With lots to do on Saturday!
- On Saturday October 22 from 10 am until noon the Cross Mills Public Library is hosting Dave Marchetti to provide an amazing hands-on experience with small animals and reptiles.
- Also on Saturday from 10 am until noon The Charlestown Land Trust is offering a free Magical Bus Tour to visit several open space properties. Light snacks will be provided and the bus will depart from the Kettle Pond Visitors Center, 50 Bend Road. You can reserve a seat by email to: clt@charlestownlandtrust.org.
- Continuing our Saturday event extravaganza, The Worm Ladies will be holding their autumn open house from 10 am until 2 pm at 161 East Beach Road. The program will teach visitors how to harvest worms and prepare outdoor worm bins for winter. Beginners will also learn how to get started with worm composting as a method of generating garden fertilizer from household waste.
- And the Kenyon Grist Mill in Usquepaug will be hosting the Harvest-time Johnny Cake Festival this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am until 5 pm with over 75 vendors with booths to browse and food to sample. Check out the detailed schedule of events at the website. Note that parking is not available in Usquepaug and free shuttle bus service is provided from the Washington County Fairground on Route 112.
- On Sunday October 23 you can help our Cross Mills Public Library with their grounds cleanup from 9 am until 11:30. BYOR (bring your own rake) for a fun time with other volunteers.
- There is one session left in the digital photography class, on Tuesday through October 25 at 6:30 pm in the Cross Mills Public Library. This is presented by the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association and taught by WPWA member and volunteer, Tom Tetzner. The class is free but class size is limited so registration for each session is recommended.
- On Friday October 28 from 9 am until 4:30 pm the Charlestown Town Hall staff will be holding their Halloween Happening, the free annual trick-or-treat event, at the Town Hall. Children may wear their Halloween costumes and will be given trick or treat bags with lots of goodies. Lots of fun to be had. Children can visit participating offices at Town Hall for trick or treats.
- Later that day, from 6 pm until 7:30, the Cross Mills Public Library will be hosting a free party for children ages 9 to 13 with door prizes, pizza and snacks. Costumes are optional. Please pre-register at the library desk or email Nancy@crossmills.org
- On Saturday October 29 from 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm you can join a Halloween Nature Walk in the Francis C. Carter Preserve. Attendees will examine two small historic cemeteries tucked in the woods and look for blooming witch hazel – a tall woodland shrub with supernatural powers! Meet at the parking lot near 360 Old Mill Road.
Linda Felaco has also published a list of ongoing fall festivals here, including:
- Carpenter's Farm on Matunuck Beach Road has a pumpkin patch, hayrides, and a corn maze.
- The Fall Festival at Clark Farms on Route 1 in Matunuck is in full swing. Activities include a corn maze, hop dots, straw maze, straw jump, mountain slide, pumpkin patch, pedal go karts, Flashlight Nights, bonfires, and a haunted hayride.
- Farther up Route 1 in Wakefield, Highland Farm's "Trails to Terror" is in its 15th season of thrills and chills. Events include "Delamorte's Haunted Hayride" and the 15-acre "Forest of Fear" walkthru. Warning: May be too intense for very young children. I suggest viewing the video first before deciding whether to attend.
- Festival Farm in Hope Valley has pumpkins, tractor-pulled hayrides, a farm market, gift shop, snacks and refreshment stand, and a petting zoo.
- The Foster Farm of Ashaway has a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and flashlight mazes after dark.
That is quite a list of activities to choose from!
As usual, links are provided in this article and we have more information and more events in our Events Calendar.