Monday, Oct. 1 marked the beginning of fall for many and nothing made this feeling more evident than looking at my social media feed and seeing collective excitement from friends about the prospect of falling leaves, Halloween, pumpkins, pumpkin spiced beverages and warm sweaters and scarves.

One friend’s post, quoted from novelist George Eliot, most captured the season for me so far:

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

Though flying about the earth, taking the opportunity to appreciate the world’s beauty is always something worth pursuing, perhaps one can also find autumn’s beauty right here at home.

Lunenburg County welcomes fall annually with the Autumn Days festival, being held this year Oct. 13 at Victoria Railroad Park.

The celebration is set to coincide with the Teresa Matthews Memorial 5K and auction, a way to honor an important individual in the community with the chance to walk, run, spend time with each other and choose items to buy in an auction.

Autumn Days includes activities for the whole family. Last year’s event included a pet parade with awards given to the cutest animals, food for sale, crafts and a hay bale decorating contest among other events.

Let’s not also forget that following the festival, the Victoria Fire & Rescue Tractor Pull is taking place at the park starting at 6 p.m.

The town council also sought to get community members involved by holding a public meeting Sept. 25 to discuss the festival.

Those looking for a perfect way to kick off fall, show off those sweaters and warm boots, or running shoes, and spend time with family and friends may want to consider the Autumn Days festival this year.

Emily Hollingsworth is a staff reporter for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. Her email address is Emily.Hollingsworth@ KVDispatch.com.