Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Family Fall Festival set for Oct. 7 at the Arboretum

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A day of fun for the entire family is planned for Saturday (Oct. 7) at the Family Fall Festival at the University of Illinois Arboretum. Children and adults can enjoy a variety of activities, contests and exhibits while learning more about horticulture.

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Arboretum at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and St. Mary’s Road in Urbana. A tent will be erected in case of inclement weather. Visitors may park along Lincoln Avenue or in adjacent lots.

A pumpkin-painting contest will be held for children ages 5-12; prizes will be awarded in four age categories. Painting supplies will be provided; pumpkins will cost $3. Adults may compete in a pumpkin-carving contest. Contestants need to bring carving equipment.

The pumpkin contests will be judged at 3 p.m. with prizes awarded at 3:30 p.m. Winners will receive books on gardening or outdoor themes. Participants may take their pumpkins home but only the pumpkins on hand for the 3 p.m. judging will be eligible for prizes.

Other children’s activities will include painting gourds and constructing bird feeders or birdhouses from gourds as well as scavenger hunting through the Arboretum.

Visitors may enjoy hayrides and guided tours of the Arboretum and gardens. Champaign County Master Gardeners will give away bulbs and will have a display about gardening with pumpkins and winter squashes.

Woodcarving displays and demonstrations will be provided by the Illini Carvers. Visitors also will be able to sample a variety of Illinois apples and learn about growing them.

The festival is sponsored by the Arboretum, the UI Horticulture Club and the Champaign County Master Gardeners. For further information, call (217) 333-7579.

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010