Saturday will be a fun day at the Center for Human Services and Bloomin’ Gardens, which is hosting a Fall Fest complete with children’s games, food, craft vendors and CHS information booths.
“We’ve been working on this for months,” Melissa Rutledge, CHS employment solutions supervisor and event coordinator, said. “It’s just a way to let people know where our greenhouse is and to let people know that we do more here than just a sheltered workshop.
“Another reason we are doing this, is October is National Disabilities Employment Month,” she added. “So, we decided that we wanted to do a fall fest for awareness for that as well.”
All departments represented at CHS will be involved in the festival Saturday to not only provide fun, but information about services at the center.
The CHS Family and Child Department, representing First Steps, the Early Head Start Program, children with disabilities and low-income students, will be involved at the event.
“They will be there talking to people, and our community living department will also be there,” Rutledge added. “That’s our residential program. They have housing here in town, for people who have disabilities.
“We will all be there to explain what we do here at the center,” she said. “Even in the employment department, we have three ways we get people employment. The event is just to bring awareness to what it is we are doing.”
The event is basically free, family-oriented and the weather promises to be nice. For a small fee children can decorate a pumpkin inside the Bloomin’ Gardens Greenhouse, and food will be sold at a minimal cost. All other activities are free.
“They will be able to have face painting done, which of course will be free,” she added. “We’ll have a food station set up with hot dogs, chips, bottled water, soda and popcorn. Those will have a fee, but they will be around $1.”
Children can also make a do-it-yourself covered apple at no charge.
“We’re going to quarter the apples and then have chocolate, almond bark and caramel in crock pots,” Rutledge said.
Apple slices are dipped in the slow cooker sauces, and then dipped again in various types of candy.
Games will keep most youngsters busy during the festival.
“One of the games we’re having is pumpkin bowling,” Rutledge said. “We’ll have a bowling alley and lanes set up out of straw bales … and then they can roll a pumpkin down the lane.”
Adding to the fun, the bowling pins are created out of rolls of toilet paper and have been decorated with eyes to represent ghastly ghost faces.
There will also be two ring-toss games, one featuring tall witch’s hats and mason jar rings and the other large pumpkins with tall stems. Children can spend time in the bounce house, play bean bag toss, poke a pumpkin to win a prize, travel through a straw maze or participate in a broom race.
The event will feature 14 local arts and craft vendors such as Easel Street, The Peppered Peony, Cory’s Wood Creations, Matthew Kurz Originals and Little Box Photography and Design.
Vendors and activities will take place on the south side of the greenhouse.
“I think we have some really good crafters,” CHS Bloomin’ Gardens Greenhouse Supervisor Lori Fowler said. “We are all decorated up … the guys have been working hard. That’s our goal is to get people with kids in here. We tend to draw a certain crowd to the greenhouse, but we are trying to draw families with children.”
CHS and Bloomin’ Gardens Greenhouse Fall Fest will be hosted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the center located at 1500 1/2 Ewing Dr. The event is free with the exception of food and pumpkin decorating.