.: Kids' costume contest

• 3 p.m.: Pet costume contest

Daylong stuff

• Straw maze ($1 per person)

• Scarecrow laboratory ($7-$10)

• Pumpkin painting ($2 per pumpkin)

• Pumpkin patch (sold at 30 cents per pound)

• Children's Hospital of Illinois mobile safety van

• Jaycees Create-a-Mural

• All Season Golf Learning Center Halloween Putt Putt

• Illinois Basket Weavers

• Also: sand art creations, hayrack rides, spinning-pumpkin carnival ride, 45 craft vendors, barnyard bingo, yard bags

Edibles/Potables

• Kirk's Kettle Korn

• Mackinaw Valley Winery

• Ropp Cheese

• Interstate Catering wiener roast and s'mores making

At a glance

What: Pantagraph and Interstate Center Harvest Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Interstate Center, 2301 W. Market St., Bloomington

Cost: Free

Information: (309) 829-3976

E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS

Show comments | Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories

Subscribe to the Pantagraph

Contact the Pantagraph staff

Home page | Previous page | Top

Ads by Yahoo!

AT&T | DISH Network

100% Digital as low as $49.99/month Get $50 Cash Back on Select Plans.
www.att.com/advancedtv

Dish Network Satellite TV

Get 3 Months Free - Sign Up Now. $19.99 + $0 Up Front + Free HD DVR.
Offers-DishNetwork.com

Get a Piece of the Action in 2009

Finally a program that gets it right.
www.later2cable.com

Take a look

The ever popular Zoo Lady will be painting faces at Harvest Festival 2007.

The Adam Larson Trio will entertain visitors at the first Harvest Festival 2007, debuting on the grounds of Bloomington's Interstate Center Saturday. There is a full slate of open-air events and entertainment at the event sponsored by the Pantagraph and the Interstate Center.

Video stories