At six o'clock on Friday, October 30, trail guides will gather a group near the Town Green stage at Russell Crossroads, tell a bit of local history, and lead everyone into Russell Forest. They walk to the ruins of the old Dixie Industrial Company turpentine distillery, where child actors dressed as animals explain their place in the forest. You might meet a herd of deer, a bald eagle, or a possum or two. The walk follows the Turpentine Trail and ends at a campfire with s'mores.
That's Turpentine Tales, and Russell Lands runs it on only two nights. This year those nights are a Friday and a Saturday, and Saturday is also Halloween. The Fall Family Festival takes over the Town Green that morning. The calendar matters because the restaurants and the market around Crossroads post their longest hours from Thursday through Saturday. So this year, both forest walks and the festival all fall on days when every nearby kitchen is open.
Friday Night Starts at the Distillery Ruins
Both nights of Turpentine Tales run from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and both start at the same place. Look for the guides near the Town Green stage, not at a trailhead out in the woods. That's useful to know, because the official Russell Forest map lists several parking areas and trailheads, including the East Crossroads Trailhead, but none of them is named for the Turpentine Trail. The map also warns that some trails only open in certain seasons.
Russell Lands says the forest has more than 100 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. To use them on an ordinary day, you join the trail association, and the Russell Forest page links to the membership, registration and day-pass forms. On Turpentine Tales nights you walk in with a guide, so it's an easy first visit for families who haven't been on the trails yet.
The walk lets out at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Kowaliga Restaurant, SpringHouse and Catherine's Market all list Friday hours that run later than that, which is why dinner fits after the walk instead of before it.
Saturday Morning on the Town Green
The Fall Family Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on October 31 at Russell Crossroads, 19 Russell Farms Road in Alexander City. Russell Lands lists these stations:
- A pumpkin patch
- A petting zoo, plus horse rides
- A grist mill, where an old engine grinds corn into meal
- A blacksmith working hot metal in the Blacksmith Shop
- Naturalist Marianne and her animals in the Naturalist Cabin
- A kids' costume contest with prizes, "and maybe a frozen treat too"
Entry is $25 per family, based on a family of four, or $10 per person. Extra pumpkins are $5 each. Because the festival lands on Halloween, kids can wear their costumes in the morning contest and again that night.
The Blue Ribbon Baking and Canning Contest is back this year, with judging at noon. You have to enter to win. The prizes all come from the businesses around the green:
| Place | Cash | Dining prize |
|---|---|---|
| Top prize | $100 | Dinner at SpringHouse |
| Next | $50 | A meal at Kowaliga Restaurant |
| Next | $25 | A gift card from Catherine's |
The prize list is also a good guide to where to eat the rest of the weekend.
Where to Eat Between the Events
Russell Lands published special hours for Labor Day weekend and said regular hours apply unless a notice says otherwise. The times below are each venue's regular posted hours, and they can change by season. Check before you go.
Kowaliga Restaurant is closed Monday through Wednesday. It's open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday it opens an hour into the festival and stays open until 9, well after the second forest walk ends.
SpringHouse serves dinner Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m., and brunch on Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner opens an hour before Turpentine Tales starts, so you can eat before the walk or sit down after it at 7:30. Sunday brunch on November 1 is a quiet way to end the weekend.
Fanny's is open Monday and Thursday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Its site notes Sunday breakfast until 2 p.m. Fanny's is the earliest option for breakfast on Saturday before the Town Green opens at 10.
Catherine's Market lists 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The grill runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The hours page is a few years old, but the 2026 Labor Day notice confirmed the same market hours for that weekend. The grill's hours cover the whole festival, including the noon judging. Catherine's closed for annual inventory on September 28 and 29, so it will be back to normal well before Halloween.
Here's how the weekend fits together:
| When | At Crossroads | Posted kitchen options |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30, 6–7:30 p.m. | Turpentine Tales, night one | SpringHouse and Kowaliga until 9; Fanny's and Catherine's until 8 |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Fall Family Festival | Fanny's from 7 a.m.; Catherine's grill 10–2; Kowaliga from 11 |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 6–7:30 p.m. | Turpentine Tales, night two | SpringHouse and Kowaliga until 9; Fanny's until 8 |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Nothing scheduled | SpringHouse brunch 10–2; Kowaliga 11–8 |
One more program is on Saturday morning. At 10 a.m. on October 31, Wind Creek State Park holds "Tenant Turnover: Incoming and Outgoing Migrants," a bird migration program on its calendar. It starts at the same time as the festival, so you'll need to pick one.
The Rest of October Around the Lake
Most of October's fall events take place in Dadeville, Alexander City and at Wind Creek. Russell Crossroads saves its big events for the last weekend. If you're picking a few events before Halloween, these are the ones that line up best with it.
October 3–4. The Dadeville Lake Martin Area Chamber of Commerce holds the Dadeville Fall Festival downtown on Saturday, October 3. One listing says it ends at 3 p.m. and the state tourism listing says 2 p.m., so confirm with the Chamber. Dixie Sailing Club's Po' Ol' Kowaliga Open Regatta is set for October 3 and 4. That listing went up in the spring, so check with the club. At Wind Creek, park naturalist Captain Dylan leads a pontoon Eco Tour on Lake Martin at noon on October 3, open to all ages. The park's Pumpkin Carving Tutorial is at noon on October 4. It costs $10 per person, and you have to register online.
October 9–11. Wind Creek holds a campfire talk, "Cryptids of North America," at 6 p.m. on October 9. Alexander City Parks & Recreation runs its 46th Annual Oktoberfest and Custom Car Show from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on October 10 at the Charles E. Bailey, Sr. Sportplex. That evening, from 5 to 7 p.m., the Dadeville Historic District Committee leads the Dadeville Historic Cemetery Heritage Walk. Tickets are $10, and the rain date is October 11. For families who like the history part of Turpentine Tales, the heritage walk is a similar outing.
October 17–18. Kylee Cooper Farms holds its first Fall Festival & Pumpkin Patch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 17 at 1015 Freeman Road in Dadeville. The next day, Wind Creek runs another Eco Tour at noon.
October 24. Main Street hosts the Downtown Alexander City Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with trick-or-treating starting at 11. That's one week before the Town Green festival, so costumes get a test run.
After the Pumpkins Come Down
Things slow down at Crossroads after Halloween weekend, though there's one more event before the holidays. Russell Marine's All-Terrain Splash and Ride Event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 14 at Boating & Outdoors in Alexander City.
Then the Town Green fills again on Friday, November 27, for the Holiday Bazaar, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. along with Christmas at Crossroads. Russell Lands announced in September that Santa will be there and that artist applications are open, so local makers who want a table still have time to apply.
If you're expecting family at the lake over Halloween weekend and want help with Lake Martin questions, from Windermere to the rest of the Russell Lands communities, the team at Three Sixty Real Estate is glad to talk it through. Book an appointment, and we'll fit it around your weekend plans.
