5 Reasons to Fall for Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival

Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed getting a look at our Fall Bucket List last week. Mandy and I always have so much fun putting those lists together! It also makes us realize how many wonderful places we have been to over the years, and that makes us want to pull out some of our older posts, dust them off, and share them again for all of our new readers who may not have seen them the first time around.

To that end, you may see us publish several “throwback” posts over the next few months as we work on updating info on some of our favorite places and making sure that even old posts see new light.

Meanwhile, since we’re talking about updates, if you’ve been a longtime follower, you might also have wondered where our “Tuesday” post was this week. Well, as much as Mandy and I love getting “out and about” with our little ones, the reality is that 4 of our 5 kiddos are now in school full time (What?! How did that happen?!). Plus they have sports and dance and playdates and birthday parties and all kinds of other activities we have to keep up with that didn’t really exist for us when they were just a bunch of itty bitty toddlers. And that makes it a little tough for us to find the time to scout new outings each and every week!

So for the time being, we are going to cut back to one new post each week (on Thursdays). But we will still be sharing lots of our older (but newly updated) posts via social media (so don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and even Pinterest!). And I am not exaggerating when I say that there are hundreds of them to discover.

Plus we’ll have some very special extra posts that we’ll publish from time to time (so be sure you’re on our email list so you won’t miss those!). We’ve even talked about trying to get our readers to help us out with some new posts about their favorite activities (Interested? Drop us a line at outandaboutmom@gmail.com)! So there will still be plenty of new and new-to-you ideas for family fun 🙂

And hopefully, this will be the start of many exciting changes for us as we continue to evolve our little blog baby to fit in with our growing families. So stay tuned!

To get us started with the new routine, I’m pulling one of my favorite fall activities out of the OAAM vault today. I actually only discovered this destination last year, so most of the information should be pretty fresh. It’s Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival (technically in Cromwell, up the road from the Fair Weather Acres Farm Stand in Rocky Hill). It runs from September 18th (tomorrow!) through October 31st, and it’s a great way to kick off the fall festival season!

Five Reasons to Fall for Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival

(Read my full post from 2014 on Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival HERE.)

#1: One Price Covers All

After four years of writing this blog, we’ve been to a lot of fall fairs and festivals, and I’ll tell you, one thing that always drives me a little batty is the pricing. Sometimes certain activities are included while other things require an additional fee, sometimes you need a bracelet for rides but not for everything else, sometimes certain activities only take cash (and then I never have any!), one time it will be a fee just for the kids, another time adults need to pay too, etc., etc. That’s why I love that for Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival, you pay one flat fee per person and that includes ALL the activities (like the hay ride, the corn maze, the hay maze, the pedal cars, and much more). Everyone in the family gets a bracelet and then you never need to worry about one kid pulling you this way to pay for this and another kid tugging you over there to pay for that. No worrying about how much money you have left to spend or running back to stand in a line to buy more tickets. And you can do the activities over and over without paying another penny! It just makes everything so much more enjoyable.

#2: The Pumpkin Patch

If you so choose, the price of your admission can include a pumpkin from the adorable Fair Weather Acres pumpkin patch. This is actually the only “pumpkin patch” I’ve visited that is an actual pumpkin patch (as in, the pumpkins actually grow there–complete with vines and everything!). Yes, the pumpkins will be cut for you (no one needs to wrestle with those ginormous pumpkin stems!) but the photo ops here are priceless. Not to mention the pumpkins make this adventure a real bargain too. If you consider the going rate for pumpkins these days, it’s almost like getting your admission for half price. So if you love a good deal (and who doesn’t?!), make sure you plan to get your family’s pumpkins while you’re here!

#3: The Corn Grain Pit

Another first for my four years of blogging: an entire pit filled with corn kernels! Oh my, did the kids ever love this feature. There is a huge playscape in the middle and then all around the kiddos are knee-deep in corn! I will say that it’s one of the messier activities. There’s a white powdery substance that will get all over EVERYTHING, plus you’ll probably be picking corn kernels out of pants pockets and sneakers and sweatshirt hoods and possibly your clothes dryer (if you are anything like me) for weeks afterwards, but it will be so worth it to see the look of joy on your little ones’ faces!

#4: Half Price Fridays

We know that all these fall festivals and activities can get expensive, especially when you’ve got little ones that may not be able to last for more than a couple of hours at any given destination (or you just don’t know how many of the activities they will actually be able to participate in). So I love that Fair Weather Acres offers this season-long opportunity to check out their fall festival at a significant discount. Every Friday from 2:00pm to 6:00pm (last ticket sold at 4:30pm), admission is half off for both kids and adults. That’s a nice opportunity for a little post-naptime adventure for your toddler (and kids 2 and under are ALWAYS FREE). And it also makes for a great after school activity with your older kiddos to kick off the weekend!

#5: Food, Glorious Food

Another thing that can be spotty at fall festivals is the food selection. And all this running around in mazes and jumping in grain pits can work up quite an appetite! Sometimes we get somewhere and I’m expecting it to be an all-day activity, but the food available is little more than assorted snacks and sweet treats. It’s hard to stay from morning until afternoon if you can’t get a decent lunch! And really, who wants to worry about trying to pack a lunch cooler to cart around with you all day? Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival has a great selection of food items for sale that will please everyone in your group. Plus they have the snacks and sweet treats too 🙂 Just be aware that it is cash only out there on the festival grounds, so plan accordingly.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this very special activity with your family! I know I hope to make it a new tradition for mine.

What’s your favorite fall festival? We’d love to know the “must go” places for your family too! Leave us a comment below or send an email to outandaboutmom@gmail.com We’re always happy to hear about new places from our fabulous readers 🙂

Mini Momsense:

Fair Weather Acres Fall Festival (2015 Season)

Fair Weather Acres Farm Stand is located at 1146 Cromwell Ave, Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The festival is down the road south (towards Cromwell) about half a mile; entrance on your right.

Please see my original 2014 post for more details.

Be sure to check them out on Facebook for all the latest updates and information!

Hours & Admission:

Deals & Discounts:

Frugal Fridays 
Every Friday is half price admission for both adults and children
THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE SCHOOL GROUPS. THIS IS ONLY FOR THE PUBLIC FROM 2-6

Grandparents Weekend September 19th- September 20st
Grandparents receive 50% off with accompanying child

Military Weekend September 26th- Sept. 27th
Military Personnel with valid ID receive 50% off

• Connecticut Children’s Medical Center – The state’s only free-standing hospital that offers comprehensive, world-class health care to children. Based in Hartford, Connecticut Children’s also provides services at several locations throughout the state.
• The Little Green Tambourine – Located in Canton, CT, this healthy living creative arts studio offers a variety of opportunities for kids to learn and play.
• Mandell JCC – The Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT, welcomes and serves families and individuals of all ages, stages, backgrounds and faiths. Our fitness, wellness and recreation, arts and culture, camp, early childhood education programs, classes, clubs and services are open to all. You Belong Here!

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Want to keep up with things to do with kids in Connecticut?

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