Kenyon’s Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC) hosts its 2019 Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19, from noon to 4 p.m. The event, free and fun for all ages, will be held at the 500-acre nature preserve just down the hill from campus.
The festival will feature numerous activities and concessions including face painting, hayrides, pumpkin decorating with master gardeners from the Ohio State University, a campfire, music from local bands and live animals ranging from llamas to goats. Children’s games and activities from last year have been revamped. New to the festival this year is a mobile archery range, where festivalgoers will have the opportunity to shoot arrows at targets inside a converted tractor-trailer.
Guests can purchase food from Chef Meagan’s Food Truck and warm, seasonal beverages from Wooden Shoe Coffee. Festivalgoers can also make their own drinks with a real apple cider press.
In organizing the event, BFEC Post-Baccalaureate Fellow Mia Fox ’19 wanted to ensure the event will be both fun and eco-friendly. “The missions of the BFEC and Office of Green Initiatives both encourage and emphasize protection of our natural environment,” she said. “We recognize that a fun event like the Fall Harvest Festival has the potential to generate a lot of waste. Because of this, and as with our 2019 Earth Day Festival, this event will be a zero-waste event with the help of Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention.”
Photographs from the 22nd annual Knox County Nature Photography Contest will be on display at the festival, and attendees are invited to vote on their favorite submissions from noon to 2 p.m. The winner of the “people’s choice” vote, along with winners of the children’s, adult and student divisions, will be announced at the festival.
The annual autumnal celebration is a highlight of Kenyon’s Family Weekend events. Over 800 parents, grandparents, siblings and other family members will visit their students in Gambier, taking in a mainstage Bolton Theater production, tackling a Kokosing River Trail 5- or 10-kilometer run, cheering on the Lords and Ladies at various sporting events, and enjoying performances by Kenyon’s symphonic wind ensemble, Fools on the Hill, Kokosingers and other groups. Check out the full schedule of events here.