The first cold snap arrived just last week, adding vigor to those morning walks. All the signs add up to announce the coming of fall, a time when Driftless Wisconsin unfurls the colors of autumn.More than a spectacle of color – although that’s reason enough for a visit – fall ushers in a celebration of harvest time. Combines ply the corn fields, apples ripen on the trees, and people gather to celebrate the work behind them.
The people of Gays Mills welcome the Apple Festival on September 24 and 25. Always the last full weekend of September, the Apple Festival brings together people from around the county eager to shop for crafts, enjoy a meal, and of course, buy some apples. There will be a horseshoe tournament, kiddie carnival, rummage sales, book sales, walk and run contests, and the Apple Festival Parade on Sunday.
The village is also eager to show its new face, a new housing and retail development being built on higher ground in response to annual flooding. Gays Mils will also host Flavor of the Kickapoo on October 7 – 9, a new event staged by “foodies” that highlights local organic and sustainable foods.
Elsewhere, Norskedalen near Coon Valley will hold its Threshing Bee on September 24. The event offers an authentic threshing bee in a pioneer setting, including “threshing oats, corn shelling, rope making, blacksmithing, butter churning, and cutting lumber with a portable sawmill.” Pioneer craft demonstrations, antique engines, and farm machinery will also be on display.
Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien will host “Visiting Our Ancestors” on Saturday, October 1. Costumed guides will narrate a guided tour of six historic cemeteries, beginning with the Old French Cemetery – the oldest in the Upper Mississippi Valley – and ending with the Brisbois Cemetery overlooking Prairie du Chien. Also in Prairie du Chien, Mississippi Explorer Cruises will offer Fall Foliage Cruises on the river on weekends starting Sept 24, departing from Lawler Park on the riverfront.
Visitors often ask when the color season peaks, which is rather like asking when the pot will boil. The first two weeks of October are a good bet, depending on temperature, the arrival of rain, and other mysterious factors. Regardless, don’t delay, because the first signs of fall are already creeping into view.
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