American West Heritage Center will host Fall Festival, Fall Harvest Days in October
October holds many activities for those living in Cache Valley, including the annual Fall Festival, held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 18 and 19, and the Fall Harvest Days, held throughout the entire month. Both events are held at the American West Heritage Center, a museum filled with still-life representations of Cache Valley history, located at 4025 S. Hwy 89-91 in Wellsville.
For USU students staying on campus during fall break and wondering how to fill the long weekend, both happenings are options that give individuals a chance to take part in something out of the norm, said Rebecca Getz, one of the chairs of the events.
“The activities are a little bit different,” Getz said. “During the Fall Harvest Days, which run through the whole month of October, we have our history museum, a seven-acre corn maze, hay jump, spiderweb rope climb,kids straw maze, gourd launcher, giant slide, blackout maze, tomahawk throwing, BB gun range, pony rides, train rides and wagon rides. On Friday and Saturday nights starting at 7:30, we have our Haunted Hollow as well.”
The Fall Harvest Days celebrations also include apple pressing and corn husking, gunfighter competitions and demonstrations, tug-of-war tournaments and many other activities, Getz said.
The main focus of the October events have always been to demonstrate how the harvest was conducted historically and showcase the different tools and events that went along with it, Getz said.
“It was not practical to have the festival for the whole month, so it adapted to having the corn maze and activities through the month and the festival on a weekend,” Getz said. “I love the old historic tools they had to use to bring in the harvest. My very favorite is the horse-drawn equipment and the teams of horses. The ingenuity of our ancestors is really quite amazing.”
The events are very affordable and great for those USU students who are looking for date ideas, Getz said. The activities can be both educational and entertaining, especially for USU students who want to learn more about Cache Valley history.
“For the corn maze, it’s only $10,” Getz said. “That’s cheaper than movie tickets, and you get to do a lot of fun stuff. Going through the Haunted Hollow will make your sweetheart stay as close to you as possible. The Fall Harvest Festival showcases Cache Valley Heritage.”
Admission to Fall Harvest Days is $6 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-11. Discounts are also available for seniors, students and those in the military. Haunted Hollow and corn maze admission is $10 for adults and $9 for children. Combo tickets for the Fall Harvest Festival – granting patrons access to the festival, corn maze and the Haunted Hollow – are $8 for adults and $7 for children.