Idaho Botanical Garden Fall Festival 2014

The Botanical Harvest festival, which I don’t believe is a new event, did feature 7 local breweriess this year which all contributed a special small batch brew featuring an ingredient provided by the botanical garden. This was a very family friendly event, which as a father of 2 I very much appreciate. It’s hard to be a beer lover with kids sometimes when most events cater only to the over 21 crowd.  While some events may allow entry to kids, they don’t really cater or foster a “family friendly” atmosphere.  At least not an environment I would want my kids at.  This event was the exact opposite in that it was 100% family and child friendly, they just happened to have a small beer garden with great small batch beer brewed by 7 different breweries (Sockeye, EDGE, Cloud9, Sawtooth, Payette, Woodland Empire & Crooked Fence).

Aside from the beers, which were fantastic, there were lots of free activities to wander between like hay rides, cornhusk people craft (ok they kinda look like corn husk voodoo dolls…), face painting, trebuche pumpkin launching (courtesy of the Discovery Center of Idaho), food trucks (Calle 75 Tacos, Willowcreek Grill, & Riceworks, live music, an artisan market, and of course pumpkin patch/pumpkin painting and tons of photo opportunities.

I am hopeful that they addition of the local breweries and their inclusion of ingredients from the gardens will continue to be a key component of future fall festivals.  If you find yourself in Boise during the Idaho Botanical Garden Fall Festival, definitely check it out and don’t hesitate to bring the entire family!