With cooler temperatures, tastes of spiced cider and picking of the plumpest pumpkins, fall festivities are now in full swing at Denver’s Four Mile Historic Park. Experience Denver’s old West and enjoy the fall season with returning traditions, including the Pumpkin Harvest Festival, Spirits and Spirits and Halloween Haunt. Mark your calendars, slip on your flannels and purchase tickets for October events at Four Mile Historic Park.
The park’s oldest and largest fall event, Denver’s original Pumpkin Harvest Festival returns on October 14th and 15th. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all ages may immerse their senses in autumn’s iconic sights and tastes. “We’ve got everything that your classic pumpkin festival would have, plus more,” said Four Mile Historic Park’s Marketing & Events Coordinator, Kayla Amos. “We will have a pumpkin patch, tractor rides, face painting for kids and a cool marketplace.” The market will feature 40 local vendors offering one-of-a-kind items, and guests may purchase warm apple cider donuts to satisfy cravings.
“Something we introduced last year that we’re bringing back again is our Autumn Harvest Community Stage. All days during the festival, we will showcase different performers, different nonprofit groups, different dancers, singers and bands to highlight what’s going on locally in Denver,” said Amos. Watch live performances by Eric Golden, Grupo Tlaloc, Levitate Jump Rope Team, and the Rocky Mountain Indigenous Dancers.
The Pumpkin Harvest Festival welcomes its newest addition this year, the Wagon Wheel’s Scavenger Hunt. “We’ve taken our most popular field trip program that we offer for six weeks in the spring and turned it into a scavenger hunt for kids and adults to enjoy,” said Amos. Guests will go from station to station, participating in different historical activities. “They’ll do things like see our summer kitchen and how food used to be cooked.” They may even try an old cornbread recipe from a tiny 1800s wood stove. Visitors also see blacksmiths work their craft and engage in house tours. “They will learn the park’s history while being here so that it’s not just about the pumpkin patch; it’s about who we are and why we’re here.”
On October 21st from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Spirits and Spirits, the after-dark event catered to adults 21 and up, invites guests to explore the park while learning about Victorian Spiritualism. In this 19th-century movement, it was believed the spirits of the dead could communicate with the living. “After the Civil War, people were trying to deal with the loss of loved ones and what came after that,” said Amos. Not only will attendees experience the spiritual realm, but they’ll also have an opportunity to taste spirits from local vendors.
Amos described the aesthetics of the event. “We bring out the mystical sides of the park. We decorate our historic house, the oldest standing building in Denver, to look like a Victorian mourning ceremony.” Visitors can explore the Metaphysical Marketplace for crystals and curios and engage in mystical-themed fun like aura photography, tarot readings, flash tattoos and tours of the Four Mile House. Following the festivities, guests may enjoy the latest addition to Spirits and Spirits, live music and drag bingo.
For those looking to have family fun closer to Halloween, bring the kids for ghoulish activities at Halloween Haunt on October 28th from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Families will have an unforgettable evening trick-or-treating, decorating pumpkins, playing games and getting their faces painted. The highlight of the evening is a double-feature showing of Halloweentown and Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge. This is a can-not-miss night full of ghostly entertainment.
If you want to partake in any of these October events at Four Mile Historic Park, tickets are on sale now for all three events.