Joya Pavia, Staff Writer

Nothing encompasses the fall feeling like gathering friends and family, and venturing off to a pumpkin patch or an apple orchard. You could always decorate your dorm, bake pumpkin cookies, get lost in a corn maze, sip on hot apple cider, watch Halloween movies, go on a hayride, roast pumpkin seeds, hike as the leaves change, watch football or make caramel apples if you’re ever stumped on what to do.

There are a few spots around town dedicated to fall festivities. Sophomore Briana Paciello recommends students go to the Fly Creek Cider Mill to sample products and get some delicious fudge. Students could also take a drive to the Clinton Cider Mill, which is a closer to campus and get frozen apple squeeze or cider donuts.

“Critz Farms is a great place to go and do fall activities. I look forward to going with my family every year,” said junior Kaprice Martinelli.

Critz Farms located at 3232 Rippleton Rd-State Route 13, Cazenovia has a Fall Harvest Celebration every weekend from Sept. 17 to Oct. 23. The celebration offers many activities for all ages, such as a gigantic corn maze, animal area, gift shop and fresh sweet apple cider. They offer wagon rides to the orchard and pumpkin field along with live music and entertainment on the weekends. Critz Farms also has a Brewing & Cider Co. tasting room that serves beer, wine and hard cider.

If you’re ever feeling adventurous and in the Halloween spirit, stop by Cayo Industrial on a Friday night with a Utica Hockey ticket and get one dollar off admission. Cayo Industrial is a haunted house located at 811 Broad St, Utica. They offer four walkthrough attractions; Bio-warfare, Biotech, Revelation and Archana Asylum.

Gather your friends and form a team for The Great Utica Pumpkin Carve. The event is held at Murnane Field, which is on the corner of Burrstone Road and Sunset Ave. It is a pumpkin-carving competition and the proceeds go to support Our Lady of Lourdes Community Outreach Programs.

Junior Julianna Zegarelli said fall is her favorite season. When asked what her favorite part of fall is, Zegarelli said she looks forward to bringing out all her sweaters and boots and staying in on the couch drinking hot cocoa. Fall is only here for a short period of time, so take the time to appreciate its beauty and all of the fun it has to offer.