Category: tourism

A fall festival in Brown County State Park? Yes! Images of vendor booths, local music, apple cider, and pumpkin-flavored donuts filled my mind. After hiking a trail or two to enjoy the near-peak yellow and orange foliage, we’d stop by to enjoy the tastes, smells, and sights of southern Indiana in the fall.

Upon entering the park, we saw no signs directing us to the festival. Uh-oh. Was this the wrong weekend? I double-checked. This was the right day. Where were the lines of people waiting to get in? Where was the parking lot teeming with cars?

I had to ask Google. It was centered at the Nature Center, in the heart of the park. I headed down the road, certain I’d hear and smell it long before I arrived.

The park features a wonderful nature center, featuring displays about county history, what plants and animals to see, and geological formations. A few turtles posed for pictures.

Where were the booths? Where was the food? I didn’t hear any music.

Everything must be around back. I wandered around the path only to encounter a wedding on a back deck. A chilly wedding party was posing for pictures above a scenic overlook.

But no festival.

I headed the other way and discovered a marker board listing fall festival activities. They included a birds of prey presentation at the pavilion, pumpkin carving judging, and an evening flashlight hike and campfire. Twelve pumpkins sat on a table competing for the prize.

That was it.

No food trucks. No music. No vendors. No crafts. No photo spots. No people. Nothing. Just a sign proclaiming “Fall Festival.”

In Florida, we import all the makings of a fall festival. From pumpkins to leaves to apples to cider, it’s all from out of state. I expected to find all that and more in a place where fall happens full force with the onset of shorter days and cooler weather.

I have to admit the park was beautiful and the weather autumnal. Just no hot cider. Or apples. Or hay rides. Boo.