What To Do: Friends Fall Fest, WC Chili Cookoff

Mid-Oct. weekends are full of fun and local activities

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Locally, fall festivals are usually festive events that celebrate topics such as pumpkins, bountiful harvests, apples and autumn foliage. This weekend, there are two long-running festivals that have become area traditions — the Friends Fall Festival at the Downingtown Friends Meeting and the Hay Creek Apple Festival at Historic Joanna Furnace.

One of the most relaxed autumn events in the area is the annual Friends Fall Festival (Downingtown Friends Meeting, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Downingtown, 610-269-4223,www.downingtownfriendsmeeting.org) which is scheduled for October 11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

As one of the largest fall festivals in the region, the Friends Fall Festival has been offering families a day of wholesome fun and value for more than 30 years. A special supervised area includes children’s crafts and games. There’s also a hay wagon ride and exceptional face painting for both kids and adults.

Some of the free festival’s many attractions are plant, craft and white elephant sales, the Friends Mercantile with the sale of books, housewares, jewelry and children’s toys and the Quaker Heritage Exhibit, which features antique Quaker clothing and memorabilia.

At 2 p.m. there will be a re-enactment of the first wedding held in the Meeting House in 1806. Visitors can attend the wedding inside the Meeting House and have photographs taken with the bride and groom and wedding party — all of whom will be dressed in authentically reproduced early 19th-century Quaker garb.

The festival, which also offers free parking, will feature live folk and rock music along with demonstrations and community exhibits. There will also be a variety of tasty food items available for purchase.

The Wooden Ladle will offer homemade vegetarian chili, hearty vegetable soup, juicy grilled hot dogs, funnel cake and hot apple cider, coffee, or cold drinks. The Friendly Cafe, which is an indoor venue, features homemade pastries, pumpkin and apple pies, specialty teas, cakes and coffee.

The Hay Creek Apple Festival (Historic Joanna Furnace, Route 10, Morgantown, 610-286-0388, www.haycreek.org), which also has been around for more than 30 years, is scheduled for October 11 and 12. It is a celebration of autumn and especially autumn’s favorite fruit — the apple — with a long list of special activities and an amazing variety of taste treats featuring apples.

There will be more than 2,000 apple dumplings and over 800 apple pies ready for consumption this weekend at the festival. Also featured will be a variety of other treats such as fresh-pressed apple cider, apple waffles, apple crisp, Schnitz Un Knepp, apple fritters and the famous Hay Creek Apple Butter.

The festival will also offer a wide array of family fun starting with the belly-filling “All-You-Can Eat Apple Pancake Breakfast” from 7-11 a.m. Other family activities will be hayrides, scarecrow building, mini-tractor rides, pumpkin painting, Early American games, pony rides, an “Apple Dessert Contest”, basket weaving, Early American craft demonstrations and rides on the “Apple Barrel Express.”

The event, which runs from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday, will also feature a flea market with over 100 stands. Visitors can shop for crafts, flowers, fall items, antiques and other items related to Berks County history.

Has there ever been a time when didn’t look skyward when you heard the sound of a helicopter flying above you?

Probably not.

Seeing airline jets in the sky is no big thing but it’s a different story with stealth jets, blimps, hot air balloons and helicopters. The visual attraction makes you look up. One of the four stands apart. If it’s a helicopter above you, you get the visuals along with an intense audio soundtrack.

This weekend, helicopters will be celebrated when the American Helicopter Museum (1220 American Blvd., West Chester, 610-436-9600, www.helicoptermuseum.org) hosts its annual RotorFest Helicopter Air Show. This year, the museum’s 18th annual all-helicopter event will be held on October 11 and 12 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each day.

The event, which is billed as “the most spectacular and exciting civilian helicopter air show on the East Coast,” is exciting –and loud. Activities will take place outside on the museum’s grounds, inside the museum and in the air above the museum.

There will be three air shows each day. The noon shows will feature the Bell 206, the UH-1 Huey, R44, R22 and a parachute jump by the Army Golden Knights.

The 1:30 p.m. shows feature the Bell 47 Batcopter, Chopper 10, Autogiro, U.S. Coast Guard MH-65D, DauphinSAR Demo, Sky Soldiers Cobra, R22 and R44. The final shows at 3 p.m. each day feature the Sky Soldiers Vietnam Rescue Re-enactment and The Army Golden Knights Complete Show.

There will be Q-and-A sessions each day with pilots who flew helicopters — retired Naval Aviator Marc Liebman at 10:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. and H-46 pilot Bob Chapleski and HH-20 pilot Jim Palmquist at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Visitors to RotorFest will be able to take rides in a helicopter ($40 per person) and check out a ground display of civilian and military helicopters. Also featured at this weekend’s event will be computer and ride simulators and a variety of food concessions.

Another special guest will be Batman, who will be bringing along his Batmobile, Batcycle and Batcopter. Tickets for RotorFest are $15 for adults and $10 for children (under 12).

Another special event will take place at the Museum on October 10 — “Hops and Helicopters.” The get-together, which runs from 5:30-9:30 p.m. features tastings of wine and craft beers along with previews of RotorFest’s aircraft.

If you’re driving through California’s Santa Clara Valley and you’re hit with the overwhelming smell of garlic, you know you’re approaching the city of Gilroy.

If you’re motoring along in the middle of Michigan and the aroma of mint fills your nostrils, you know you’re approaching the city of St. John.

If you’re heading south from Augusta, Georgia and all you can smell is the scent of sweet Granex onions, you know you’re approaching the city of Vidalia.

And, if you’re driving around Chester County on October 12 and your olfactory receptors are assaulted by the smell of spicy chili being cooked, you know you’re approaching West Chester.

This Sunday, West Chester will be the site of a special event to determine who can make “The Best Darn Chili in Chester County!” — the site of the West Chester Rotary’s 12th Annual Chili Cookoff (Gay and High streets, Downtown West Chester, www.westchesterchilicookoff.com). All-you-can-eat wristbands are just $10.

More than 70 “Chili Teams” will be competing for the top prize in the following divisions — “People’s Choice,” “Business,” “Restaurant,” “Non-Profit” and “Hometown/Volunteer Cook.” Each team will prepare its best chili and submit a sample to a panel of local “celebrity” judges who name Best Chili in each category. Last year’s “People’s Choice” winner was called “Badboy Nonchalante Chili.”

The family-oriented event, which runs from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., will also feature a “Just 4 Kids” area on East Gay Street (with kids’ bounces, slides and other games), a variety of crafters who will be selling their goods, live entertainment and an array of food vendors.

A nice way to spend a crisp, cool autumn afternoon could be sipping crisp, cool wines in a comfortable outdoor setting and you have two options to do this over the weekend.

On October 12, more than 1,500 wine lovers will gather to help wage war against cancer at the 23rd Annual Dilworthtown Inn Wine Festival (Dilworthtown Inn, 1390 Old Wilmingtown Pike, West Chester, 610-431-5329, http://www.chestercountyhospital.org/cchfdn.asp?p=1210). The event kicks off at noon and runs until 4 p.m. — rain or shine.

The festival features more than 100 wines, craft beers, hard cider along with delicious food prepared by Dilworthtown Inn chefs. There will also be a “Silent Auction,” shopping opportunities in the Gallery of Artisan Vendors, live music and a Performance Car Show.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door. The Dilworthtown Inn, and the Brandywine and Greystone branches of The Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital jointly organize this event. Proceeds from the wine festival benefit patients of The Cancer Program of Chester County Hospital and Neighborhood Health.

On October 11, the Fifth Annual Fall Wine Festival (Skippack Pike, Skippack, 610- 584-1155,http://winetober.com) will be held Saturday from 1-6 p.m. along the main street of the scenic village near the Skippack Creek in Montgomery County.

The event, which is also known as Winetober Fest will feature vendors with a tasty array of wine and food samples along with live music. Tickets for the event, which include food and wine sampling, are $25.

Two of Chester County’s most popular wineries will be participating in Saturday’s event — Paradocx Winery and Chadds Ford Winery. And, there will even be a meadery — Stonekemp Meadery from Birdsboro.

The list of participating wineries also includes Allegro Winery, Bee Kind Winery, Peace Valley Winery, Franklin Hill Vineyards, Karamoor Estate, Crossing Vineyards – Village Wine Cellar, Benignas Creek Vineyard and Winery, M M Micro Winery, Buddy Boy Winery, Juniata Valley Winery, Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars and Kog Hill Winery.

Some of the featured food stations will be Farm Fromage, Pittsburgh-Style Roast Beef, Over the Top Bake Shop, Copper Partridge, Bespoke Bacon and Passanante’s Home Food Services.

Participants can bring a donation and get a free gift from Winetober Fest. Everyone is encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy or food item to the festival. The beneficiary is the charity organization Manna on Main Street.

From noon-5 p.m. on October 11, Paradocx Vineyard (1833 Flint Hill Road, Landenberg, 610-444-9003, www.paradocx.com), will host its Sixth Annual Community Day — a free event designed to bring people from the area together. Everyone is invited to visit the winery, sample the goods of local food purveyors and check out the work of local artisans.

One of the featured guests will be local artist Karen O’lone-Hann. Some of the participating food vendors will be Farm Fromage, Neuchatel Chocolate, Mojo Popcorn and BVHoney. Additionally, the Whirly Pig Food Truck will be selling food from noon-5 p.m.

Sproutfest, which will be held this weekend, works on so many levels — and they are all good.

On October 12 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Finding Shelter Animal Rescue and Upper Merion Township Department of Parks and Recreation (Upper Merion Township Building, 175 West Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, 610-272-2293, www.findingshelter.org)will join forces to present Sproutfest 2014.

Sproutfest, which is a free event, will feature children’s activities, food and drink vendors, live music and raffle prizes. It will also bring together a number of animal rescue organizations to encourage adoptions and to educate the public about the plight of abandoned animals.

Finding Shelter Animal Rescue began on January 1, 2010 as a no-kill rescue for dogs and cats. Finding Shelter was inspired by Sprout, a blind Chihuahua who was abandoned on the side of the road in November, 2009.

Sprout was sick and afraid and was expected to live only two, short weeks. He had quite a bit of fight in him for such a small guy, but on February 1, 2012, Sprout lost his battle with hydrocephalus. Finding Shelter Animal Rescue will continue to honor and celebrate his life through this event.

It won’t be until the end of the month when Halloween arrives that ghosts, goblins and other spirits will be swarming around but you can’t get up close and personal with entities from the beyond on October 10 at Fort Mifflin (Fort Mifflin, Fort Mifflin and Hog Island roads, Philadelphia, 215-685-4167, http://fortmifflin.us).

“Paranormal Friday at Fort Mifflin,” which runs from 7 p.m. until midnight, will introduce novice ghost hunters to the long history of hauntings at Fort Mifflin with a guided “Ghost Tour” and a workshop highlighting the technology and equipment used in paranormal research.

Participants will be able to take part in small group investigation of five “hot spots” with experienced paranormal researchers using all the latest technology. The event, which costs $45, takes place “rain or moonlight” so visitors are advised to dress appropriately.

Anyone familiar with the history of the world is well aware that there was no Medieval activity happening in the Delaware Valley back during the Middle Ages (1066-1485 A.D.). So, it may seem a little odd that the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation (Ridley Creek State Park, Media, 610-566-1725, www.colonialplantation.org) hosts an annual event called “Medieval Days.”

Hey, it might not be historically correct but it’s still a lot of fun.

On October 11 and 12, the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation is inviting visitors to “come see what life was really like during the Middle Ages in Europe — to see how 500 years of European culture thrived and changed.”

The scenic historic site, which is located in the middle of Ridley Creek State Park, will be host to a variety of encampments that look back at different aspects of medieval life from the Vikings to the age of Columbus. Re-enactors as Romans, Saxons, Normans and Vikings will portray life from this era of western civilization.

According to the Plantation’s website, visitors to the event will be able to witness the changes that technology made by the late Middle Ages by viewing Irish encampments and the 15^th-century War of the Roses.

Historical re-enactments will be presented by War of the Roses Camp, LEGION XXIV, Lord Grey’s Retinue, La Belle Compagnie, Medieval Irish and Markland Medieval Mercenaries.

The event runs on Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (with last entry at 4 p.m.) and on Sunday from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (with last admission at 3 p.m.). Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children (ages 4-12).

With the end of the month — and All Hallows Day — just three weeks away, Halloween activities are starting to fill up the area events calendar faster than a bingo player on a hot streak. The following is a chronological look at many of these events.

For “Count’s Halloween Spooktacular at Sesame Place” (100 Sesame Place, Langhorne, 215-752-7070, www.sesameplace.com), which is continuing through October 26,  the popular amusement park has been converted into a Halloween-themed safe venue for kids with trick or treating, pumpkin decorating, hayrides and a hay maze. Featured attractions are “Abby Cadabby’s Magical Halloween Maze,” “Rubber Duckie Costume Party,” “The Count’s Un-Haunted Castle Maze” and “The Not-So-Spooky Hayride.”

Admission to the park is $43.

“Halloween Haunt at Dorney Park” (3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown, 610-395-3724,www.dorneypark.com), which runs now through November 1, features scary creatures roaming the park and scarecrows lining line the walkways while frightening activities take place at the following attractions — “Fright Lane Including Skeleton Key,” “Feed Your Fears,” “Chamber of Horrors” and “CarnEvil” along with seven mazes and four “Creepy Scare Zones.” Admission is $35.99.

Corn mazes, hayrides, a pumpkin patch and scarecrows will be featured at Ramsey’s Farm (500 Ramset Road, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-477-1499, http://www.ramseysfarm.com) on weekends now through November 1. The theme for the Corn Maze at Ramsey’s Farm this year is a trip around the world with sections for North America, Europe, South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. Tickets are $7 for the corn maze, $4 for the sorghum maze, $3 for the hay maze, $2 for pumpkin painting and $3 for a hayride.

Another popular corn maze in the area running now through November 1 at Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks (150 Cherry Hill Road, Ronks, 717-687-6843,www.cherrycrestfarm.com). The main attraction is Cherry Crest’s “Amazing Maize Maze.” Billed as “the world’s most dynamic and interactive corn maze,” it is a five-acre corn maze with over two-and-one-half miles of paths, scenic bridges, and clues. Tickets are $15 on Thursday and Fridays and $18 on Saturdays, $18.

“Valley of Terror” (1215 Wawaset Rd., Kennett Square, 484-886-6080,www.valleyofterror.com) will be held now through November 2 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday each weekend and will offer two attractions — “Zombie Safari,” which features a zombie-killing ride in the back of a 40-foot military truck stocked with 22 individual, bolted-down paintball guns, and “Gateway to Hell,” which is an unguided and unlit stroll through scary territory. Admission is $20 for “Gateway to Hell,” $25 for the “Zombie Safari” and $36 for a “Combo Ticket.”

“Haunted Hayride, Bates Motel and Haunted Corn Maze at Arasapha Farm” (1835 N. Middletown Rd., Gradyville, 610-459-0647, www.thebatesmotel.com) will be scaring visitors through November 2.The haunted hayride through the woods features monsters, special effects and actors. The Bates Motel has haunted rooms with special effects and computerized lighting. A haunted trail is cut through a cornfield inhabited by monsters. Admission prices are: Haunted Hayride, $20; Bates Motel, $15; Haunted Corn Maze, $15; combination tickets, $40. There are reduced rates for children.

Pennhurst Asylum (100 Commonwealth Drive, Spring City, 484-866-8964,www.pennhurstasylum.com), which is open through November 2, is on the site of a former mental asylum which has been shuttered for over a quarter of a century. It has been transformed into a haunted attraction with huge sets, detailed rooms and live actors. Visitors can also explore the labyrinth of underground tunnels. Tickets are $16 for “Pennhurst Haunted Attraction”, “Dungeon of Lost Souls” or “Tunnel Terror,” $20 for “Ghost Hunt” and $47 for a four-event combo.

“Hurricane Hill Farm Maze” (Baldwin’s Farm, 704 East Reeceville Road, Coatesville, 610-384-6952, www.hhfmaze.com) will be open Saturdays and Sundays until November 2. This event features miles of trails through a five-acre corn maze along with a corn slide, hayrides, a pumpkin patch and a farm animal display. Tickets are $12 — $10 for seniors (ages 60 and over).

The  “23rd Annual Fright Fest” (Six Flags Great Adventure, Route 537, Jackson, NJ, 732-928-2000, www.sixflags.com), which is running now through November 2, features family-oriented activities during the day and much scarier attractions after dark for teens and adults including “Asylum,” “The Haunted Heist,” “Voodoo Island,” “Total Darkness,” Wasteland,” “Circus Psycho,” “Bone Butcher Terror-tory,” “The Manor,” “The Bloody Fountain” and “Crop Circles.” Tickets are $66.99 for adults and $39.99 for juniors (under 54 inches).

Ghost Tour of Philadelphia (215-413-1997, www.ghosttour.com) and Ghost Tour of Lancaster (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) operate through November and offer an eerily entertaining evening of true ghost stories and real haunted houses. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.

The “29th Annual Jason’s Woods” (99 Stehman Road, Lancaster, 717-872-5768,www.jasonswoods.com), which is running through November 8, is a horror show complex that features a combination of live actors, impressive animation and scary special effects. Popular attractions include “Horrifying Hayride,” “Chamber of Horrors,” “Zombie Apocalypse,” “Lost in Jason’s Woods,” “Carnival of Fear,” “Fields of Fright”and the “The Grand Jason’s Woods Theater.” Admission prices are for combo tickets are $25 for three attractions and $40 for six.

“Terror Behind the Walls” (Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, 888-763-NITE, www.easternstate.org), which continues through November 8, takes place at a site Penitentiary that was once was an active prison and is now a National Historic Landmark. It is a scream-inducing event featuring laser and special-effect lighting, digital sound, sinister scents, animatronic creatures and 3-D illusions. Admission prices, which vary with the date, range from $13-$39.

“Pumpkinland” (Linvilla Orchards, 137 West Knowlton Road, Media, 610-876-7116,www.linvilla.com), which is open through November 9, features fairy tale characters from nursery rhymes along with a huge scarecrow and a really tall storybook. Other activities include train rides, a straw bale maze, hayrides, pick-your-own apples and pony rides. Another attraction, which runs through October 30, is “Hayride to the Witch’s House.” Admission is free and hayrides are $9 per person.

“Field of Screams” (Stone Battery Road, Lancaster, 717-285-7748, www.fieldofscreams.com), which is open now through November 9, features “Den of Darkness” (three-story horror house), “Frightmare Asylum” (walk-through haunted barn), “Nocturnal Wasteland” and the “Haunted Hayride” (a 25-minute fright-filled ride featuring state-of-the-art special effects, pyrotechnics and animatronics). Admission is $33.

“Boo at the Zoo” (Elmwood Park Zoo, 1661 Harding Boulevard, Norristown, 610-277-3825,www.elmwoodparkzoo.org) will take place every Saturday and Sunday from October 11-26 from noon-3 p.m. each day.The family-friendly Halloween event will feature trick-or-treat stations, themed attractions, costume contests, hay bale and corn mazes. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for children with children two and under admitted free. Opening Day (October 11) will also feature “Story Corner” at the Exploration Zone.

“Candlelight Ghost Tours” (Fort Mifflin, Fort Mifflin and Hog Island roads, Philadelphia, 215-685-4167, http://fortmifflin.us) are scheduled for October 17, 18, 24 and 25. Visitors can tour historic (and haunted) Fort Mifflin by candlelight from 7-10 p.m. each night and hear true stories of ghostly encounters. This event is billed as an “authentic experience.” Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students (12 and under).

October 18 is the day for the Upper Main Line YMCA Haunted Mansion and Halloween Festival (Upper Main Line YMCA, 1416 Berwyn-Paoli Rd., Berwyn, 610 854-1604,http://umly.org). The UMLY site will transform its historic 1908 Cassatt Mansion into a haunted house. The Halloween Festival is scheduled to run from 4-8:30 p.m. and October 20 from 3-7:30 p.m. Admission is $10 per family.

October 18 and 25 are the dates for “Ghosts in the Graveyard” (Old Swedes Historical Site, 606 Church Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5629, www.oldswedes.org). From 6:30-9 p.m. each night, visitors will be able to stroll through the complex, meet some of the ghosts who reside in the site’s burial grounds and maybe even solve the mystery of the late night bell ringing at Old Swedes Church. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students (ages 12-17).

The “Great Pumpkin Express Trains” (West Chester Railroad, Market Street Station, West Chester, 610-430-2233, www.westchesterrr.net) are scheduled for October 18, 19, 20, 25 and 26. The “haunted trains” with ghoulish characters leave West Chester’s Market Street Station at noon and 3 p.m. Tickets, which include the train ride, admission to “Spooky Manor” and one pumpkin, are $25 for adults, $23 for children and $14 for toddlers.

“West Chester Halloween Parade” (Market and Church streets, West Chester, 610-436-9010,www.west-chester.com), which is slated for October 22, starts at 7 p.m. on Market Street between Church and Darlington streets and features performances by local high school bands and cheerleading squads. Rain date is October 24 at 7 p.m.

From October 23-25, “The Great Pumpkin Carve” (Chadds Ford Historical Society, Route 100, Chadds Ford, 610-388-7376, www.chaddsfordhistory.org) will have its 2014 run. The annual event will start with the carving competition on October 23. Live entertainment, hayrides and hot food are featured all three days. Admission is $10 for adults (18 and older), $5 for youth (ages 7-17).

The South Street Headhouse District’s Sixth Annual Pumpkin Fall Festival (east end of South St., Philadelphia, 215-413-3713, www.southstreet.com) will be held on October 25 from noon-5 p.m. under the historic Headhouse Shambles located on Second Street between Pine and Lombard streets. The free event will feature a pumpkin decorating activity and live entertainment.

“Boo at the Zoo” (Brandywine Zoo, 1001 N. Park Drive, Wilmington, 302-571-7747,www.brandywinezoo.org) will be held on October 31 and November 1 from 5-7:30 p.m. each night. The popular annual non-scary family event features games, animal enrichment programs, live critters and trick-or-treating. Children (and their grown-ups) are encouraged to wear costumes. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for children.