There's something about early autumn that begs for an outdoor festival.
The days grow shorter, and the air gets frostier. Yet we're loath to begin our seasonal retreat indoors. We need an excuse to stay outside, to pretend that summer really isn't over.
Fall festivals give us a great excuse. With so many scheduled across the state this month, we can spend weekend after weekend out of doors. From Marriottsville to Jarrettsville, from Darlington to Derwood, Maryland is welcoming autumn with open arms.
Feel the gentle scratch of straw as you stuff a scarecrow. Savor the sweet-spiciness in the air as you watch apple butter boil. Listen to the dulcet sounds of musicians as you peruse crafts booths and flea-market tables. Show your kids time-honored arts like blacksmithing, spinning and chair-caning. Watch as they gleefully pick a pumpkin from a seemingly endless patch.
Following is a sampling of festivals around the state.
Oct. 7
Apple Butter Festival and Autumn Craft Fair. Cedar Grove Church, 2015 Mount Carmel Road (Route 137), Hereford. Old-time apple-butter boil, crafts, soup, ice cream and baked goods. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Call 410-374-6255.
Darlington Apple Festival. Shuresville Road and Route 161, 15 miles north of Bel Air. Apples, pumpkins and mums galore, children's entertainment, petting zoo, crafts, farmers' market, hayrides, pony rides, apple-pie contest. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Nominal fee for pony rides and hayrides. Call 410-457-4189.
Fall Festival. Also Oct. 8. Children's Museum at Rose Hill Manor Park and adjacent Frederick County Farm Museum, 1611 N. Market St., Frederick. Traditional arts, including soap-making, blacksmithing, broom-making and spinning, hayrides, animals, old-fashioned pork-butchering and meat sale Oct. 7, tractor pull Oct. 7, cake auction Oct. 8, games and crafts for kids including pumpkin-painting, candle-dipping and rag-doll making, museum tours and food. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 7. Noon-4 p.m. Oct. 8. $1 per car; hayrides and children's crafts for nominal fee. Call 301-694-1650.
Fall Festival. Also Oct. 8, 14-15, 21-22. Homestead Gardens, 743 W. Central Ave., Davidsonville. Llama barn, straw maze, hayrides, pumpkin-painting, pony rides, beekeeping demonstrations, live music, landscape displays, floral demonstrations, mums, other fall plants and food. Falconer, noon-3 p.m. Oct. 8. Storytelling Oct. 8, 15. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. all days. Free. Nominal fee for hayride and some other activities. Bring two nonperishable food items for free hayride. Call 410-798-5000.
