The sun may be showing itself less and less frequently, but that’s no reason to spend a perfectly good weekend holed up at home. Revel in all things autumn at Volksfest, a three-day food and spirits gathering to benefit Urban Gleaners.

The festival is hosted by Field Day and the Colony in St. Johns, and you’ll want to stay all weekend: each day’s programming features a distinctly different array of food, drink, live music, and family-friendly activities. 

The party kicks off on Friday, October 18 at 5 pm, when Occidental Brewing and Union Wine Co opens the happy hour bar. Grab a drink and head to the Picker’s Bonfire Circle for the first of many music sets. Stick around and dance the night away in the Colony Ballroom, where DJs will be laying down beats until midnight. 

Saturday’s festivities begin at 11 am with fresh bagels from Tastebud and mulled cider in the Party Place Harvest Tent. Bring the kids for the mid-day pumpkin carving contest, and stay for wood-fired pizza, flame-broiled burgers, and Salt & Straw ice cream. Evening entertainment includes more dancing in the Colony’s ballroom, featuring live music from ten local bands including The Darlin’ Brothers, Bad Asset, Power of County, and Trask River Redemption.

You're not done yet...Finish strong on Sunday with brunch at the griddle cake and sausage breakfast and a trip to to the Hot Monkey Bloody Mary Bar. The weekend’s merriment concludes with the scariest scarecrow building contest, where kids and families vie to keep those Halloween ghosts away.

In the spirit of harvesting the last of the season’s bounty, Volkfest invites the community to bring surplus produce and canned goods to the Colony throughout the weekend. The collected nourishment will benefit Urban Gleaners, a local group that helps alleviate hunger by distributing surplus food to agencies that feed the hungry.

Volksfest 2013 will be held at the Colony from Friday, October 18 at 5 pm to Sunday, October 20 at 5 pm. On Friday and Saturday evenings, late-night revelers can catch a shuttle bus between Yakuza Lounge on NE 30th and the Colony at 7525 N Richmond Ave. For the shuttle bus schedule and more information, visit the Volksfest event page.