Oro Valley has a day full of fall-themed activities lined up Saturday to indulge the community’s seasonal spirit.
It starts at 9 a.m., when the second annual Fall Festival at Steam Pump Ranch gets going at Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 N. Oracle Road. The free festival, which concludes at 3 p.m., features a pumpkin maze, a farmers market, demonstrations and family activities.
Once the festival ends, the action shifts to the Oro Valley Aquatic Center, 23 W. Calle Concordia, for the Floating Pumpkin Patch . From 5 to 7 p.m., the recreation pool will be filled with pumpkins, ready to be picked and decorated.
There also will be water games and a costume contest.
Oro Valley Parks and Recreation director Kristy Diaz-Trahan said the festival will have something for just about everyone.
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“It will be a family-friendly event,” she said. “Adults will be able to participate in the farmers market and kids will be able to play in the hay maze and decorate pumpkins.”
The festival offers a wide variety of things to do. There will be country music, square dancing and clogging performances, hay rides along with cooking, gardening, art and archaeology demonstrations.
The town has a $5,000 budget for the event. The Oro Valley Historical Society also is pitching in with financial and volunteer support.
The festival reflects the town’s ongoing efforts to turn Steam Pump Ranch, which it bought in 2007, into a community gathering place.
“When the town purchased it, it was in pretty poor condition,” Diaz-Trahan said. “We went through it and did quite a lot of renovation while keeping its historic integrity. We’re doing facility tours and just working on it as money comes along, getting it back into shape.”
Festivalgoers will be able to check out the progress and enjoy themselves Saturday.
“It’s going to be a great, fun day,” Diaz-Trahan said, adding that the town has made an effort to improve the festival’s appeal.
“The key difference is the addition of a farmers market,” Diaz-Trahan said. “We put up three ramadas, specifically for the farmers market. We’ve added more children’s features and more photo opportunities.”
