Rose Farm Fall Festival Delights with Live Music, Charcuterie & Pumpkin Painting

This fall season at Rose Farm feels like magic, and we are thrilled to welcome 100 guests to experience the magic at our Rose Farm Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 from 3 – 6 p.m. The leaves are slowly turning from green to shades of yellow, orange and red. Our apple tree is full of the juiciest red apples, quickly finding their way into warm apple cake. The crisp morning air has us grabbing for our knit sweaters as we sit on the porch with steam dancing from our warm mugs of coffee.

The leaves are starting to crunch under our boots as we do our daily chores around the farmstead. The smell of firewood fills the dark night air as we grab blankets and snuggle up around the campfire. The sight of pumpkins and mums resting against the sweet greenhouse has us excited for all our guests who will be making memories together at the farm. This season is all kinds of cozy and beautiful, and we are thrilled to welcome you to fall on the farm.

What to Expect at the Rose Farm Fall Festival

Celebrate this beautiful season as you enjoy delicious food, seasonal drinks, a pumpkin painting demonstration and live music on the lawn overlooking the beautiful Rose Farm gardens at our Fall Festival. Upon arrival, guests will enjoy a specially prepared fall harvest charcuterie picnic box filled with cheeses and gourmet crackers, dried fruits, sliced apples with caramel dip and a mini pumpkin cheese ball. Guests will also sip on a rich apple cider welcome cocktail.

Guest musician Brian Dougherty (think John Mayer vibes) will be sharing his vocal talents and performing live on the lawn beginning at 3 p.m. Dougherty, a Johnston resident, is a guitar and vocal driven musician, playing pop rock covers from the ‘60s to today's current hits. His vocal talents will have you swaying in your chair and tapping your feet to the beat.

Once our guests have had a chance to enjoy an apple cider cocktail and snack on their charcuterie, they'll be ready to pick up a paintbrush, roll up their sleeves and decide whether they can give Picasso a run for his money. Artist Christine Hilbert (pictured below) will lead a live pumpkin painting demonstration from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Hilbert is the perfect person to encourage artistic talent as she is a multimedia artist based in Winterset. She earned her BFA from Iowa State University and studied painting at the Savannah College of Art & Design. She has created public art projects for numerous clients including Hubbell Realty Company, the City of West Des Moines (Best in Show, 2021) and The American Legion, and her paintings are part of the collections of the Iowa Clinic, Prairie Meadows, Banker’s Trust and the Savannah College of Art & Design, as well as many private collections. Her work has been featured in Midwest Living, and she is the author & illustrator of the children’s book, “Echo of the Star.”

It wouldn't be fall at the farm without stopping to take all of your Instagram-worthy photos in front of the Rose Farm greenhouse, styled every so festively with assorted pumpkins. Featured in Midwest Living and on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens Farmhouse Christmas (2021), along with the cover of The Iowan Magazine (2023), the picturesque greenhouse at Rose Farm has become a destination all its own. Guests are encouraged to gather their friends and snap all the photos because if you didn't document it, did it really happen?

The Fall Festival is a ticketed event for guests 21 years or older, and for an additional fee, buckets will be available for guests to harvest flowers from our three acres of gardens to take home. Head to rosefarmstead.com to learn more about the Fall Festival, and to save a seat in an upcoming art, floral or culinary workshops, specially curated for the fall and holiday seasons. We promise you'll want to hurry over to our website because only a few tickets remain for our holiday farm-to-table dinners.

Rose Farm Fall Season

The fall season at the farm will run through Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. Plan a visit to the farm during our open hours each Thursday from Noon to 5 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m. The farm will open for the Christmas season on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. When traveling to the farm, one of the best ways to get to find us if you are traveling from Des Moines is to take Highway 28, heading south, out to the Norwalk countryside. Once you reach 43rd Avenue, turn right. The farm will be a mile down the gravel road on the right side of the street at 7197 43rd Avenue.

There is always something happening at the Rose Farm, from farm to table dinners, to weddings and receptions, to workshops, yoga sessions and other incredibly special celebrations. We hope you'll take time to find your way to the Norwalk countryside and be part of our Rose Farm story.

What are you waiting for?

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses, including Chamber luncheons, roundtables and ribbon cuttings. You can also find live music happening each week thanks to the “Live Music This Week in DSM” blog series.