Listen Here
By Kelsey Baughman
baughmank@findlay.edu
Chilly weather and pumpkin décor outside of shops and homes can only mean one thing. Fall is here, Halloween is near, and you deserve some Autumn cheer! Although COVID-19 has affected many activities for Fall 2020, there are many fall attractions and events that are open and filled with the spooky, fall fun your heart desires around Findlay.
First, rather than a large, one day event, Oktoberfest Findlay is still on with a whole week of celebrations from Sept. 18 to Sept. 26. Sarah Sisser, Executive Director of the Hancock Historical Museum, commented that when planning Oktoberfest Findlay 2020, it was a lengthy process and involved some tough decisions.
“Oktoberfest Findlay is the largest single day event within Findlay, OH that generates a large amount of people including 6,000 people who attended the celebration last year.” Sisser said. “When planning for Oktoberfest 2020, we started the planning process after Oktoberfest 2019. Some months we thought that there was a possibility to host a large Oktoberfest event, but ultimately, in July, we decided to host Oktoberfest 2020 with some restrictions.”
These restrictions may be viewed more as benefits considering that the week-long Oktoberfest celebration will be provided through local businesses in Findlay. Some of these businesses include Findlay Brewing Company, Painter’s Pottery, and Alexandria’s. At the Findlay Brewing Company, you can find Oktoberfest beer served from its taproom, buy it in cans, and enjoy some German-inspired meals such as a sausage and kraut platter. When you step into the Painter’s Pottery, you can paint your own beer sign or on Sept. 26, you can enjoy an Oktoberfest Party at Alexandria’s.
“In this way, local businesses will experience revenue with Oktoberfest, while proceeds from Oktoberfest will be brought to the Hancock Historical Museum,” Sisser said.
To add to the fun, Sisser explained that the Hancock Historical Museum will have three food truck offerings throughout Oktoberfest. Although Manny’s Munchies Food Truck with its pretzel calzones already visited on Sept. 18, Saum’s Bratty Wagon will be at the museum on Sept. 24 while the Sausage Haus will arrive on Sept. 26. For more information about Oktoberfest events and how you can celebrate for the week, please visit Oktoberfest Findlay.
If you’re looking to find the perfect pumpkin to carve or enjoy a corn maze, look no further than the Homestead Fall Farm. Terri Price, co-owner of the Homestead Fall Farm with her husband, Al Price, has made numerous preparations with COVID-19 and the opening of the Homestead Fall Farm.
“We are going to have hand sanitizer at each station, hand washing stations with soap near our portable restrooms, and you are required to wear a mask unless you are able to social distance,” Price said.
The Farm also has other features in guidance with COVID-19 such as having a one- way entrance and exit with the gift shop, the sanitation of various materials like cutters and wagons, sanitation of areas like a boat play area, and sanitary practices with activities such as putt putt with having golf balls laid out rather than in a bucket. Although this process was easy to come up with guidelines and how to prepare the farm with COVID-19, the Prices always kept in mind what was best for customers. As a result, activities that are present at the Homestead Fall Farm include picking pumpkins and sunflowers, browsing the craft shop, playing putt putt, riding a hay ride, exploring the corn maze shaped as a spider, and more. The Homestead Fall Farm is welcome to all ages and presents a beauty that screams fall through its plethora of activities.
“I hope they would enjoy the corn maze and we have also thought that people could walk through a path in the woods if we decide to not do the hayrides this year. On a nice fall day that would be great! It’s something to do that I think people would enjoy and have the chance to win an iPad mini with the corn maze,” Price said.
The Homestead Fall Farm is open from Sept. 19 through Oct. 31 with special hours that can be found on the Homestead Fall Farm Facebook page and is located at 6850 Township Road 258 in Alvada, OH. In addition, the Prices mentioned that if you bring a copy of this article or show the article on your phone, you will receive a dollar off the corn maze.
