Fall is my favorite time of year.
Living in Florida may seem hard for families to get into the fall spirit. Especially families who are new to the area from much cooler states. We have warm weather, sunny beaches, and beautiful orange sunsets. But we rarely have cool weather or need to wear warmer clothes this time of year. We definitely don’t have colorful fall leaves. So how do we get into fall? There are pumpkin festivals all over Florida, eating seasonal flavored foods like pumpkin spice latte’s, pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin ice cream. The stores are filled with Halloween costumes, and candy. In Florida that is how we do it. Here are a few fall festivities to take your family to and begin the start of fall and the upcoming holiday season.
Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival
October 15th & 16th, 22nd & 23rd and 29th & 30th, hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00, parking is $5.00 and children under 12 are free. This festival offers over 75 craft booths, live music, lives shows, pony rides, hayrides, a corn maze, petting zoo, and so much more. Some things are a couple of dollars extra. Let’s not forget the wonderful food offered such as roasted corn, pumpkin pie, homemade ice cream and so much more. Address is: 5500 C.R. 675, Bradenton, FL 34211
http://www.hunsaderfarms.com/pumpkin-festival
Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Fest
Every weekend in October, hours are 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission and parking are free. They have a Farmer’s Market and pumpkin tent which accepts Visa. Vendors, rides and games accept cash. Enjoy pony rides, rock wall, bounce house, pumpkin painting, petting zoo, music, and several fall photo spots.
Address is: 7410 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34240
http://www.fruitvillegrove.com/festival
Pumpkin Festival
October 28th, 29th, and 30th, hours are 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. Admission is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids, and $5.00 for parking. Free shows, family midway with rides, games, inflatables, petting zoo, pony rides, hayrides, and food vendors. Check out the “Not So Scary Circus”
This event was moved from Sarasota to Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, address is:
5895 Post Blvd., Lakewood Ranch, FL 34211
http://www.sarasotapumpkinfestival.com/Pages/default.aspx
Spooktacular at Selby Gardens
October 30th, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., free with admission and complimentary parking on-site, first come, first served. This family friendly event is open to the public, as well as Selby Garden’s members. The activities include, trick-or-treating, pumpkin decorating, and educational activities. Children should bring their trick-or-treat bags. Grilled food will be available from Michael’s on East and the Selby House Café, along with organic popcorn and ice cream. Address is:
900 S. Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236
http://selby.org/events/event/spooktacular
Fright Night on St. Armand’s Circle
October 31st, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., haunted store fronts, kids can trick-or-treat around the circle, a performance of “Thriller” will take place in collaboration with the Sarasota H.S. Drama Dept. about 8:00 p.m.
