COOPER, Iowa, September 27, 2009 — The fourth annual Fall Festival on the Raccoon River Valley Trail is set for Saturday, October 3, with special activities scheduled in most of the communities and a whole lot of new developments on display. 

Special activities include a Dallas County “poker ride” that will take cyclists into all of that county’s towns on the trail; in Panora the popular and slightly zany “Trick or Treat Trail Trek for the Dogs” (in costume); also in Panora early coffee and muffins and a little later live music; in Yale opportunities to see and learn about the exciting building renovations happening there; south of Jefferson “Burgers, Brats & Bicycles at the Bridge” on the 600-foot-long trestle bridge over the North Raccoon River; then in Jefferson, 8-mile-long round-trip “tram rides” on the trail especially for those who want to experience the RRVT without having to ride a bicycle or walk; and in Perry special food bargains and a bicycle safety rodeo for kids in the Hy-Vee Food Store parking lot.

Read on in this story for the listings, which will be updated through this week as more activities are announced.

“The Fall Festival on the Raccoon River Valley Trail gives us one more chance for everybody to get outdoors and see the tremendous recreational and natural resource we’ve got here,” said Carla Offenburger, of Cooper, president of the RRVT Association, which promotes and markets the trail.  “And we also use the festival as a way to say a late-season ‘thank you’ to all the folks who use the trail, as well as those who provide services in the communities along it.” 

This year’s festival occurs in the 20^th anniversary year of the RRVT, and also during an unprecedented time of expansion on the trail, which is currently 56 miles long and goes through nine towns in west central Iowa.  Already under construction is a $6.6 million “North Loop” of the RRVT that is adding 33 additional miles of trail surface and five more towns.  All but $850,000 of that money has been granted, donated and/or raised – and additional grant applications and donation requests are in process. 

During the festival on Saturday, there are several new extensions of the trail for people to explore.  In Waukee, there is a new city trail running west from Waukee High School to the RRVT, and then extending northwest out of town on what will become the North Loop of the RRVT, a total of about three miles of new trail surface.  In Perry, there is about 2.5 miles of new trail going through Perry on a southeast to northwest diagonal, including a pass through the central business district.   There is also a mile or more of new trail in Dallas Center, south of Iowa Highway 44, extending south through downtown to the swimming pool. 

And for all those who will be riding or walking on the full 56-mile existing trail, there’s really no prettier time of year to experience it than in the autumn.  Wildflowers have been in vibrant color recently, the leaves on the bushes and trees along the trail are turning shades and, of course, the farm harvest is fully underway.  In many places, trail users will be able to see combines operating in fields immediately adjacent to the RRVT. 

The hours of festival events are generally between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., although some will start a bit earlier and last a bit later. 

The special activities, from the southeast end of the trail on to the west and north: 

DALLAS COUNTY TRAIL “POKER RIDE”:  Cyclists can start wherever they want for this event, with the “hub” of it being in Waukee.  There is a $10 admission charge, with all participants getting RRVT logo T-shirts and vying for poker prizes.  RRVT Association board members will be stationed at seven locations along the trail, handing out playing cards.  Cyclists collect the cards, and then turn in their “best poker hand” of five cards to determine the winners of the prizes.  The playing cards will be available at the Waukee trailhead on the northwest corner of town, in little Ortonville, at Patrick’s cafe trailside in Adel, at the Kennedy Station road crossing, at the Redfield Depot, at the shelterhouse in Linden, and in Triangle Park in old downtown Waukee.  It is in that Triangle Park where the poker hands are to be turned in by 1 p.m., and that’s when the prizes will be awarded. 

EARLY COFFEE & MUFFINS IN PANORA:  Trail supporters Dave and Mary Beidelman, of Panora, report that they will be in the trailside shelterhouse at beautiful Heritage Park, just north of downtown Panora, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. with hot coffee and muffins. 

“TRICK-OR-TREAT TRAIL TREK FOR THE DOGS” IN PANORA:  This fun event, being held for the third consecutive year during the Fall Festival, gets better and better as more dogs – and their owners – costume up and join the fun.  It starts at 10 a.m., with an admission charge of “50 cents per paw” but “humans with a pooch are free,” according to coordinator Kristine Jorgensen, who directs a Panora animal welfare agency called “PETS,” which stands for “Protecting Even The Strays.”  The admission charge benefits that program.  After people and their dogs gather on the trail adjacent to P.J.’s Drive-In Restaurant, they can walk their pets south on the trail, stopping at several activity stations.  At 12 noon, there will be contests for best costumes and best pet tricks. 

LIVE MUSIC TRAILSIDE IN PANORA:  A Panora rock band “Bus 15” will perform from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot at P.J.’s while the other activities are also underway.  People can bring lawn chairs, if they’re not arriving by bicycle.  The performance is sponsored by the Guthrie County Tourism Council.

CHECK THE BUILDING PROGRESS IN YALE:  There are three building projects underway in Yale that will be key venues for trail-related events in years to come in the ambitious town of 287 people.  Fall Festival visitors will be able to check the progress on all three, by either bicycling or driving to Yale.  Sarah Brewster, owner of the old Windsor Hotel in Yale, is nearing the end of a third year in a renovation of the 119-year-old building into a small inn.  “I won’t be able to let people come through the hotel for tours – we’ve got just got too much construction mess inside and it’d be dangerous – but I’ll set up my computer and have photo displays of the progress we’re making,” said Brewster, who is living in the hotel while teaching in the nearby Perry Community Schools. “The first thing people will notice is that we’ve done a lot of work on the lawn and gardens around the hotel.  We’ve also done a lot on the porches and exterior of the building.  We wanted to get flowers and plants started, and they really look pretty nice.  We’ve also done a lot on the porches and exterior of the building.  Inside the hotel, we’re nearly done with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and we’re started now on another bedroom.”  She said she has also settled the name of her inn. “We’re going to call it ‘The Windsor,’ staying close to the original,” she said.  Two blocks west of the hotel, renovation continues on the classic small round gymnasium that once was the home court of the Yale High School Bulldogs.  Ron Dygert, who serves on the gymnasium committee, said the 1932-vintage building will be open for the Fall Festival.  Installation of new steel exterior doors has been completed, and Dygert said work will continue on the interior of the gym as volunteers and fund are available.  Eventually it will be available for concerts, live theater, reunions, banquets and, yes, basketball.  Meanwhile, in downtown Yale, just north of the hotel, work is nearing completion on a brand new Community Building.  It’s a project of the Yale Community Club, with financial backing from the City of Yale.  Proceeds from bingo games held in Yale are covering most of the costs of the new building.  Local officials anticipate having the Community Building completed and ready for use by early November, when it is to be the site of the annual early-Thanksgiving dinner put on by the Yale United Methodist Church. 

HISTORICAL PHOTOS YOU’VE GOT TO SEE IN HERNDON:  This little communty, where the new “North Loop” of theRRVT will head east and another major trail will head west, is eventually going to be one of the most important trail junctions in the U.S.  It was once a really important railroad junction, too, and Herndon booster Alex Krueger, who farms west of town, has put together a fascinating display of photos covering Herndon’s history.  He intends to have them on display at the trail junction on Saturday.

FREE APPLES, WHILE THEY LAST, IF YOU RIDE YOUR BIKE THROUGH COOPER:  In the small southern Greene County town of Cooper, the folks will be busy working elsewhere on Fall Festival events, but they’re leaving a big basket of apples at the trailside shelterhouse – especially for those bicyclists who ride through town.  

“BURGERS, BRATS & BIKES AT THE BRIDGE,” SOUTH OF JEFFERSON:  RRVT Association volunteers will have the grills fired up on the 600-foot-long trestle bridge over the North Raccoon River, preparing picnic meals for $5 apiece.  And, yes, those meals will be available to those coming past while on the tram rides.  It’s hard to beat this spot on the RRVT for real beauty – and for a good picnic, too! 

TRAM RIDES FORM THE JEFFERSON DEPOT:  The Greene County Conservation Board has rented an 15-passenger open-air tram, which does have a roof, that will be towed by a tractor for eight-mile round-trips going south from the Jefferson Depot at the trailhead, turning around at Winkleman Switch, then heading back north.  So there will be two crossings of the North Raccoon River.  Departures from the Jefferson Depot will be at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon and 1 p.m.  Turn-arounds at Winkleman Switch will be as close as possible to the half-hours.  There is no charge for the tram rides.  “We like to offer these tram rides because there are a lot of people who can’t walk or bicycle far enough to really get out and experience the RRVT,” said Carla Offenburger.  “The north four miles of the trail is one of the prettiest stretches not only of our trail, but of any trail in Iowa.  It’s a beautiful ride on the tram, and we’re glad to offer it to people, just so they can really understand what an asset having this trail is to our whole area.”  And, talk about full service operations, lunch orders will be taken on the tram and called ahead to the trestle bridge! 

WANT TO HELP SUPPORT ALL THIS?  People 18 and over are encouraged to buy RRVT daily passes ($2) or yearly passes ($10), which are available at dispenser tubes at several of the trailheads, at several businesses along the trail, from the three county conservation boards. 

You can help support the promotion and marketing of the trail by joining the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association, with the annual membership fee of $20 per person including a year-long trail permit.  Family memberships in the association are $35 and include two year-long trail permits.  RRVT Association memberships sold in the last quarter of each calendar year include trail permits for the following year.  Those association memberships are also available online in the “RRVT Store” on this Internet site. 

Questions about the Fall Festival can be directed to Carla & Chuck Offenburger in Cooper at (515) 386-5488.