 Family Travel Files Ezine Family Vacations Resource |
USA: Mid Atlantic, Best Corn Mazes and Harvest Festivals for Families 2008.  All along through the Mid Atlantic Fall is the seaso n to have fun together. Sometimes with a pumpkin
patch and sometimes haunted on weekend nights, mazes provide unique
signatures as the lunar calendar ends the calendar year. Taste sweet
apple butter or corncob jelly; carve a pumpkin or stuff a scarecrow;
play flashlight tag or chase the kids through the corn stalks; ride on
a wagon full of hay or bob for apples; walk through a sleeping giant.
The season has family fun written all over it. Forget the lawn; the
laundry will wait. Take the kids and go.
Virginia: Mount Vernon, 18th-Century Craft Fair (9/13/2008 – 9/14/2008). This year marks the 13th anniversary of 18th-Century Craft Fair featuring dozens of America’s finest craftspeople and family fun. Colonial-attired artisans demonstrate 18th-century crafts such as stone cutting, gunsmithing and soap-making. Also for sale will be traditional wares like baskets, woodcarvings, tin and ironwork, leatherworkings, weavings and furniture. Bonus Points: Spirit Cruises and Potomac Riverboat Company will be offering free sightseeing cruises.(3200 George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon. 1 (703) 780-2000, 799-8697 (TDD) or www.mountvernon.org)
Virginia: Williamsburg, Fall Harvest Festival and Haunted Wagon Ride (10/18/2008). The Fall Harvest Festival and Haunted Wagon Ride are hosted at James River State Park near colonial Williamsburg. Families will enjoy the fresh food, live music and good old-fashioned fun for the whole family. Wagon rides go from the festival site to the beautiful Tye River Overlook. Festival activities include: face painting, herbal butter tasting, apple pressing, apple bobbing, cornhusk doll making and more. Bonus: Around sunset the harvest bonfire will be lit and the haunted wagon rides will commence. (James River State Park, 751 Park Road, Gladstone 24553. 1(434) 933-4355 or www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/jam.shtml)
Virginia: Virginia Beach, Suffolk 31st Annual Peanut Fest (10/09/2008 – 10/12/2008). Experience the phenomenon that is the Peanut Fest; this family-friendly event honors Suffolk, Virginia’s agricultural heritage and its love of peanuts, the city’s official favorite legume. The Suffolk Peanut Fest is known for its fun family activities, concerts, amusement rides, contests and competitions, a demolition derby, a truck and tractor pull, fireworks and more. (1410 Airport Road, Suffolk 23434. 1(757) 539-6751 www.suffolkfest.org)
Virginia: Virginia Beach, Ghost Train at Northwest River Park (10/16/2008 – 10/25/2008). From Thursday through Sunday in late October, visitors are invited to brave the haunted train that runs through the haunted woods of Northwest River Park. The ride is not for the faint of heart as the train is sure to encounter ghosts, ghouls and long-leggedy-beasties as it winds through the haunts along the train route.(Northwest River Park, 1733 Indian Creek Road, Chesapeake, 23322. 1(757) 421-7151 or www.CityofChesapeake.net/parks)
Virginia: Irvington, Ir vington Grape Stomp (08/20/2008). White Fences Vineyards started the Irvington Stomp to celebrate the annual grape harvest and to bring together old friends, new friends and neighbors in small-town Irvington, Virginia. This year the Irvington Stomp festivities surround Labor Day weekend August 30, 2008. In addition, there will be a two-acre corn maze, farm animals and exhibits, a kite show by the Wings Over Washington Kite Club, face painting, a petting zoo and much more. Food and beverages will be sold, including homemade ice cream from The Local. (1 White Fences Drive Irvington, Virginia 22480. 1(804) 438-5559 or www.irvingtonstomp.com)
Maryland: Annapolis, October Pumpkin Patch (10/04/2008 – 10/25/2008). Families are invited to enjoy a day at the farm this October. There’s a free hayride out to the pumpkin patch to search for the perfect Halloween pumpkin, as well as a petting zoo, freshly harvested apples and Fall produce and seasonal festivities. (Kent Ford Farm, 135 Eastern Lane at the southern end of Kent Point, Stevensville. 1(410) 643-1650 or www.kentfordfarm.com)
New Jersey: Collingswood, Theatre District Festival and Fall Festival (10/25/2008). Collingswood offers families an exciting twist on the Fall festival experience this autumn. Families are invited to come and experience performances by local and regional dance troupes and theatre groups as well as fun games and contests for kids. Other activities include pumpkin carving, scarecrow making and hayrides and the haunted hayride at night! (1(856) 858-0980, 1(856) 858-9275 or www.collingswood.com/entertainment/theater-district-festival-and-fall-festival)
Pennsylvania: Kennett Square, Marlborough Valley Corn Maze. (09/14/2008-10/28/2008) Eight and a half aces of corn stalks make maze fun. Activities include hay jump, corn box, petting zoo, 20-minute hayride, larger goat walk, corn cannon, and pick your own pumpkin for only 25 cents a pound. Food choices include bar-B-Q, cotton candy, ice cream, hot cider, hot chocolate, coffee, and cold drinks. Families always enjoy the horse drawn hay ride. Bonus points: A flashlight maze and a haunted maze is available. VIP pass includes ice cream, beverage, and no lines. For the brave of heart there is also the Terror Hollow haunted hayride. (Marlborough Valley Corn Maize 1081 Wawaset (Rd 842) Kennett Square Pa 19348. 1(610) 347-1314 or www.mvmaze.com)
Pennsylvania: Landsdale, Merrymead aMAZEing Cornfield. (10/01/2008- 10/30/2008) Visit one of Pennsylvania’s century farms meaning it has been in the same family for more than 100 years. Masters of wholesome family fun, each fall Merrymead presents a five-acre cornfield maze complete with a pumpkin path and a 70-foot cornstalk tunnel. Sip apple cider, enjoy hand-dipped ice cream, paint pumpkins, taste luscious baked goods, pick your own pumpkin, take a hayride, dig in a sand box, ride a wagon train. Bonus points: Take your own flashlight and navigate the maze new Moonlight Maze. (Merrymead Farm 2222 S. Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA 19446 610-584-4410 www.merrymead.com)
Pennsylvania: Media, Pumpkinland and Hay Rides. (09/6/2007 - 11/9/2008) At Linvilla Farm not far from Valley Forge doing and tasting is all part of the fun. Pick your own pumpkins in the fall. Taste just off the vine tomatoes or husk your very own sweet corn. See horses, chickens and pigs; meet costumed characters like Dora, Elmo and Shrek. During September and October each year Pumpkinland remains a popular fall tradition for families with young children. Each weekend enjoy a 15-18 minute hay ride under the moonlight and a cup of cider at the campfire after the hay ride. There will also be live music, pony and train rides, face painting and much, much more! Bonus points: The Farm Market in the octagonal barn is not-to-be-missed for jams, jellies, pies and ice cream sundaes. (Linvilla Farm & Orchard 137 W. Knowlton Rd. Media, PA 19063 610-876-7116 www.linvilla.com)
West Virginia: Martinsburg, 29th Annual Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival (10/16/2008 – 10/29/2008). The Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival celebrates the rich agricultural heritage in Berkeley County, highlighting the role of the apple in the growth of the region. The four-day festival in the scenic eastern panhandle of West Virginia is a wonderful fall celebration with pie-baking contests, a Friday Night in the Park sports breakfast, a parade and more. (Martinsburg, WV 25402. 1(304) 263-5000 or www.msahf.com)
Please tell mom!
We want to expand the list and need your help. If you have a favorite fall festivial or know of an awesome corn maze please "Tell Mom"
and we will add it to the list. Make sure to include the name of the
festival or event and its location on the planet as well as why you
like it or what makes it worth the trip. Our next round up will
inlcude family friendly winter holidays and celebrations. We are
building the list right now and would love to have your feedback. So
just "Tell Mom!".
Information
compiled from our extensive database as of August 2008. Sometimes things change,
so please confirm details before making plans.
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