It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a . . . pumpkin!
Flying pumpkins are just one of the many unique things you can see and do at the Wild West Corn Maze in Hudson (located about 30 minutes northeast of the Denver Metro Area). The annual Fall on the Farm Festival is underway, with attractions to entertain kids of all ages. The Wild West Maze offers both a general admission ticket and an unlimited activities ticket.
The cost of general admission includes:
Play with the Laws of Motion. Kinetics! opens at the Children’s Museum of Denver on October 13, 2012. This new science and engineering exhibit will help kids discover the fundamentals of forces and motion in a life-sized marble run where balls cascade down ramps, roll along tracks, travel through tubes and fly over heads. Learn firsthand that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Price is included with admission. Learn more at www.mychildsmuseum.org.
There are many great fall favorites this weekend!
Oct. 13: Punkin Chunkin involves using large slingshots, catapults, centrifuges, trebuchets and pneumatic air cannons to hurl pumpkins as far as possible. “Chunkers” from near and far make the trek to Aurora to compete in this official World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association event, a dynamite spectator sport. The associated festival offers the usual family activities, plus pumpkin carving demonstrations, a pumpkin patch, scarecrow making and more. Entry to the event and most shows is free; tickets for others are on sale at the gate. Parking costs $5 per vehicle. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arapahoe County Fairgrounds, 25690 E. Quincy Ave., Aurora. Details at auroragov.org/ThingsToDo/Events/PunkinChunkinColorado/index.htm
Oct. 13: The annual Littleton Harvest Festival & Pumpkin Sale re-creates harvest time in 1860s Colorado (rain or shine, pioneers were tough!). The Littleton Museum’s 14-acre site houses 1860s and 1890s farms with costumed interpreters, the city’s original log schoolhouse, working blacksmith shop and ice house. Pumpkins planted on site are for sale. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 6028 S. Gallup St., Littleton; 303-795-3950 or littletongov.org/museum/events/details.asp?ID=4
Scarecrows on parade Oct. 13: Whimsical and cleverly designed scarecrows will be positioned throughout Arvada’s Olde Town for the family-friendly Festival of Scarecrows, where you can cast your vote for the best of the fest. Youngsters can join the Costumed Kids Parade led by Brewster the Giant Green Dinosaur. Each tiny ghost and goblin gets a goodie bag. Dedicated gardeners also enter their largest pumpkins for the nail-biting weigh-in at 1:30 p.m. Winners have exceeded a whopping 200 pounds. 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Olde Town Square, Arvada; 720-898-7400 or arvada.org/arts-and-culture/festival-of-scarecrows/
National Wildlife Refuge Day. Oct. 13: There’s always something to see at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, which many call the Denver area’s hometown wildlife habitat. Additional programs geared to families include nature-oriented arts and crafts, wildlife films on the big screen, hayrides, educational booths and visits by live birds of prey from HawkQuest and Rosie, the Butterfly Pavilion’s friendly tarantula. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 6550 Gateway Road, Commerce City; 303-289-0930 or fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/
-Claire Walter, Laura Daily
Make pumpkins part of your family Halloween traditions.
First, when you buy a pumpkin, consider picking a pumpkin patch that supports a cause. Even better, have your kids help you make this decision. (Boy Scouts, Habitat For Humanity, etc. are some of the pumpkin patch causes I’ve seen.)
Pumpkin Family Night Event:
Obviously young children shouldn’t be using knives to carve a pumpkin. Decorating a pumpkin can be just as fun.
1. Recycled Pumpkin Art: Glean objects from the recycling bin. Use these recyclables to decorate your pumpkin! Attach everything from magazine pictures to plastic bottle lids. Glue works but if you use washable glue, it won’t last long outside.
2. Decorate with Paint or Markers: Paint your pumpkin with a face, patterns, designs, or shapes. Again, don’t use washable paints and markers, the color lasts about 5 minutes.
4. Carve a Jack-O-Lantern
5. Print a pumpkin coloring page to decorate.
6. Document your family night fun and share with us at Mile High Mamas!
Recently awarded the Scholastic Best Book and Reading Blog Award for her playful learning blog, Imagination Soup, Melissa Taylor is a learning junkie, recovering teacher, freelance writer and mom of two who lives in Centennial, CO.
With Mother’s Day behind us, let us turn our attention to the men in our lives. I adore mine. He is a doting husband, attentive father and brilliant businessman. The only weakness I’ve found in him happens to weigh 1,000 pounds* and consumes most of his spare time.
So in honor of him and fathers everywhere:
Top 10: How You Know Your Husband is Obsessed with Growing The Great Pumpkin
10) You sneak up on your husband on the computer and the only lurid sites you have to worry about him viewing are BigPumpkins.com and his pumpkin blog DenverPumpkins.com.
9) While most people are making their pilgrimage to the local garden center with the intention of planting food they can eat, your husband is prepping the soil for his inedible 1,000-pound fruit.
8) During the off-season, your husband has a grow room reminiscent of certain other sketchy growers.
7) a)Your family vacations are planned around The Great Pumpkin and you are banned from taking trips during the two-week pollination period. b) He refuses to join you on a family vacation to visit HIS family because it means too much time away from The Great Pumpkin.
6) Your husband builds hoop houses that contain heaters to shield The Great Pumpkin from the early-season weather.
5) Your husband carries around a digital temperature gauge and even sleeps next to it so he can constantly monitor the temperature in the hoop houses.
4) The only designer item you possess from Italy is his hail netting.
3) You become a widow for the duration of pumpkin season as your husband spends at least an hour a day and many weekends in the patch.
2) Your husband convinces you to invite all your friends to have a Pumpkin Party to commemorate the official vine cutting. And they like it.
1) You discover the most random things, in the most random places. From this in your guest bathroom window….
To your nice dinner plates covered in muck on the floor of your car. And when you confront him?
“Jamie, can you please explain why there were dirt-covered plates in my car?”
“Yeah, because I put dirt-covered plates in your car.”
At least he’s not in denial.
What is the father/husband/significant other in your life obsessed with?
*If you’re just tuning in to this saga, be sure to read Sordid Secrets and the Husbands Who Keep Them.