As a brisk breeze begins to dance through the air nudging colored leaves off their trees, it can only mean one thing - fall has arrived in Northwest Indiana, and Buckley Homestead County Park is here to celebrate.
In honor of the changing of the seasons, many flocked to the historical Lowell farm for the annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6. Attendees were invited to take part in an array of traditional autumn-themed activities as they went about the homestead, including local vendor shopping, syrup making, corn shelling and grinding, and rag doll making.
“We try to make it fun for all ages. We have kids activities, we have activities for adults, and we have more of a history side for enactment,” said Buckley Homestead Historical Facilities Programmer Joe Reed. “This year, we've managed to keep it at $5 a person – we want to always have a place where families of any size can come out and have a nice day.”
Local organizations, such as the Northwest Indiana Storytellers Guild, Halsted House, and the South Lake County Agricultural Society, were also in attendance, the latter doing fieldwork in one of the farm’s pastures. Fair-goers could also listen in on presentations as they walked along the homestead to learn more about its unique, charming history and the four-legged animal friends that call the farm home.
“We try to keep a lot of hands-on activities, and we try to mix in quite a bit of historic things, too, so it’s a little bit different than some other places,” said Chris Orange, property manager at Buckley Homestead. "We've been going for 40-plus years now, so I like the history of it. I like the fact that we can bring in some new things, but also keep some of the older fan favorites that've been around for a long time. I like working with all the wonderful volunteers and organizations who help us keep this program very reasonably priced for a family.”
The Fall Festival is a beloved autumn tradition occurring each year to help get the Region into the spirit of the season. While some portions of the festival are annual staples, the Buckley team also enjoys switching it up a bit and adding a few new programs to the mix. This year, a few new activities made their debut for people to enjoy.
“This year we're changing it just a little bit,” Reed said. “We're keeping all the classics - all the same vendors and everything – but we're trying to take a ‘back to your roots’ approach with it. We're doing a couple of new hands-on demonstrations, corn husking, and sorghum syrup making. Everyone can expect the same but with a couple of new things that we hope are pretty popular with everyone.”
As a living history farm, Buckley makes for an ideal spot to bring an event to life featuring many historic, traditional activities. The homestead captures the life of the 18th and 19th centuries in rural Indiana, complete with a main white barn on over 500 acres of land. The Fall Festival is a unique way to pay homage to its charming history while providing just the atmosphere to fully celebrate the upcoming season.
“The site was donated by the Buckley family to the Lake County Parks Department, and they decided to run it as a living history farm,” Orange said. “The site is what makes us a little different. We have a lot of neat historic buildings in a really cool setting. That was an operational farm until it was donated to the park, and we've been running it as a living history farm ever since.”
Now the space has become a place where people of all ages can stop by for a fun time, both in the fall and year-round. This has created some quality, heartwarming moments for the team at Buckley Homestead, including the Fall Festival.
“My favorite part of the Fall Festival would probably be our children's play area. We call it the field of adventures,” Reed said. “We have all sorts of activities we do throughout the year with our field trips and other programs; we take all the toys and props from that and put them out in the old hay field so that kids can play with it. It doesn't cost anything. It's free for all the kids, but it's always popular every year. It's nice to see kids getting outside and playing with the physical world around them.”
There’s still more fun at Buckley Homestead ahead. Orange noted doors will be open to buildings on the farm the last weekend in October with the Buckley 5 Miler happening the following weekend, so be sure to mark your calendars to take part in these can’t miss events.
For more information on Lake County Parks, please visit lakecountyparks.com.
