Carman Williams
cwilliams@weatherforddemocrat.com
Clark Gardens is known as a prime wedding location and a spring-time beauty, but it’s the garden’s autumn appeal owners hope to highlight during this weekend’s Fall Festival and Train Show.
The festival will feature seasonal crafts and games, such as pumpkin painting and pumpkin golf, as well as a display of the garden’s G-scale model trains, a marathon of classic train movies and a beneficial 5K run or two-mile walk.
Held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the festival costs $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and children under 15. The admission covers everything except food purchased from vendors, and children under 4 are free.
“This is an opportunity to experience fall in a beautiful environment and at the same time, share a day with your family,” said Carol Clark Montgomery, daughter of garden owners Max and Billie Clark. “The time goes by very quickly. It’s important to have traditions in families, like ‘Every fall we pick out pumpkins’ or ‘Every fall we go to the Clark Gardens Fall Fest.’ I think as society moves so fast, this is an opportunity to slow down and create traditions and memories with your family.”
The family atmosphere of the festival is emphasized by the number of child-oriented activities, such as a toddler hay maze, scavenger hunts and arts and crafts.
But there are also points of interest for older children and adults, such as the train exhibit; an attraction which sprang from Max Clark’s own boyhood passion.
Max Clark grew up around the train station where his father worked. Clark became a “historical train buff,” according to his daughter, and when the opportunity came to install a garden train in the botanical park, he jumped at it.
In addition to the garden’s train sets, the North Texas Railway Club and Annetta Live Steam Club will display their own collections this weekend.
A 5K run and two-mile walk are also in the works. Runners can sign up starting at 7 a.m. the day of the run, and both events begin at 9 a.m.
The walking course will remain in the gardens, while the running path leads around the park as well as Mineral Wells State Park’s Rails to Trails pathway.
Proceeds from the walk will go toward the Parent Teacher Organization of the walkers’ choice, while the 5K profits will go toward Clark Garden’s educational program. Awards will be given to top participants.
Clark Montgomery said the goal of the festival, the garden’s educational programs and other community events is to raise awareness of the public garden.
“This belongs to the community,” she said, adding the garden is a non-profit entity. “We want people to come and read a book, have a picnic, truly use this as an extension of their own backyards.”
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