The Tolay Fall Festival presents two weekends of old-time, nature-based fun from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. October 13-14 & 20-21, 2018 at Tolay Lake Regional Park southeast of Petaluma.

More than just a pumpkin patch, the Tolay Fall Festival is a seasonal celebration of the beauty and history of this special park. Fall Festival activities are low-key, hands-on and educational by design.

• Explore the “Nighttime Creatures Barn” full of native and exotic snakes, birds of prey, tide pool animals, and taxidermied wildlife
• Venture into the “Creepy Crawly Room,” where tarantulas and scorpions glow under black lights
• Take a hayride to a pumpkin patch and find the perfect Halloween pumpkin
• Enjoy Alaguali cultural activities Oct. 20-21, including basketry, flint knapping, and acorn processing
• Try farm activities like wool-carding and candle-dipping
• Enter the World-Record Pumpkin-Seed Spitting Contest
• Join hands-on demonstrations in archery, astronomy and nature photography
• Compete in gunnysack races. Find your way through a straw maze. Pet barnyard animals
• Sample food and desserts from local vendors or bring a picnic

Admission:

$5 for adults
$3 for children 12 and younger.
Activities inside the festival are free.

Parking is $7.

Free Admission for Members! Regional Parks members get free, one-time admission for two adults and two children and free parking when they present their parking pass at the entrance. 

School Field Trips to the Fall Festival

Schools are invited to visit the  Tolay Fall Festival on field trips during the festival’s two-week run in mid-October. Students make traditional crafts, play old-fashioned games, learn about wildlife through live displays in a historic barn, and take hayrides with a ranger to a pumpkin patch. This special field trip introduces students to the role of agriculture and farming in healthy communities.

Registration for the Fall Festival field trips will close October 1, 2018 or when the event is at capacity. To reserve a class trip, please use our  online registration. If you have questions, please contact Christina McGuirk by phone at (707) 789-9699 or by email at  christina.mcguirk@sonoma-county.org.

Read more about our other school programs

Thank you to our 2018 sponsors!