PELHAM – Oak Mountain State Park will be hosting its annual Harvest Festival beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14. According to OMSP events coordinator Anna Jones, the festival is family friendly and places an emphasis on education.

Jones said OMSP will use resources from the park to promote the educational aspect of the festival.

During the festival, Jones said OMSP is offering a guided hike, kids’ archery classes, an educational talk about birds of prey from the Alabama Wildlife Center and an educational talk about snakes and turtles from the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center.

“We want people to see what Oak Mountain State Park has to offer in one swift setting,” Jones said. “We want to welcome people into the park.”

The Harvest Festival will also feature yard games, free hayrides, live music and local vendors.

“We want to support our community the way that our community has supported us,” Jones said.

Mountain High Outfitters will also demonstrate “tons of camping gear” for the fall camping season.

Last year, Jones said about 1,000 people attended the event, and the expected number of guests for this year’s festival has more than quadrupled.

“This year, we have over 7,000 people interested on Facebook,” Jones said.

Instead of marketing, Jones attributed the projected high turnout to the improvements OMSP made to the Harvest Festival about three years ago and shared experiences from community members.

“Since we’ve revamped everything, I think people are realizing that we’ve stepped it up a couple of notches,” Jones said. “People are noticing that we can provide quality events. It’s really just the event itself.”

Jones said the event is open to dogs as long as they are on leashes. Visitors have to pay an entry fee at the park’s entrance, and there is no additional cost for the festival. Children younger than 3 are admitted for free. The cost for children ages 4-11 and adults over 62 is $2 per person. The cost for regular adults is $5 each.

For more information about the 2017 OMSP Harvest Festival, contact Jones at Anna.Jones@dcnr.alabama.gov.