Festive

Leaf Peeping

Locals love to bash tourists who gawk at trees, but deep down, they know they do it too. As the temperature drops and the leaves turn from their singular shade of green to a fireworks display of colors, it’s hard not to gaze at the changing fall foliage — or as some call it, ‘leaf peeping.’ Upstate New York usually has a colorful fall season, but due to an unusually warm summer, this year’s leaves might not have the flair we’re used to. When trees endure extreme weather conditions, such as severe heat, their leaves will skip the colorful transition and immediately turn brown. If you can get some gazing in before it’s too late, leaf watching is a great fall activity on a tight budget. Even better, you don’t have to go farther than your front door. Even now, Comstock Avenue is turning a bright shade of yellow, with bits of red begging to show as well. Or if you feel like making a day out of it, Route 20 offers one of the most colorful, if not tourist-filled, drives in the area.

–Flash Steinbeister, feature editor, ansteinb@syr.edu

 

Beak and Skiff Apple Farms, Inc.

4472 Cherry Valley Turnpike, Lafayette

Founded in 1911, Beak and Skiff Apple Farms, Inc., is a true family affair. Since the first apple trees were planted at their Lafayette farm on Route 20, relatives of the original Beak and Skiff have kept it a family business. Providing fresh apples and baked goods for decades, Beak and Skiff allows people to pick their own apples or bring home a dozen of fresh cider doughnuts. Admission to the farm is free, so there’s nothing to lose by taking the 25-minute drive.

But this isn’t another run-of-the-mill apple orchard. One thing that sets the site apart from other local farms is its homemade spirits. Beak and Skiff has a winery and a distillery that produces hard apple cider, apple and other fruit-flavored wines and apple vodka. The distillery is a new addition to the Beak and Skiff dynasty, opening this year. Retail manager Candy Morse said the new vodka has been very popular.

‘We started selling a small amount to a couple of liquor stores and restaurant, so we’re expanding slowly,’ she said. ‘It definitely is something different, and people are loving it.’

Sara Tracey, asst. feature editor, smtracey@syr.edu

 

Our Farm

1590 Peth Road, Manlius

There’s no point in picking a pumpkin when you can have one catapulted right at you. Or at least, that’s what Jimmy and Janine Golub from Our Farm seem to think.

‘The biggest attraction is definitely the giant pumpkin catapult,’ said Jimmy. ‘Teenage boys aren’t impressed by the petting zoo, but they see the catapult and they say, ‘Wow.’‘

He said visitors can have fun and learn a lot — their cone-shaped corn maze is dotted with facts about ice cream. On Oct. 16 and 17, visitors can supplement their ice cream education with cones of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, scooped by Jerry Greenfield. Greenfield, a friend of the Golubs, will be visiting the farm to talk to people and scoop out his trademark treats. ‘It’s very low-key and noncommercial,’ Golub said. ‘We want people to feel like they’re visiting us at our home, which they are.’

Our Farm welcomes visitors every weekend of October and Columbus Day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and charges a $5 admission fee.

–Elora Tocci, asst. copy editor, ertocci@syr.edu

 

Wolf Oak Acres

6470 Creek Road, Oneida

It might not be the most autumn-oriented thing to do, but there’s nothing not to love about hot air balloon festivals and local wine. All those events, and more, are 25 minutes from campus at Wolf Oak Acres. Located in Oneida, Wolf Oak offers fall activities on top of the festival, including a 10-acre maze open day and night, gem mining and, of course, a corn cannon. Much of Wolf Oak Acres is geared toward families, but there is more than enough fun for college-aged patrons, said Katrina Blanchard, co-owner of Wolf Oak Acres.

‘We try to make sure we’ve got something for all ages, not just the pumpkin patch for little kids,’ Blanchard said. ‘There’s stuff there for everybody.’

In their third season of operation, Blanchard and her husband have seen major growth. New York Senator David Valesky (D-Oneida) will be one of the attendants at the Hot Air Balloon Festival and the Pride of N.Y. wine tasting event on the weekend of Oct. 16. This will be the first year the Hot Air Balloon Festival, the Farm Market and the Pride of N.Y. wine tasting are all slated for the same weekend.

This year, students are coming from near and far for Wolf Oak Acres.

‘We’ve had a lot of the campuses around. We’ve got about 12 or 13 colleges within a 40-minute radius,’ Blanchard said. ‘We just had 12 kids from some other college that drove an hour and a half just to get here.’

Aaron Gould, asst. feature editor, akgould@syr.edu

Frights

Rome Art and Community Center’s Halloween House: ‘Zombie Nightmare’

308 W. Bloomfield St., Rome

Oct. 22 to Oct. 23

Rome, N.Y.

You walk in a dark, decrepit house. Hearing the wails and moans of the damned, you start to feel a tingling on the back of your neck. That’s when a cold clammy hand grasps your ankle, trying to pull you into the darkness. You scream like a little girl — and all of your friends laugh at you. With cramped quarters, looming shadows and huddled masses, haunted houses create a perfect atmosphere of dread, no matter how old you are.

‘We have had people scream, cry, fall over with fright and actually wet their pants in past years,’ said Lauren Getek, executive director of the Rome Art and Community Center in Rome, N.Y., in an e-mail.

While it takes about an hour to get there, Getek said the Community Center’s annual Haunted Mansion attraction drew in roughly 6,000 visitors last year. Choosing a different theme for the Community Center each year, Haunted Mansion bucks the normal trend of demons and chain-saw butchers with ‘Zombie Nightmare.’ This year’s premise is simple: In the wake of national zombie outbreak, you find refuge in one of the area’s few uninfected households.

‘The rest can be left up to the imagination,’ Getek said. Better bring an extra pair of pants.

–Flash Steinbeiser, feature editor, ansteinb@syr.edu

 

Fright Nights at the Fair

581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, located at the Beef Cattle Barn

Every weekend in October

If you’re used to seeing the New York State Fair at the New York State Fairgrounds, things might look a little off in the Beef Cattle Barn. For the fifth year in a row, Syracuse transforms the Fairgrounds for its Fright Nights.

Offering some variety, Fright Nights lets visitors chose their own scare. They operate five differently themed haunted houses in the Beef Barn, ranging from the insane asylum to a 3D pirate house where patrons walk through dark hallways with 3D glasses on. There’s also a 10-minute haunted hayride, now a staple in Halloween horror attractions.

‘It’s considered the largest Halloween attraction in the northeast,’ said Maura Kendville, office manager for Paradise Company, the entertainment group in charge of Fright Night. Kendville said people from different age groups participate in the event, including families, teenagers and even some 60-year-olds from time to time.

Fright Night’s prices may throw patrons off. A single attraction costs $10. Fair enough. But combined ticket for all the haunted houses plus the hayride is $20.  On top of that, the haunted hayride costs another $15. Just buy the combined ticket; it’s better for your wallet and ensures some good scares.

Sara Tracey, asst. feature editor, smtracey@syr.edu

 

The Trail of Terror

475 Clifford Road, Volney

Every weekend in October

If the name isn’t enough to scare you, the warning from the event’s Facebook page reading ‘not recommended for those subject to heart failure’ should do the trick.

The Trail of Terror in Volney, N.Y., offers both indoor and outdoor scares. Visitors have the choice of experiencing either the pitch-black indoor maze or the outdoor walking trail. Expect not-so-friendly visits from the likes of Jason and Freddy Krueger along the way.

The Trail of Terror operates only on weekends until Oct. 30. Aside from the haunted offerings, there is an all-night bonfire and a giant outdoor movie screen. A ticket to one event runs at $8, a ticket to both the indoor and outdoor shows is $14.  

Aaron Gould, asst. feature editor, akgould@syr.edu

 

Hilltop Ranch’s Haunted Hayride & Maze of Terror

3390 Eager Road, Jamesville

Every weekend in October until the 29th

If your tolerance to horror is strong, you’ll certainly get your money’s worth on this marathon of terror. The 40-minute experience carts brave souls through a haunted hayride filled with typical spooky attractions. Simple enough. However, once the hayride drops you off, there’s a five-acre corn maze to endure. There’s certainly no limit to the supply of corn mazes in the area, but Hilltop Ranch has the distinction of being the only haunted one. While walking though the maze, visitors can interact with nine separate features scattered throughout.

‘When you’re walking through the maze, you have no idea what’s going to happen,’ said Ron Sirota, who owns the ranch. He said the maze’s ‘Saw’ exhibit tends to spook people the most, although the bat cave, witches’ cauldron and cemetery should not be taken lightly. Real coyotes howling in the background add to the fright factor, Sirota said. And like any true marathon, refreshments wait at the end. A wagon drives visitors back to the barn after they exit the maze for hot drinks and unwinding. The hayride and maze operate every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. until Oct. 29. Adult admission is $10.

–Elora Tocci, asst. copy editor, ertocci@syr.edu

Published on October 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm