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It feels like fall this weekend

Posted Oct 15, 2010 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated Oct 15, 2010 at 03:10 PM

Is it terrible that I’m looking at all the fall festivals this weekend and thinking photo opportunity? My husband and I are taking the little guy out to the pumpkin patch this weekend with our friends and their kids, and before I even looked up the directions, I made sure his orange T-shirt was washed and my camera battery was charged.

But it’s going to be a beautiful weekend, with highs in the 80s, and there are festivals going on throughout the area, all with activities for the kids. Mine is just going to be excited about the pumpkins, which he calls “ba” (because everything round is a “ba,” like his balloon or ball).

Hyde Park Village’s fall festival runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Swann and Dakota Avenues. There’s trick or treating, a bounce house, face painting, games and entertainment. The village’s pumpkin patch is also back through Halloween with proceeds benefitting the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.

If you’re on the east side of town, FishHawk Ranch offers its pumpkin festival from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday, featuring a pumpkin carving contest, costume parade, music, hayrides and a nonperishable food drive.

Lowry Park’s “Zoo Boo” continues at 7 p.m. this weekend and the next two through Halloween. Admission is $14 for kids 3 to 11 and $17 for 12 and older. You save a dollar if you’re a zoo member. It has five haunted houses, ranked on a scale of one to seven skulls for its scariness. The haunted houses include one for ages 5 and up but most are more suitable for 10 years and older.

The “one skull” attractions for the littlest monsters include a “monster bounce” and games. There is also a kiddie train, a carousel, roller coaster and water flume for no additional cost.

The Grove at Wesley Chapel will host a fall festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with ample eats. Restaurants will face off in a “Battle of the Wings” at 2 p.m. There will also be live music, children’s activities, a crafts show and a custom car show.

You’ll find a listing of more events coming up here.