On Sunday, Oct. 9 from 1-4 p.m. we invite the community to join us in celebrating fall at FENCE with our free family nature festival. Fall is the perfect time to get outdoors with your family, friends, and community to enjoy all of the beauty that surrounds us. Watching the leaves change color from their greens to their beautiful reds, browns, oranges, and yellows and feeling the crisp autumn air is often times a favorite time of the year for many folks.

At FENCE we are embracing the changing seasons and we want to celebrate the beauty of nature with all of the community. FENCE has a fun day planned for Oct. 9, including free lunch for all who attend. Activities for the festival will include nature themed kids activities, music and storytelling with Doug Elliott, coal blowing with Raven, hay rides, Plein Air artists and more.

Often times when we think of nature we think of the animals that we may encounter when we are spending time outdoors. Since you may not always see these animals out and about during the day we are going to bring some animals to the trails at FENCE for you to meet.

Two wonderful local naturalists will be taking part in our nature festival. Carlton Burke and Steve O’Neil will both be bringing some of their educational animals to take part in the festival. Burke and O’Neil will be in designated locations along the trail for you to stop and chat as well as for you to meet some of their educational animal ambassadors.

The event is made possible by the Kirby Endowment at Polk County Community Foundation. FENCE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serve as a community resource for the preservation of green space and for educational and recreational opportunities linking nature, animals, and people.

FENCE is located at 3381 Hunting Country Road in Tryon. For more information about FENCE call 828-859-9021, email info@fence.org, or visit fence.org.

– article submitted by Amy Schmitte