NEHALEM — Think pumpkins, apple cider, live music in the barn and celebrating with the community when the bounty of the harvest comes alive at the 12th annual Harvest Festival from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Lower Nehalem Community Trust’s Alder Creek Farm. Bring the whole family to the farm and have some fun. This 54-acre preserved natural area, along with its barn, greenhouse, gardens and creekside trails, welcomes the community to this setting for an afternoon of traditional harvest festival activities.

This year’s Harvest Festival features live music by the Coaster — just right for dancing and singing along. Along with the music comes a bountiful farmers market, cider pressing, information booths ,and fun, new children’s activities: a piñata, a parachute and a clown/juggler. Raffle tickets can be purchased for the community garden basket of bounty, and there will be chance to submit an entry for a chance to win a pottery bowl from Nehalem Bay Pottery. To round out the day, three different 30-minute tours of the 54-acre property will be offered: teaching trail, community garden and conservation area.

The gardens of Alder Creek Farm will be open for casual strolling and inspiration. Caretakers of the community garden and the permaculture garden will be on hand to answer questions and inspire green thumb aspirations. If you have not visited these gardens, plan to spend extra time this year viewing the delicious beauty of what can be grown in the Lower Nehalem/Neahkahnie Mountain region.

Prepared foods will be available for sale. Tiderunner’s Dragon Boat team will offer barbecue and Fog Valley Coffee Roasters will offer organic coffee. Beverages and the famous Harvest Festival dessert table will be available by donation. All proceeds benefit the year-round education programs of the LNCT.

To reach Alder Creek Farm and Natural Area, turn south off U.S. Highway 101 at Underhill Lane between Manzanita and Nehalem, and follow it to the end of the road. Parking is limited, so carpooling, walking or bicycling in is encouraged. Drivers are encouraged to drive slowly along the lane and road approaching Alder Creek Farm.

The 12th Annual Harvest Festival is made possible with the support of Unfurl Manzanita and Ecologic Tree, LLC. Lower Nehalem Community Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has been conserving and stewarding land in the lower Nehalem watershed since 2002. LNCT leads restoration projects and provides year-round education programs for children and adults. For more information call 503-368-3203, lnctoffice@nehalemtel.net or go to www.nehalemtrust.org