Fun in November in Northeastern Alabama

Fun in November in Northeastern Alabama Fort Payne, Ala. (October 27, 2016) – November is an inviting time to visit northeastern Alabama. Autumn’s colorful foliage, cooler temperatures and two free festivals set the stage for an exciting getaway for families. The annual Canyon Fest, set for the first Saturday in November, celebrates one of the state’s most popular attractions, Little River Canyon, and the Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot, which follows on the second Saturday, features a variety of family-friendly activities and its wildly popular turkey toss. Art, science, nature and music come together Saturday, November 5, 2016, in celebration of the natural wonder of the Little River Canyon. Now in its eighth year, Canyon Fest offers a day of live music, nature, art activities, and fun for the entire family. Dozens of artists and exhibitors will be on hand offering demonstrations and selling their work. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all activities are held at the Little River Canyon Center located at 4322 Little River Trail NE (472 Alabama Highway 35) in Fort Payne. There is no admission fee, but donations supporting the Little River Canyon Center will be accepted. For more information on Little River Canyon, visit www.nps.gov/liri.  The Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot is set for Saturday, November 12, 2016. The family-friendly event features live music, arts and crafts, a chili cook-off, a Moon Pie eating contest, petting zoo, carnival games, inflatables, pony rides and other activities for kids, and what makes this event truly unique is the turkey toss from the roof of a building in downtown Collinsville. Live music gets underway at 9 a.m. and scheduled to perform are Still Kickin’, Logan Graves, Rattlesnake Rattlers, Marc Womack, and The Underwoods. New for this year’s event is the Turkey Trot 5K Challenge and Fun Run using beautiful Halls Gap as the route. Prizes will be awarded to the overall top three finishers and top three finishers in each age group and gender and will be presented inside of the Historic Cricket Theatre on Main Street. On-site registration and check-in will begin at 7 a.m. outside of the Collinsville Public Library. The Turkey Trot 5K Challenge will start at 9 a.m. and the Fun Run follows shortly thereafter. Turkey Trot began in 1912 as a promotional scheme for the Oliver Hall Company, a large general store located in Collinsville. The highly advertised event brought people from the surrounding area to Collinsville where turkeys, guineas and chickens were released from a scaffold built on top of the Hall’s store. The waiting crowd scrambled to catch a bird that would end up on their Thanksgiving dinner table. The Birmingham News reported as many as 10,000 crowded the streets for the exciting day that included bargains in all businesses as well as the Oliver Hall Company. Today, turkeys are still released from the roof of a building to a waiting crowd but the turkeys tossed are Beanie Baby turkeys that the lucky person can trade in for a frozen bird. In addition to attracting visitors to Collinsville for a day of fun, the event has become a major fundraising activity for the restoration of the Cricket Theatre. Sponsored in part by the Collinsville Historic Association, the Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot’s hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and admission is free. All activities are held in and around historic downtown Collinsville. For more information on Canyon Fest and Turkey Trot or on additional things to do in northeastern Alabama, contact DeKalb Tourism at 888.805.4740 or visit www.DiscoverLookoutMountain.com.