Happy (dreary, rainy) first October Friday! It’s officially apple picking season, and I’m excited to share some of the best orchards I’ve found in driving distance to us, so you can cross apple-picking off your fall bucket list, too 

We’re diving into our fall bucket list head on with apple picking and fall festivals this weekend! Our friends, the Kellers, are hosting a two day fall festival at Keller’s Greenhouse and Farm Shoppe in Kersey this Saturday and Sunday: find our more on their Facebook. They will have tons of pumpkins, squash, gourds and SO MANY APPLES and freshly pressed apple cider. They’re having live music and lots of vendors, too. It’s a great way to support our local community and enjoy some fall festival time with friends and family.

This weekend is also Franklin’s Apple Festival. If you haven’t ventured northwest to this beautiful town, this weekend is the perfect time. Franklin is a lovely small town in PA, and this weekend they host one of the largest vendor fairs in PA with their annual Apple Festival. We love a trip to other beautiful small towns, and this one won’t disappoint.

And don’t forget about Autumn Leaf Festival in Clarion! ALF is such a fun event, and our friends at Mechanistic Brewing in Clarion are ready for you! They’re open all day today with lots of food vendors and their awesome Oktoberfest brew. It’s a family friendly brew pub and a perfect stop while you’re walking the vendor fair during ALF!

And don’t forget to start your weekend at our farm shoppe, where we’re fully stocked with our final fall flavor: APPLE CIDER DONUT. This gelato starts with locally made apple cider and a cooked-down apple cider syrup that’s apple and spice! It’s churned to creamy frozen perfection before we add in pieces of Brockway Firemen’s own famous cinnamon donuts! It’s fall in a frozen pint, and a perfect way to enjoy apple cider!

We’re stocked with apples and butternut squash, spaghetti squash, apple cider and SO MUCH PUMPKIN DELICIOUSNESS! We have pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin milk and pumpkin gelato! In fact, we’re stocked with all our fall gelato flavors at the farm shoppe: pumpkin cheesecake, caramel apple cheesecake, rum raisin, dark chocolate peanut butter pretzel, caramel latte and now apple cider donut! Grab one of each for a taste of fall! See you guys this Saturday 10am – 1pm at our farm shoppe just outside of Brockway.

Now, for this week’s links + finds:

• Found a driving-distance Orchard with great reviews that looks beautiful: just outside of Indiana Steffenino Orchard. We take every free afternoon during apple season to find a new spot to pick: this one is on our list!

• This glass microwave popcorn maker is changing the way we snack at the Vivian house! It’s free of toxins and so simple to use, so making popcorn is our new favorite snack pastime! Can’t recommend this thing enough.

• The Fall Foliage Map is back and this version is my new favorite! Looks like we’re so close to peak in PA!

• We take this everywhere with is in the fall. The most delicious snack mix (even if you don’t like candy corn, I’m telling you this is different)!

• I’m scooping gelato from our gelato cart at an employee appreciation event today– don’t forget to book our cart for your next event!

Happy first October Friday! I hope you find some lovely fall things to do this weekend!