Tag Archive for: Autumn

Halloween (2017)

Halloween in Holly Springs

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Last night was our first Halloween here in Holly Springs.  My wife loves holidays, and this one ranks near the top.  She loves to decorate and she lives for handing out candy to all the little kids in cute costumes.

When we moved into our new house in Jacksonville back in 2008, she bought the best candy, dragged a couple camping chairs out to the end of the driveway to await the kiddos.  We had six people stop by for candy.  Six.  Seriously.

Aside from the fact that we were a dead end road in our neighborhood (albeit one with a full block or more of houses past ours), there was a local church that did a Trunk-and-Treat event near us on the same night, and we’re pretty certain a lot of the kids end up going to that.  Regardless, it was a huge let down and she was devastated.

The following years were similar, I think we probably had 20-25 kids last year.

HOLLY SPRINGS IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!

We probably saw between 250 and 300 kids last night.  Little ones that were just learning to walk and older ones that are probably in high school.  They just kept coming!  Even after we ran out of candy (oops!) and turned the lights off, we occasionally got hopeful visitors testing the doorbell.  It was a steady flow from 6pm to 8:30 or 8:45.

Brian had a blast — he dressed up as a skeleton — and got tons of candy that he really doesn’t need.  We hung out with the grown-ups in adjoining houses and, as always, had a great time with them.

We’re already excited about next year!

Holly Fest (2017)

Hollyfest

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Hollyfest is an annual community celebration each Fall in Holly Springs.  It features vendors (small businesses, charities, private schools, etc.) and plenty of activities for families, such as bounce houses, games, live music, etc.

My aunt and uncle were in town to visit so the five of us went to check it out.

We had been to something similar during the Fifth of July event a few months back and our son really had a blast.  He rode a few rides and went through a couple bounce houses (including a two-story slide that seemed like a good idea beforehand but scared him when he actually started down it) and we all enjoyed walking around and exploring.

As usual, the Holly Springs Fire Department was there with Cinder, the fire dog.  Brian had a chance to sit in a HSFD utility vehicle and “drive” it.

The Rotary Club was selling brisket sandwiches as a fundraiser and we kept getting a whiff of it as we walked around.  They were really good.  It was nice to sit down and enjoy the music in the shade, and spending time with my aunt and uncle is always great.  We don’t see them very often, and now that we’ve moved out of Florida, it will undoubtedly be less frequent.

They had haunted hay rides later in the evening, but we already had plans to cook out on the grill for our guests, so maybe we’ll take that in next year.

Ken's Korny Korn Maze

Ken’s Korny Corn Maze

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Fall is arriving and we decided to head out to explore the area again.  My wife loves decorating for holidays and Halloween is right up near the top of her list.

Here are some of the things available at the Corn Maze:

  • Hay rides and games (corn hole, checkers, etc.),
  • Wooden monster truck, tractor and pirate ship to climb on/in,
  • Corn and hay barn for kids to play in, and
  • Six-acre corn maze with 2.5 miles of paths

They’re open September 22 to November 11 and have a haunted corn maze from October 20th, 21st, 27th, 28th and 30th and 31st.

They’re located at 3175 Benson Road, (Hwy. 50 South) in Garner, NC and you can find more information as well as directions on their web site: http://www.kenskornycornmaze.com/directions/