If you are a Halloween lover, the possibilities of what to do are virtually endless in Southern Oregon. From haunted houses, corn mazes, and pumpkin patches, to parades, safe trick or treating and parties it seems that every town has something going on for the kids and adults! Every year we partake in at least one or two celebrations in addition to our annual trick-or-treating excursion.
Jacksonville is a cute little historical town that we are lucky enough to have as neighbors and every year they have their Halloween Promenade. It's a great way for the kids to show off their costumes in the light of the day and kickoff the day of Halloween by visiting participating merchants in downtown Jacksonville! Just look for the special decoration below to identify which businesses to go to.
The whole town gets into the "spirit" of things.
What's really nice is that it is early in the day so we can see everyone's costumes and we get such a great feeling of community, often running into other people we know. The kids love to show-off their costumes, take pictures and trade candy.
Ilias and his buddy Carson ran into each other.
It only takes about an hour to get through all of downtown so after trick-or-treating we usually enjoy lunch at one of the local spots like Bella Union or Mustard Seed Cafe; and then head out to one of the closer pumpkin patches like White's Country Farm who also has a Harvest Festival. Or another idea, drop into one of the close by wineries like Caprice Vineyards where the adults can wine taste and the kids can visit the alpacas or Dancin Vineyards where they serve wood-fired pizza and beautiful views. Both vineyards are very kid-friendly and our kids always love the feeling of enjoying something "adult" as a treat!
If you want to go to the Jacksonville Halloween Promenade it will be Saturday, October 29th, Noon-2pm!
Some other great celebrations: Ashland's Children's Halloween Celebration, Monday, October 31st - Grants Pass Halloween Festival, Monday, October 31st . For more details and all of the other Halloween celebrations in Southern Oregon visit our Halloween - Fun for the Kids page here.
The first Sunday of every month ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum offers $1 Family Days where for one dollar per person you get to explore all that it has to offer. If you have never been ScienceWorks, it is a cool museum located in Ashland that has interactive exhibitions and exciting experiments for everyone to partake in. You may think that it sounds like it is just for kids, but my husband and I have just as much fun as they do!
We usually start at the Marble Maze where Ilias and Olivia always have a ball building the maze. They have so much fun that I have to always remind them that there is more to do! Also, in the room is the wind experiment where you make your own propellers out of paper, and building blocks which usually ends up being a huge game of Jenga.
Please pardon the blurry picture, but I couldn't resist the look on Ilias' face.
My personal favorite is the Bubble-ology Room which is always our second stop. Of course we get distracted by the Water Rocket on the way. The kids always try their hardest to get the rocket to hit the ceiling pumping with all their might, which is always hilarious to watch. When we get to the Bubble-ology Room there are five different ways to play with soap bubbles. The kids always try to put themselves in a bubble and to their delight sometimes it actually happens, though you do have to be very patient.
Since, I have told you about all of our favorites I can’t leave out my husband, Gary’s favorite is the Dark Science exhibit where he loves to play with the water streams lit up by black lights. You can manipulate them to create different crazy types of streams.
We do love the whole museum but a few others of our favorite exhibits include: The Light Harp - You use your hands to cut through beams of light to make music, you have to experience it yourself to understand how neat it is. The Shadow Wall – the kids pose in front of a white wall where a strobe light captures their shadow. Bee TV in the Discovery Lab – You get to see bees up close and personal, along with other insects and critters. Science Gallery – Lots of fun experiments that the kids get to jump into, exploring energy, motion, and lots more. The Special Exhibits – There is always something fun and new to explore whether it is the Zoo in You exhibit where you learn all about germs and how your body works or Sportology where you test your strength and athletic skills, usually turning into fun competition between us.
You can visit ScienceWorks any day of the week, but you can also celebrate your child’s birthday there. We celebrated our sons 10th birthday and had a great time. We had the celebration room for an hour and half, where ScienceWorks provided the goodie bags and the kids were able to eat their pizza and birthday cake. After the celebration we were allowed to enjoy the museum for as long as we liked and the kids used every moment to explore!
If you want to go, ScienceWorks it is open every day of the week 10am-5pm.
For more Fun for Kids we have a whole spotlight page just for them here. And if you need more ideas for where to have your child’s birthday party we have a lot of great ideas for you here.
It’s
pumpkin patch time and of course that means What to do in Southern Oregon is
going to hit at least two or three fall celebrations! Ok, maybe even more because WE LOVE
FALL! Of course we always check out our
Medford pumpkin patches right here in the Rogue Valley, but this year we wanted
to tackle a new one so we decided to spend the day at Fort Vannoy Farms in
Grants Pass. If you live in Medford, to some it may seem a little far to drive
to a pumpkin patch, but this isn't just any pumpkin patch. This is the amusement park of pumpkin
patches! I’m not kidding; we were
smiling from ear to ear the whole day!
When
we got there we went directly to buying our tickets. We started our little pumpkin patch adventure
with getting Olivia and Ilias' wiggles out by running around the hay pyramid. It was actually a FREE activity that ended up
being Olivia's favorite thing to do all day.
In the same little area were rubber duck races and a mini hay maze that
both kids had fun doing, both of these activities were also FREE!
We
then went over to the zip line and we were the only ones in line so we got on
the free hayride out to the zip line loading area right away. Ilias and Gary got harnessed up first and
headed out on another tractor ride up to the platform. When they came down they had huge smiles on
their faces and Ilias immediately asked me if he could go again. Now the boys don't get to have all the fun,
it was my turn and I've got to be honest with you, I was nervous. The ride out was actually calming because the
view just gets better and better as you get above the farm. As I climbed the tower I had butterflies in
my stomach and I when I got to the top I almost gasped because the view was
simply breathtaking. I felt like I was
on top of the world and then I remembered that I would be flying down a cable, plummeting
to the earth in just a few minutes. The
young man up there to help was super sweet and patient and let me take my time
psyching myself up to go. He gave me
some very good tips, telling me to just sit down and lift my feet if I didn't
want to jump off of the platform and that is exactly what I did. It was amazing! Flying through the sky, with the wind flying
through my hair, a chill in the air and a bird’s eye view, a perfect moment. It was so exhilarating and one I hope to
repeat in the near future. Once we got
our harnesses put away we hopped back on the hayride to the farm and immediately
jumped on the cow train.
Now,
the cow train is not just for the little kiddos. All four of us hopped on and we could not
stop laughing. It was like a roller
coaster, with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns and even a tunnel, but
you are sitting in cows with names like Buttercup…and Dude. We went so fast over some of the hills that
my cell phone flew right out of my pocket.
It was pure childhood fun and we loved every moment.
We
decided that after the train we needed a break so we did a little duck racing
and then got the HUGEST cotton candy that was gone in under ten minutes.
Seriously! Look at that face!
After our little treat, it was time for us to
take on the Pumpkin Chunkin'. Seriously
this was soooo fun! Even if we didn't do
it ourselves it was so fun just watching.
Ilias carefully picked out his pumpkin…, the rounder the better, shaped
more like a bullet according to him.
They put the pumpkin in the cannon and then you line things up, honk the
warning horn, and then push the button.
What happens after that is awesome, amazing, fantastic, and all of those
other adjectives we use to describe an experience that is one of the coolest
we've EVER had. If you hit the bus you
hear a huge boom and watch as your pumpkin is obliterated. Ilias and Gary both hit the bus. It was truly so cool! They also have an apple cannon; not as
magnificent in destruction but still crazy fun to watch! Gary and Ilias had so much fun that after we
conquered the corn maze, they bought two more tickets to use the pumpkin
cannon. After the pumpkin chunkin' and
apple cannon we tackled their corn maze.
The
corn maze was HUGE; we had to use the map because we would have gotten lost,
lots of twists and turns, and dead ends.
If you get lost, don't worry, Fort Vannoy Farms has Search and Rescue
volunteers at the farm in case anyone gets lost and needs help getting
out. They even have a drone to use to
find people. I'm not kidding! Our corn maze pro (Ilias) gave it huge thumbs
up, promising to bring his cousins with him so that could conquer it
together. With that I have two tips for
you. Number one; make sure that you have
everyone use the facilities before you head into the maze. It is long and we had to zoom to the end halfway
through so that Olivia could get to the potty.
Number two, make sure that you have water and maybe even a snack if you
have the kiddos with you. Always
essentials to survive anything that takes more than ten minutes, for some
reason kids think that they need to be sustained constantly (and somehow I
forget that a lot). :)
If
we were to name our favorites of the day, I don't know that any of us would
have just one thing because the whole day was our favorite. From the friendly employees, to each
activity, Fort Vannoy Farms has thought out every single thing. They also have face painting, a food truck,
and even have a huge seating area to sit down under a canopy to rest. And when you watch the kids play on the hay
pyramid they have chairs around it so that you can sit and enjoy watching. When you go, plan to spend at least half of
your day having fun! We already want
to go back, it was well worth the drive to Grants Pass, and the drive out there
is absolutely beautiful once you get out of town.
If
you want to go Fort Vannoy Farms is located at: 5791 River Rd, Grants Pass MAP
Fort Vannoy Farms is open every day 10am to 6pm. The Corn Maze ($6) and Pumpkin Patch is daily 11am to 6pm | They will have the Haunted Corn Maze on Saturdays and Sunday, October 21st, 22nd, 28th & 29th, 7pm-11pm, tickets are $10 per person.
Admission
is FREE and the cost of activities are as follows: Zip Line $8 | Cow Train $5 | | Pumpkin Chunkin' $5 | Apple Cannon Blaster (3 shots) $5
The Kids and Creeks event at Bear Creek Park in Medford is truly a wonderful adventure to embark on as a family. When we decided to go, we weren't quite sure what to expect and we are were truly delighted.
When we go to the park we were promptly greeted and handed a map directing us all around the park to different stations featuring different organizations from Southern Oregon. Each of them are working to preserve and educate us about this amazing eco-system we are surrounded by.
Map for Kids & Creeks
Fly tying was the first activity we decided to join. The Rogue Flyfishers were there to teach the kids. They were a very nice group of gentlemen with the utmost patience. Ilias immediately dove in and was taught how to tie a fly from start to finish. Olivia sat and watched for a little while until one of the other gentlemen said she should tie one. We were all entranced by the whole process, it truly is an art form.
Wrapping the feather around the hook at Kids & Creeks.
Ilias making the bug at Kids & Creeks
Rogue Flyfishers at Kids & Creek.
Olivia cutting the thread wrapping the hook at Kids & Creeks.
The almost finished fly at Kids & Creek.
The Rogue Flyfishers then showed Ilias and Gary how to use a fly fishing rod. They both loved learning to cast and found that it was way easier than they thought it was going to be. Gary was almost lulled into a meditative state. I think they both found a new hobby to tackle!
Ilias learning to cast at Kids and Creeks.
We were then directed down to the creek to watch salmon spawning. What an awesome experience. We actually saw salmon swimming and jumping up Bear Creek trying to get back home to lay their eggs
They can see salmon spawning at Kids & Creeks.
I wish I could have captured a picture of the salmon spawning, next time I will make more time to sit patiently and wait for the perfect shot. But you really need to be there to truly appreciate the beauty of it all. While we were down by the creek the kids were also, able to catch critters with nets and they actually caught some baby crayfish. Olivia was both excited and grossed out all at once.
They supplied the boots and nets at Kids and Creeks at Bear Creek Park.
Olivia taking a gander at what the boys caught.
Baby crayfish.
We next stopped at the Stormwater Management booth. They provided us information on how we can help improve the quality of stormwater runoff in conjunction with our rivers, lakes, and streams.
Olivia sprayed water at the top and watched as it flowed down into the lake.
Our next stop was the Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates. They educated us about monarch butterflies, and how they may soon be an endangered species. They even gave us some seeds to plant milkweed, which draws butterflies.
Olivia became a Monarch caterpillar.
Moving on down the path we spoke to a young man who works with the Lomakatsi Restoration Project. It is a non-profit, grassroots organization that develops and implements forest and watershed restoration projects in Oregon and northern California. They encourage all to do their part and offer volunteer opportunities also.
Our next stop Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District helps people protect and conserve their natural resources. They offer camps, workshops and volunteer opportunities for anyone that is interested.
They poured purple water through all different types of soil to show how they all filter differently. Crazy how the different soils changed the color of the water.
Rogue River Watershed wants us to help make the Rogue River watershed be healthy, productive and beautiful. The kids were able to play in the stream table that simulated the different possibilities that may occur in the Rogue River during the changes in weather. It also showed the different habitats for wildlife and how they may adapt to their surrounding environment.
They also actually dissected a salmon so that we could see the workings of a fish. Olivia wasn't ready to tackle that, so we just watched a family that was there as they dissected the salmon.
Our last stop was Stream Smart they taught us how we need to keep Bear Creek clean by reducing our own storm water pollution. They had actual water samples from Bear Creek bottled for us to look at. It was really horrible to see how bad it has become and made us want to do our part to help.
The whole event was truly extraordinary, full of fun while being educational and helped direct us to possible future volunteer opportunities that we can participate in as a family. This will be something we hope to make an annual family tradition to attend. Both Ilias and Olivia loved it and it certainly helped them appreciate the many things we can do to help keep Oregon beautiful and green.
If you want to go it will be on Saturday, October 15th, 11am to 3pm at Bear Creek Park in Medford. MAP
For more FREE events in Southern Oregon visit us on our website here.
