Ever wondered how to forage for and prepare mushrooms?
Learn the hows and whys at Harvest Festival, which starts at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, 1945 S.E. Water Ave., Portland. This free fall festival is packed with entertaining, family-friendly activities such as arm-painting and other crafts. Featuring more than 35 local vendors, you’ll feel at home with any of the beer, snacks, sweets or produce. Kit Zhu, executive chef at OMSI’s Theory restaurant, will lead demonstrations on finding and cooking mushrooms at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., you can take in the “Chopped”-style cook off, where chefs will compete to make the best harvest feast using Oregon speciality crops. Admission to the event is free; parking is $5. 503-797-4675 or omsi.edu/calendar/harvest-festival
As the hurricane season continues to take a toll on the Southeast, aid in the relief efforts and knock out some holiday shopping. At Mom’s Market and Auction at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 7, browse a variety of vendors while in search of the perfect gifts. The market includes a silent auction aimed at fundraising. Each vendor donates an item to the auction, and the proceeds from that auction will benefit the MOMS Club Mother-to-Mother fund, which provides grants for emergency expenses for mothers who are struggling financially or need help recovering after a natural disaster. The market will be at Keller Williams Premier Partners, 2211 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver; admission is free. 907-723-6460 or facebook.com/events/316867572071840
With 191 years of life in the rear-view, the oldest apple tree in Washington dates back to Thomas Jefferson’s presidency — and 1826. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7 at Old Apple Tree Park, 112 S.E. Columbia Way in Vancouver, celebrate another year at the Old Apple Tree Festival as this forefather of Washington apple trees slowly creeps up on its bicentennial. The festival features arts and crafts, tree-care workshops, live music and free apple-cider pressing. Bring your own clean apples and a container for cider. Admission is free. 360-487-8308 or cityofvancouver.us/ufc/page/old-apple-tree-festival-0
There’s a regular old haunted house — and then there’s FrightTown, which operates more like a massive haunted apartment complex. These three different haunted houses, all in one location, total 40,000 square feet on one city block, beneath Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 300 N. Winning Way in Portland. Jump once or twice visiting “Baron Von Goolo’s Museum of Horrors,” an occult museum that features evil clowns and sea monkeys. Or test the thrills at “Fear the Dark,” FrighTown’s new pitch-black maze. And if you’d rather not bounce back in horror, try “Buried Alive,” a live burial simulator, where participants experience the sounds, smells and sensations of being dumped in an unmarked grave. The haunted houses run Oct. 7-31 from 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Oct. 31; and 6 to 11 p.m. Oct. 21 and 28. Admission is $25. 503-963-4400 or frighttown.com/index.html
