After months of sticky summertime heat, fall is finally descending upon parts of Appalachia and the Mid-South. It marks a time of celebration in the region, including harvest festivals, Halloween attractions and the simple joys of comfortable weather and nature’s striking colors.
To commemorate the season, reporters from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia explored their neck of the woods to share some of the region’s unique fall activities for the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom.
Jack-o’-lanterns in Kentucky
Every year, one of Louisville’s oldest parks glows with thousands of elaborately carved pumpkins. The Jack O’Lantern Spectacular is back at Iroquois Park for its 13th annual show, and organizers say it’s better than ever.
These jack-o’-lanterns go above and beyond what you typically see on porches throughout your neighborhoods. Artists painstakingly paint, scrape and carve intricate designs of celebrity portraits, animals and cartoon characters on pumpkins weighing up to 100 pounds.
On opening weekend of the Jack O’Lantern Spectacular, LPM’s Giselle Rhoden captured the sights, sounds and awe of the spooky season mainstay.
Walkthroughs of the trail begin every night at dusk through Nov. 2. This year’s theme is “Jack's Pun-King Trail,” so be prepared for plenty of dad jokes and groaners.
Leaf peeping in the Tennessee wilderness
The University of the South, known as Sewanee, is often praised for its beauty. The Gothic architecture of its stone buildings is reminiscent of a setting lifted straight from a storybook.
But for some people, Sewanee’s best feature can’t be found on its small campus grounds. It’s the surrounding 13,000 acres of forest and wildlife, including the 20-mile Perimeter Trail that allows easy access to the natural wonder.
WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams set out on a trek with students to learn more about what makes it so special. Though it’s an annual tradition for seniors to hike the entirety of the trail the week before graduation, fall is another ideal time to soak in the aesthetics.
No conversation about Tennessee’s natural beauty is complete without mentioning Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s the most visited national park in the U.S., and fall tourism provides an economic boost to communities in the area.
But the ongoing federal government shutdown that started at the beginning of the month put that at risk, as parks across the country dealt with staffing furloughs and closures. That didn’t last long in the Smokies thanks to local governments and nonprofits stepping up to fund operations for up to 30 days, allowing visitors to continue enjoying the autumnal elegance of the mountains.
WUOT’s Pierce Gentry spoke with local officials about the economic and recreational significance of the park and how that played into their $2 million commitment to keep it open.
The finest foliage in West Virginia
The only state that sits entirely within the Appalachian Mountains is West Virginia, giving it a useful leg up for outdoor recreation. WVPB’s Chris Schulz reports officials are tapping into that potential by guiding residents and visitors to hotspots for the best fall colors the third most forested state in the country has to offer.
West Virginia’s fall foliage forecast map and live leaf tracker showcase not only where to find the most autumnal scenes, but when. That’s particularly helpful in a state where peak periods for the turning of the leaves depend on variations in elevation and latitudinal range.
Similar to the efforts at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, West Virginia is putting up $100,000 during the federal shutdown to maintain operations at its two national parks, New River Gorge and Harpers Ferry.
This story was produced by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKU Public Radio in Kentucky and NPR.
