Each fall, scores of families across the Delaware Valley look forward to the Morris Arboretum’s Fall Festival, a weekend of autumn fun and activity held the first weekend in October. Celebrating its 16th year, the Morris Arboretum will host this year’s annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Arboretum’s glorious landscape provides the perfect backdrop for this lively event.

Colorful trees burst forth with hues of orange and red as families gather to make scarecrows, paint a pumpkin, or taste local apple varieties from Weavers Way Co-op. Fall Festival is a highlight of the Arboretum’s fall calendar with something for everyone. What makes the event so unique is that almost all the activities are geared toward both children and adults, allowing families and friends to spend a wonderful afternoon together. Some Fall Festival activities have an additional fee. Check website for details. at www.morrisarboretum.org.

Among the favorite activities is the scarecrow making. The Arboretum supplies all the materials, including the scarecrow frames, hay and a vast selection of clothing to craft a super scarecrow. This is serious business for many folks who are intent on having the “best-dressed” ‘crow around. Visitors are encouraged to come early for scarecrow-making, as many visitors head right to that area to ensure their pick of the best outfit.

Children also enjoy choosing and creating a pumpkin “masterpiece.” Pumpkins can be purchased and painted in a variety of colors and decorated with glitter, yarn, pompoms and doilies. To add to the festivities, Elmwood Park Zoo will also be on-site both days from 12-3pm with a special “Animal Heroes and Villains” program to coincide with this year’s Scarecrow Design Contest theme. Come see how animals help bring learning to life.

Weavers Way Co-op will be joining the Fall Festival fun once again, with a selection of organic, locally-grown produce and other Co-op products. Visitors can delight in sampling the various apple varieties and choosing an assortment to take home.

Kid favorite, the ColonialLUG® (Legos User Group) will be returning this year on both Saturday and Sunday, 12 -3pm to facilitate the building of a large Lego® reproduction of Morris the Merrie Little Owl.

Under the direction of ColonialLUG ® members, children will assemble bricks to contribute a piece of the owl. Stick around and watch the owl grow to “hoot” at all the builders! At the end of the day Saturday, the owl will be disassembled for a fresh start on Sunday.

For the seventh year and more popular than ever – October also features the Morris Arboretum Scarecrow Walk! From Saturday, October 4 through Sunday October 19 entries from the Scarecrow Design Contest will be on display along the Oak Alleé. Visitors may submit their vote for their favorite “Heroes and Villains” scarecrow, this year’s theme, to determine the prize winners.

To experience fall color in the Philadelphia area, there is truly no better place to see beautiful autumn trees than at the Morris Arboretum. The Arboretum is home to some of the area’s oldest and largest trees, as well as many trees known for their particularly superb color - including red and sugar maples, scarlet oaks, and black gums. For a bird’s eye view of the trees and the changing colors of the leaves, stroll out on the Out on a Limb canopy walk, the 450-foot-long walkway that is 50 feet off the ground, and the star attraction of the Arboretum-wide Tree Adventure exhibit.