Mistletoe State Park plans Fall Family Festival this weekend

For those eager to feel the cool autumn air and enjoy Halloween a bit early, Mistletoe State Park kicks off its annual Campfire Tales, dulcimer workshop and Fall Family Festival this weekend.

Tim Hall, a professional storyteller from South Carolina, will start the weekend off with tales around the campfire at 7 p.m. Friday at the park's Assembly Shelter.

Hall typically wears a pioneer-era costume and shares the tales of John Henry, the steel-driving man, and others, said Marilyn Grau, volunteer weekend events coordinator for the park.

Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, the Garden City Strummers Dulcimer Group will perform and hold a dulcimer workshop outside the Nature Center.

Members will bring extra instruments for the audience, and the public is encouraged to bring their own and learn, Grau said.

"The dulcimer is a very easy instrument to play and it's a lot of fun," Grau said. "We usually pick up some dulcimer devotees."

The Family Fall Festival will begin at 5 p.m. and last until 10 p.m. The festival will feature live country music, bobbing for apples, hayrides, storytelling by Barbara Williams and plenty to eat and drink.

Starting at 6 p.m., there will be a scavenger hunt for children 12 and younger, said Brenda Bettross, clerk and naturalist at the park. Children will receive a plastic pumpkin bucket and will search for a Frankenstein's monster, a pumpkin, a ghost and a witch in the woods for prizes of candy, she said. Costumes are not required but welcome, she said.

There will also be a night hike to orient hikers.

Admission to the park is $5 per vehicle, but there is no additional charge to attend any of the weekend's festivities. For more information, call 541-0321.

Mistletoe State Park is at the end of Mistletoe Road, off Highway 150 in Winfield.