Autumn arrives with seasonal festivities

Fall festivals have begun around the city with the start of the autumnal season.

The season comes with a wide variety of activities, from apple-picking to pumpkin carving, so you can never run out of ways to celebrate the cool weather and changing leaves.

While the first week of fall activities have passed, there are still plenty of upcoming events to enjoy. Here are a few festivals to help you partake in your favorite seasonal traditions.  

Linvilla Orchards
Linvilla Orchards hosts its Pumpkinland extravaganza from Sept. 8 to Nov. 4.

Exploring the pumpkin patch is the main event, but visitors can also pick apples from the orchard, wander through the corn maze and play games like pumpkin ring toss and apple slingshot.

Linvilla also offers a variety of fall themed food, including gourmet caramel apples, apple cider donuts and endless pumpkin spice options. At the end of your trip, you can stop in the market to bring more seasonal treats home with you.

Linvilla Orchards is located just under 30 minutes from campus at 137 W. Knowlton Rd. in Media, Pa. Admission is free, but the activities vary in price.

Reading Terminal Market
Reading Terminal Market will host a Harvest Festival on Oct. 13. The market will close Filbert Street to create an autumnal atmosphere in the middle of the city.

The urban farm will be completed with hay bales, corn stalks and a pumpkin patch. Visitors can take a tractor ride around the market and enjoy a variety of seasonal foods from the market’s vendors.

Reading Terminal Market is in Center City at 51 N. 12th St. The event will have free admission with varying prices for food.

Morris Arboretum
Morris Arboretum, a 92-acre garden, is a prime place to enjoy autumn outdoors. When the leaves begin to change, Morris Arboretum is an expansive display of fall colors.

While visitors can go admire the foliage at any point during the fall season, Morris Arboretum hosts two major events.

The Fall Family Weekend will take place on Oct. 6 and 7, involving classic activities like pumpkin and apple picking to enjoy with your family. From Oct. 6 to Oct. 31, visitors can see the Scarecrow Walk and vote for the best handmade scarecrow.

Morris Arboretum sits at 100 E. Northwestern Ave. and admission costs $10 for students with an ID.

Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens, like Morris Arboretum, is another place to appreciate the beauty of the season.

The large garden center will usher in its autumn celebration on Oct. 4. Red, orange and yellow will take over both the indoor greenhouses and the outdoor pathways.

The pumpkin playground will be open from Sept. 29 to Oct. 31. On Oct. 25, the Chrysanthemum Festival will begin, displaying over 17,000 autumnal mums throughout the gardens.

Longwood Gardens is located at 1001 Longwood Rd. in Kennett Square, Pa. Tickets cost $20 with a student ID.  

If you’re a fall fanatic looking for a way to welcome the new season, there are plenty of places to go in the Philadelphia area.