Photo Courtesy of Sugar Grove Nature Center

by Douglas Edwin

On October 18th Sugar Grove Nature Center will be hosting their 10th annual Autumn Celebration.

The event is host to a wide variety of fall activities for people of all ages to enjoy.

“One of the main reasons we started having it was because it was difficult to find places locally where you could go and have some old fashioned fun autumn experiences,” Angela Funk, Director of Sugar Grove Nature Center, said.

After ten years in the community the celebration has become a tradition to many who attend it.

“It’s a very popular program,” Funk said. “We have people that come back every year and we get new people finding out about it all the time.”

The celebration begins at 10am on Saturday the 18th, and goes until 5pm. While many of the activities occur multiple times throughout the day, people are encouraged to come earlier rather than later.

“One the most important things we’ve learned is that visitors should plan to spend the day or at least a good part of the day at the celebration,” Funk said. “If you come too late in the day you won’t have a chance to enjoy everything and see all the different things going on.”

Photo Courtesy of Sugar Grove Nature Center

Throughout the day there will be live music on stage while children participate in such activities as bobbing for apples, pumpkin bowling, and the scarecrow factory.

“The scarecrow factory is always popular with the kids,” Funk said. “They get to pick an outfit for it, stuff it full of straw, make a face for it, give it a name, and then set it out for people to see throughout the rest of the day.”

One of the favorite activities at the celebration is the pumpkin salon. People can first visit the pumpkin patch, choose a pumpkin, then take it to the pumpkin salon where they can decorate it.

“The pumpkin salon is one of the most unique things that we offer,” Funk said. “Instead of your typical carving or painting of pumpkins you can decorate it with all kinds of natural materials we have available.”

Visitors can also go on fall color walks that are scheduled throughout the day where they can enjoy the outdoors and learn about such things as why leaves change color and how to identify different types of leaves.

The Illinois Valley Blacksmiths and Illinois Woodturners will be there demonstrating their skills while historical reenactors demonstrate early American life on the frontier.

Admission for the day is $3 per person and free for children 3 years and under. Some activities have a small fee as well.

Photo Courtesy of Sugar Grove Nature Center

“It’s a wholesome way to spend a day outside enjoying and learning about nature while having fun with some old fashioned autumn activities,” Funk said. “We invite everyone to come out and enjoy themselves.”

The nature center hosts a variety of activities and events throughout the year. On the first Saturday of each month they host a family nature exploration day where families can go on a guided trail hike, make a nature craft, and watch the animals getting fed.

“There’s a lot of different things going on all the time, and of course were open daily throughout the year for people to come stop in,” Funk said.

To learn more about the different events going on at the nature center or to learn more about the Autumn Celebration you can visit their website at http://www.sugargrovenaturecenter.org.