Everything fall is happening at Farmpark

By Mimi Vanderhaven

It’s officially that pumpkin-spice-flavored-everything time of year. Who doesn’t love autumn? This year, the wildly inventive folks at Lake Metroparks Farmpark are giving you even more reasons to fall in love with the season: five family-friendly Fall Harvest Weekends, each loaded with unique hands-on activities, historical discoveries and educational adventures.

The events kick off with the inaugural Sunflower Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, September 18 and 19.

According to Farmpark Events Manager Andy McGovern, “These flowers have grown dramatically in popularity over the past several years. They are important for far more than just their beauty. We’ll have beekeepers here to explain their key role for honeybees in cross-pollination. You can also sample delicious dishes made from sunflowers and cut them yourself from our field.”

(P.S. Mimi has been to this specially created field and it’s simply out of this world, like being immersed in your own Van Gogh painting!)

The following Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, Horsepower Weekend allows folks a glimpse of history, the progression of agricultural technology, from animal-powered agriculture to antique tractors and muscle cars from yesteryear.

“Don’t miss our second annual Car & Truck Show on Sunday, with vintage automobiles and really cool themed cars, such as superheroes,” he says.

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The final two weekends are Corn & Pumpkin Festivals, on Saturdays and Sundays, October 9, 10, 16 and 17. Kids of any age can meander around the three-acre corn maze, paint pumpkins and shell corn.

Farmpark is located at 8800 Euclid Chardon Road, in Kirtland. Daily hours for the festival weekends are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular Farmpark admission or membership applies to the events, which are sponsored by Dollar Bank and Ganley Subaru East. For more information visit LakeMetroparks.com/events.