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6 Hudson Valley Parent n October 2019 W hen I reminisce on the Octobers of my past, my mind is filled with visions of festive fun wrapped in flannel, cinnamon scented candles and muddy orchards covered in a layer of crunchy leaves. When I was very young, my mother would bundle my brothers and I up in cozy sweaters and rain boots for an adventure at our favorite farm in Ulster County. We would pick apples that would later be dipped into caramel and peanut butter. My brothers and I would grab the largest pumpkin our little arms could carry to bring home for an evening of jack-o-lantern carving on the kitchen floor while Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas played on loop in the background. We would get elbow deep in pumpkin guts and get creative etching creepy faces onto our pumpkins. As I got older, Halloweens were spent with a huge group of friends. We would gather at my mother's house dressed in masks and homemade costumes. My favorite part of Halloween was that it meant I had an excuse to wear false eyelashes and be silly with my friends. (The huge sack of candy wasn't a bad perk, either!) For years, my mom even let my chocolate lab Riley in on the fun. She squeezed him into a Rangers jersey so that he could join us on our walk around the neighborhood, happily accepting the pets and praise from little ghosts and goblins. As a high school student, my friends and I ditched our candy- filled pillowcases for haunted hayrides and scary movie marathons. Some years, I stuck around on Halloween night to help my dad hand out candy. We would set up a fire pit in our driveway, welcoming costumed kids and their parents to grab some candy while we munched on Almond Joys and Kit Kats. Now, I still enjoy fall in the Hudson Valley. I have hiked the trails at some of the best places for leaf-peeping (thanks Hudson Valley Parent for an amazing list of places!) and enjoyed the rattling of the tracks aboard Catskill Mountain Railroad's Fall Flyer. My husband and I held on to the apple and pumpkin picking traditions of my past. Donning our plaid shirts and boots, we trekked through the orchards on a chilly Saturday in search of the biggest pumpkin that my (still kind of little) arms could carry. What is your family's favorite fall tradition? The Hudson Valley Parent staff has already reaped the benefits from our executive assistant, Leslie Cortes's October adventures when we all got a taste of her homemade applesauce. Yum! This month, flip through our magazine and check out HVParent.com for exciting autumn inspiration. We wrangled up the best fright-free events to celebrate Halloween and tons of harvest festi- vals and fall fairs to enjoy during the change of season. Get lost in a corn maze and enjoy a sweet cider donut with your family. Happy fall, Hudson Valley parents! Enjoy autumn as a family CASSIDY BRIGHTON Editor's Journal Publisher TERRIE GOLDSTEIN tgoldstein@excitingread.com Editor CASSIDY BRIGHTON cbrighton@excitingread.com Dir. of Business Development KATHLEEN MERZ kmerz@excitingread.com Executive Assistant LESLIE CORTES lcortes@excitingread.com Media Advisor MARY ZAK mzak@excitingread.com Cover Photography MICHAEL BLOOM MichaelBloomPhoto.com Layout & Design ENGLE PRINTING also publishers of MY TripPlanner.com family MY TripPlanner.com family Hudson Valley Parent is published monthly by: The Professional Image Marketing & Public Relations Inc. 174 South Street • Newburgh, NY 12550 Phone: 845-562-3606 • Fax: 845-562-3681 hvparent.com This publication is copyrighted by the publisher. Reproduction without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Hudson Valley Parent welcomes submissions, although we cannot accept responsibility for work submitted nor guarantee publication.