FAYETTEVILLE Ark. – The Rivercrest Orchard on Dead Horse Mountain road is holding a Fall Festival, which began on Sept. 13 and will last until Nov. 1. The Festival offers many activities for children that include a giant pumpkin patch, sunflower fields, trampoline/bounce pillows, low ropes obstacle course, zipline, a corn pool, bumper carts, hayrides and much more.

This year featured Apple Cider weekend on September 20th and 21st and September 27th and 28th.  “So we always have folks asking about our Ciders and doing something with Hard Apple Ciders.” McGarrah said

   

Tickets to the Festival are $16.95 for weekdays during Fall Break. Weekend admissions are $24.95 and $19.95 for October and November weekends and $28 if purchased at the gate. Train rides are $5 per person. 

Food and drinks, pumpkins, apple picking,sunflower picking and gem mining are not included in the price which most people say “it’s kind of crazy.” 

Hours of the festival are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in September, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. During the week of Oct. 13 which is Fall Break, the festival will be open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12 to 6 p.m., however the festival will be closed on Wednesday Oct. 21 and 22 and it will reopen on October 23 with normal business hours. The final two days of the festival on October 30 and November 1, the hours will be 12 pm to 7 pm and 10 am to 7 pm.

One highlight when I attended the festival was the candy cannon that shoots a bunch of candy and it takes place every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m. at the back of the festival grounds near the barn chute. In a google review from  Rae Fausett, she said, “My family and I love this Orchard. There are loads of activities for a wide variety of ages: multiple play sets, corn pit, apple blasters, jumping pillows, train, pumpkin/apple/flower picking, bumper cars, low ropes course, and the ever popular candy cannon. We spent about five hours running from activity to activity. The unanimous favorites were the corn pit and the candy cannon. It’s pricey if you have a big family, but totally worth it.”