Image: Discover Green Bay
With fall officially starting on Sept. 22, the leaves should be falling and it should be getting chillier. But, as I write, it’s still warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt, and I long for the brisk chill of autumn. As I wait for it to get cooler, I wish to look ahead at activities that happen this time of year.
To begin, apple picking is one of the most stereotypical fall activities. It is not just the event of going out and picking apples, but going to new farms and seeing what is out there in rural Wisconsin. In addition to picking apples, a lot of farms have other recreations, like corn mazes, a petting zoo, pumpkin patches and the best part: apple flavored treats. Caramel apples always taste different when they’re from a farm, as with apple cider donuts. Unfortunately, the time for apple picking will be ending soon or it already has, but while the window of enjoying these activities is small, it’s always worthwhile.
The next activity is going to a zoo or garden. While you can do these anytime, the fall season just has a different feel to it. Sometimes they decorate for Halloween, and it’s fun to see the seasonal decorations or Halloween zoo puns. It’s also a time to see the temperature-sensitive animals before many of them are kept behind the scenes, waiting for warm spring temperatures. In many zoos, geese are typically high in attendance, and their populations start shrinking as they fly south with the cooler temperatures.
To contrast the earlier activities, the final fall activity that I enjoy are Halloween events. Many places have extra events in the night or day for specific Halloween events. From haunted houses to ghost stories, it isn’t just one type of extra event. They lean into the scary, the creepy or just embrace the fall season. I enjoy a spooktacular pun, or one that I can’t be-leaf, and I enjoy the whimsy that businesses are adding to this otherwise depressing season.
I cannot wait for the fall season to come, and I cannot wait to enjoy the crisp fall days and wear clothes that are warm-toned, cute and spooky. With all of these events and more, I hope you can find something around the SNC area that will help you enjoy fall, because I know there's so much to enjoy on- or off-campus.