Fall Fest at the San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse, Oct. 1

Heralding the season, Fall Fest at the San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse is Saturday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The free event is open to the public and will feature a flag-raising ceremony, Native American blessing, special exhibits, pumpkin painting and other crafts for kids, free snow cones and cotton candy, a May pole, food truck, and live music by Southern California’s Singing Cowboy Skeeter Mann.

The beautifully restored San Timoteo Canyon Schoolhouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1883 west of Beaumont and still stands in the same location as a public park managed by Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District.

All are welcome, and the day’s festivities will begin with the 10 a.m. flag-raising ceremony by the Banning High School and Nicolet School California Cadet Corps color guard and the Native American blessing by Elder Ernest Siva (Cahuilla-Serrano), president of the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center and Morongo tribal historian and cultural advisor.

Activities also include self-guided tours of the schoolhouse and the resident “school marm”; a local history exhibit; an exploration of Native American culture and traditions by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians Cultural Heritage department; Malki Museum; Lorene Sisquoc and the Mother Earth Clan and Sherman High School; and a display by the Twin Canyons Conservancy.

Hosted by the San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society and the Riverside County Parks and Open-Space District, the event is designed to familiarize area residents with this local park and historic site. The schoolhouse is located at 31985 San Timoteo Canyon Road, just west of Beaumont.

For more information about the San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society’s programs, visit sgphs.org.