Peoria IL Activities This Weekend
Looking for Peoria IL activities this weekend? The weather is cooling down and the kids are back into the routine of school, but you’d like to do some fun family activities that are unique to the fall in the Peoria area.
Fall is a great time to visit Tanners Orchard, located in Speer, approximately 20 miles north of Peoria on Knoxville Ave. Tanners offers much more as far as activities beyond picking apples (which you can certainly do too!). In addition to the U-Pick apples and pumpkins, their Corn Maze uses an original design around a specific theme each year.
September is when the U-Pick apples & pumpkins are available. On Festival days (Saturdays & Sundays), you can enjoy a wagon ride through the orchard. Other attractions at Tanners, include the “Back 40” Fun with many kids activities plus farm animals including chickens, rabbits, goats, llamas and “unicorns”. Find more information at https://www.tannersorchard.com
Another great fall family activity is to visit a pumpkin patch and choose a Halloween pumpkin to carve. Roth’s Pumpkin Patch in Morton is one of the most popular places for finding that perfect pumpkin. They opened on September 9th for 2024 with the season running through October 31st. In addition to pumpkins, they offer field trips for groups plus “Pumpkin Park” with playground featuring a giant slide , a pedal pusher trike track, a straw bale maze and a jumbo jumpy pillow plus farm animals including lambs, goats and chickens. Find more information at https://rothpumpkinpatch.com
Festivals:
The annual Fall Festival hosted by the Peoria Chapter of Izaak Walton League in East Peoria will happen on Saturday, September 14 from 11 am – 4 pm. Featuring food, games, raffles, fishing, silent auctions, crafters and vendors, proceeds benefit the local Peoria Chapter of Izaak Walton League of America.
The annual Morton Pumpkin Festival runs September 11 – 14 in downtown Morton featuring various food items for sale made with pumpkin, live entertainment, a parade on Saturday, a carnival, the Pumpkin classic run/walk, an arts and crafts market and more.
The Peoria Oktoberfest will take place on the Peoria Riverfront on September 20th through the 22nd from 5 – 11 pm on Friday, 12 – 11 pm on Saturday and 11 am- 5 pm on Sunday. Featuring German heritage and culture through food, drink, live music and dance, which will also include the 2nd Annual Dachshund Racing on Saturday and the Der Bier Lauf 5K which will be on Sunday.
The 62nd Anniversary Peoria Art Guild Fine Art Fair will take place at the Peoria Riverfront on Saturday, September 28th from 10 am – 5 pm and on Sunday, September 29th from 10 am – 4 pm. Peoria’s nationally recognized art fair features an interactive mural, a kid’s art fair as well as 130 juried fine artists featuring original works of art including jewelry, painting, ceramics, photography, digital art, printmaking, mixed media, metal, glass, wood, sculpture, fiber, leather, and wearable fiber.
The Peoria Zoo Fall Festival is every Saturday in October from 10 am – 3 pm. Featuring live entertainment, capture memories at our photo ops, indulge in special concessions, and explore unique vendors, all while witnessing exciting animal enrichment activities plus additional experiences like pumpkin and gourd decorating, creating your own harvest trail mix, engaging games, crafts and more which may have additional charges.
The annual Peoria German American Society Schlachtfest will take place at Hickory Grove Park on October 6 from Noon – 8 pm. Featuring German dinners and live German music by the Ratskellar Brummer’s, Lindenhof Echoes and Vogel Music, dinners will include sides and sandwiches will be available separately. A campfire will round off the evening with complimentary marshmallows.
Fall Events:
Wildlife Prairie Park’s Bioblitz is Saturday, September 14th where participants are asked to record the plants, animals, and fungi species on 1800-acres of the park. There will be an insect walk for kids at 11 am, a frog call ID presentation and walk at the main tent at 1:45 pm and a mushroom walk at 3 pm.
SAMS (Stray Midway Shelter) of Hanna City will host its 2024 Woofstock Fundraiser at Sommer Park on September 15 beginning at Noon. It will feature live music by the Hindsight, food, vendors, a silent auction and raffle and more.
Peoria Humane Society’s Annual Bark in the Park will take place at Tower Park in Peoria Heights on Saturday, September 28th beginning at 10 am. Featuring the Marvelous Mutt Show, cake walks with prizes, souvenir photos, pet related exhibitors, dog rescue groups, raffle baskets, a cash raffle drawing, a parade, plus food trucks.
The Annual Spoon River Scenic Drive will take place from 9 am – 5 pm on the first and second Saturdays & Sundays of October in the Fulton County towns of Astoria, Avon, Bernadotte, Canton, Cuba, Duncan Mills, Ellisville, Farmington, Ipava, Lewistown, Orchard Mills, Smithfield, St. David and Vermont covering more than 100 miles in Fulton County. Local businesses as well as vendors will have unique arts & crafts plus food and beverages.
The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited opens at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Saturday, September 28th and runs through January 5, 2025. Featuring (of course!) Muppets, puppets, character sketches, storyboards, scripts, photographs, film and television clips, behind-the-scenes footage, iconic costumes, and interactive experiences that allow visitors to try their hand at puppeteering on camera and designing a puppet character, the exhibition also includes material from Henson’s experimental film projects and his early work, presenting him as a restlessly creative performer, filmmaker, and technical innovator.
