Tanners Orchard welcomes autumn with family fun

*This article was originally submitted as a calendar story for a feature news writing course on Sept. 24, 2021.*

The weather starts to cool, leaves fall from the trees and the scents of fresh apples and pumpkin spice are in the air. It’s finally fall, and for many people that means the final chance for outdoor activities with friends and family.

Tanners Orchard in Speer, Illinois, offers such pastimes that are most popular in September and October.

The family-owned and operated orchard has apple picking, a corn field with two mazes that change each year, farm animals and a “back 40 fun acres” which includes many attractions such as pedal carts, corn hole and putt-putt golf. There are also Festival Days on Saturdays and Sundays during September and October when there are barrel trains, pony rides and giant bubbles.

Brenda Beaver, the daughter of current co-owner Jennifer Beaver, has lived near the farm since she was 4 years old and is now a full-time manager.

“We’re really fortunate to have all of the great people that come out here,” Beaver said. “I love to find a customer who’s looking at the trees or looking at something and you can tell that they’re trying to figure something out. I like to walk up to them and explain everything to them.”

Last year Tanners saw 9,000-10,000 attendees on a Saturday, making 2020 the best attendance year ever. Beaver said a good day is when there are 6,000-8,000 visitors, as this gives people space to move around without long lines.

With the many activities and attractions, Tanners is popular among families with children of all ages.

Paige Dean, an instructor in the communications department at Bradley University, has made it a tradition to go to Tanners with her family. She grew up in Dunlap, Illinois and went each year, and now that she has children of her own, she makes sure to go at least once in the fall.

“The great thing about Tanners is there is enough there that you can really — any size family, any age kids, even if you don’t have kids — you are going to find something at Tanners that everybody can enjoy,” Dean said. “It’s a must for the fall.”

When her kids were younger, they would love going on the playground, but now that they are 9 and 11 years old, they are more interested in apple picking and possibly trying the corn maze.

“We like to plan our trip in October,” Dean said. “I like it to be a little bit chillier out and kind of crisp air ... It feels more like fall.”

One of her favorite things to do as a kid was sample the cider out of small paper cups, but that’s not a prominent thing anymore.

“When I think about Tanners, I think about cider, so that whole thing makes me kind of sad,” Dean said.

Dean has seen how Tanners has changed and become a bigger attraction throughout the year.

“The store gets bigger and bigger every year; they add stuff,” Dean said. “It never used to be like that when I was little. It has changed so much, and I mean, they get the foot traffic. It’s very smart ... They’re definitely making profit now.”

Tanners Orchard is also a popular destination for Bradley students as an annual organization bonding experience or a fun break with friends.

Jordan McCue, a senior sports communications major, goes to Tanners about twice a year. Once as an annual sisterhood event with the Chi Omega fraternity and another time with a group of friends.

She enjoys seeing the goats, picking her own apples, getting the corn salsa and drinking the apple cider. Her group dresses up to visit the orchard, and they take plenty of pictures to remember the experience.

“Taking photos for the memories is a lot of fun and just being there with your friends,” McCue said. “It is a little bit of a drive, but I think the drive is also a lot of fun if you have friends that you don’t get to hang out with a lot, or with your sorority, meeting the new members.”

During the month of October, the Tanner’s team paints pumpkins purple and sells them for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The proceeds go to Freedom House, a domestic abuse treatment center in Princeton, Illinois.

Beaver recommends families with children to visit the orchard on weekends when the festival activities are available. She said Thursday and Friday evenings are great for high school and college students or those looking for some fun without longer waits. The crowds in the afternoon during the week are small, so that would be a good time for a small group to shop around in the market.

“We’re just so fortunate to be a destination for people,” Beaver said. “We’re out here in the country with a lot of people that don’t get a chance to experience this kind of thing

... It’s really awesome for me to be able to offer that experience to people that don’t understand it.”