It is Time for Some Fall Fun by John Dersham

Here in DeKalb County Fall is a favorite time of the year for many tourists visiting our area. Many people come here for our fall foliage from the Gulf Coast and from the Coastal Plains where they are not as fortunate as we when it comes to fall color. Beginning now through Thanksgiving we will have many tourists spending time with us to enjoy our beautiful scenery and rich color.
There is a lot for our tourists to enjoy hare and equally as much for our local residents.
This weekend is our annual Colorfest in Mentone. This will be the biggest and greatest Colorfest in many years, as planners have really ramped up to provide the best artists, music, food and activities. There are more events than ever. It all starts on Friday evening and runs through Sunday at 5:00 pm. Leah Seawright with legendary former Alabama drummer Mark Herndon will perform Saturday night. For more information about this event you can contact DeKalb Tourism at 256-845-3957. In addition we have a brochure you can pick up at our information center at 1503 Glenn Blvd S.W in Fort Payne. This year’s Colorfest is a joint effort of MAPA (Mentone Area Preservation Assoc) and MAAC (Mentone Area Arts Council). Come out and enjoy fall at Colorfest.
For those of you who love family activities that revolve around the fall season we have two great places in DeKalb County for you to take your family this season. One is on Lookout Mountain at Dogtown and the other is on Sand Mountain in Rainsville.
Awe Shucks in Dogtown has opened its door for its first year. They are located on the Lookout Mountain Parkway (Dogtown Rd.). This Saturday Awe Shucks is having a craft fair starting at 10am, with several different venders, so come out and get some gifts, take a hay ride to get a pumpkin, see if you can find all the check points in the corn maze (Each check point has a different reward from local businesses) and have some fun with the family. Awe Shucks offers a beautiful pick your own pumpkin patch and a cornmaze. They offer the following fun things to do; 4.6 acre corn- maze, a country store, pumpkin painting, kid’s corner with games and a fun little train to drive the kids around. They also offer fire pits for rent and Smore kits for sale. Check Awe Shucks Facebook page to find hours of operation and upcoming events. For more information call 256-996-4657.
On Sand Mountain we have Down on the Farm. This is a wonderful place to take your school or church classes. Down on the Farm is another wonderful place to spend the day with your family. It offers pumpkin picking, a corn maze, hay rides, pumpkin painting, a goat walk, kids play area and a cow train. There is a snack bar and petting zoo. There are many other things to do here too. For more information about times, events, pricing and other activities visit www.downonthefarminal.com or call 256-638-6200.
I highly recommend that you take your kids or grandkids to either one of these great and fun places this fall. You will be pleased and the kids will have a great time.