Get ready to officially welcome fall

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Community festivals are so consistent around here, you can use them to track the passage of time. When Polo and Ashton host festivals, you know it's June.

When Dixon and Mount Morris have theirs, it's early July.

When there are big doings in Franklin Grove and Amboy, it's August.

When Oregon rolls out the welcome mat for festival visitors, you know it's the first weekend in October.

Well, check your calendars, then head for the Ogle County seat this weekend for the 37th annual Autumn on Parade.

You wouldn't know it by the warm temperatures we've had lately, but fall really is here. Honest. In the past, Autumn on Parade has proven itself a fitting roundup to the area's festival season, and by the look of this year's activities, the same will hold true this weekend.

A good thing about these types of festivals is they're akin to a big citywide open house where everyone is invited. They give folks from near and far an excuse to experience the Oregon area up close and personal.

There's plenty to see. For starters, the brick 1891 Ogle County Courthouse that towers over the sprawling Farmers' Market lawn is worth a trip in itself. You'll find it at the corner of state Routes 2 and 64. Then there's the Old English Faire at Stronghold Castle two miles up the road on state Route 2, not to mention the excellent Harvest Time Parade starting at 1 p.m. Sunday.

In between, visitors can amuse themselves with food, fine arts, quilts, toys, car and tractor shows, the historic Chana School, historic encampments and much more.

Since 1970, Oregon residents have been pulling off this amazing festival. They'll be the first to tell you it doesn't happen by itself. It takes plenty of volunteer effort by people who are proud of their town and want others to experience it.

While you're on the way there, don't forget to gaze out the windows at the passing early fall foliage. That's an autumn on parade of a different sort.

It was 175 years ago, during a time of war, that two historic figures critical to the Sauk Valley passed near Oregon. One was Black Hawk. The other was Abraham Lincoln. Both are memorialized in a recent sculpture on state Route 2 near the southern edge of town. In addition, a monument commonly called the Black Hawk statue majestically oversees the Rock River on the city's northern side.

Just as the festival theme says, "Everything Old is New Again." It's worth the trip to Oregon to honor these two historical leaders while enjoying a unique Sauk Valley salute to autumn.