Adventures in Autumn: Fall Festivals Near Denver
Posted on 27 Sep 2021
Now that autumn is officially here, the scents of apple spice and pumpkin pie seem to dance on every breeze. The sunny days and cool evenings remind us that “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” Here at Reunion, the colors are changing in every corner of the community — from the Reunion Coffee House to the Rec Center and especially along our miles of scenic trails. Best of all, fall festivals are back after the 2020 Covid hiatus! Read on for a few of our favorite seasonal festivities in Denver that you won’t want to miss — and as always, please be sure to check specific locations/events for current precautions.
Pumpkin Harvest Festival
Oct 1-3
Located just 20 miles from Reunion, Four Mile Park is a historic Denver treasure where “the American West comes to life.” Included in admission are fall-themed games, crafts, and activities for all ages, live demonstrations of blacksmithing and fiber pulling from Angora goats, face painting, tractor rides, a marketplace, live music from Swallow Hill, and an “Instrument Petting Zoo,” where attendees can try different acoustic instruments. For more festive fun, you can purchase additional tickets for ax throwing, s’mores stations, build your own scarecrow, or a “whimsical food experience” with culinary wizard Chef Ian Kleinman of The Inventing Room. He’ll treat guests to exploding whipped cream, Colorado honeycomb candy, and pumpkin & spice space foam. Space is limited for these extras so be sure to get your ticket ASAP!
Fall Festival at Anderson Farms
Schedule for dates, times, and tickets
Colorado favorite Anderson Farms once again invites you to enjoy their pumpkin patch, combine slide, tower mountain, corn maze, pumpkin cannon, wagon ride, jump pads, barrel train, Fort A-Lot-A Fun, pedal karts, and — of course — farm animals in the Kiddie Korral. Additional activities are being added, but in past years these have included gem mining, face paint and henna, 5-Minute Escape Rooms, and the Ducktona Half Pipe Duck Races. For after-dark fun, Zombie Paintball Hunt and Terror in the Corn are back too.
Wild Fall at the Denver Zoo
Every Day in October
Included with Admission
The Zoo is touting its October offering as a family-friendly “Falloween,” making it the ideal activity for your whole household! With costumes and characters, special menu items, carved pumpkin decorations, and special animal demonstrations, zookeepers will help visitors of all ages connect these supernatural beings to the natural world. When you’re finished, bring your creation back to your Reunion home for a festive front porch display.
Cider Days
October 2 & 3
Heritage Lakewood Park
October might be biased toward all things pumpkin, but Lakewood’s 45th Cider Days Festival is located just minutes from our community and reminds us of the city’s agricultural heritage as well as that perfect fall fruit — the apple. All things apple surround the other events during this two-day celebration, located just minutes from the community, apple pressing, apple cider, and apple baking contests plus historic demonstrations, tractor pulls, vintage power displays, wagon, and barrel rides.
Fletcher Plaza Fall Festival
October 23 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
The very first Fletcher Plaza Fall Festival on October 23 will present a family-friendly Día de los Muertos twist in the plaza just outside Martin Luther King Jr. Library. Vendors, food options, activities for kids and families, music, and fun are still being announced — keep an eye on the website for more specifics as the date draws near.
Broadway Halloween Parade
October 23 at 6:00 pm
The fourth annual Broadway Halloween Parade is back! This family-friendly event takes place along the eclectic and funky stretch of South Broadway in Denver. Show off your favorite costumes, then wear them again the next day for our annual Trunk-or-Treat! As the parade travels down Broadway from 5th Ave. to Alameda, all attendees march in the street for the close of this Halloween celebration.
Denver Ghost Tour
Finally, to get you in the spirit — dare we say spirits? — of Halloween, check out all three versions of the Denver Ghost Tour: a pub crawl, an all-ages haunted walk, or the unique-to-Denver haunted food tour. Although this operation originally started in Washington D.C., the company has called Denver home since 2014. With well-researched historical accounts and tour guides in period-accurate attire, see Larimer Square, Market Street, Union Station, or South Broadway through new eyes — as long as you’re not too scared to keep them open.
Colorado absolutely glows in the autumn sunshine. Go out to explore and enjoy! When you or your little pumpkins get tired, you have a beautiful and cozy home waiting for you here at Reunion. Not yet part of our community? Call us for more information!
