Gather up a pumpkin spice latte, some cozy fall boots and a sense of adventure.
The Gardens on Spring Creek is offering an interactive look at all that fall has to offer this weekend during its annual Nature’s Harvest Festival. On Saturday, Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to experience live butterfly releases, apple cider tastings and tea-infused face masks with the guidance of experienced professionals from the Fort Collins area.
According to Korrie Johnston, the fundraising and marketing coordinator for the Gardens on Spring Creek, the event is expected to draw in over 1,500 community members over the course of the day.
The festival has activities for attendees of all ages, beginning with a bird banding demonstration in the morning and a hatch chile tasting in the afternoon.
Deanna Begovich Krausse, a CSU alumna who now lives in town, is attending the event in the hopes that she can reconnect with gardening, she said.
Begovich Krausse attended some of the Gardens’ special events many years ago when her children were young, and now that her kids are older, she hopes to delve back into gardening as a hobby and share some of these values with her kids, she said.
Part of The Gardens’ mission is to provide a “cultural gathering place connecting people to plants in the middle of Fort Collins,” according to Johnston. The event is oriented towards people like Krausse, hoping to jump back into a long-lost hobby, but also towards “anyone of all ages looking to experience and celebrate the harvest season and nature,” Johnston said.
Kayla Lloyd, a middle school special education teacher in Greeley, is planning to attend the event with her three-year-old daughter. She is excited that the festival will have something for each member of her family, and looked forward to spending quality family time outdoors, she said.
“Fall is my favorite time of year in Colorado and it should be a lot of fun,” Lloyd said.
The Gardens on Spring Creek are located on Centre Ave., directly adjacent to the Spring Creek Trail. They hold several events throughout the year, from a Halloween enchanted garden to adult garden-to-fork cooking classes. All of their special events can be found at www.fcgov.com/gardens, on Facebook at The Gardens on Spring Creek or Instagram at @gardensonspringcreek.
When: Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Where: The Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Ave.
Collegian reporter Casey Setash can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @caseylovesbirds.
