Ok. I admit it. I’m biased. I happen to have a birthday that falls right at the beginning of the month. But that’s not why I like – no scratch that – love October.

Let’s start with the season itself fall. Fall seems to come into its own in October. The leaves start to change colors and here in Vancouver, that means a little more rain. The temperature cools. For Gumboot Editor-in-Chief John Horn, that means it’s time to bust out a geeky sweater. For me, it means I get to get decked out in my comfiest clothes. No more baking in the sun. When it isn’t rainy, the air is crisp and refreshing. Soon leaves will begin falling all over the city, creating a klaidescope of colour.

Weather isn’t the only thing to make October so special. The month’s also got a monopoly on some of the best holidays. October is the month of not one (Thanksgiving), but two (Halloween) great holidays! One holiday is devoted to eating and celebrating our good fortune. For anyone who loves big family meals, it doesn’t get too much better than this. Rather than the marathon that is Christmas, Thanksgiving gives you all the bounty in a far more low-key way. Then there’s Halloween. Since I was a wee-little Kurt, I enjoyed this special day. Gorging on candy, dressing up as a ghoul? Talk about awesome. As I get older, the day stays special with the help of Vancouver festivals like the Parade of Lost Souls. This year, I’ll be attending a ghost tour to really get in the Halloween spirit. There we’ll learn of the haunted tales of Vancouver’s Gastown. Muhahhahaha.

Finally, there’s the food. It’s become a bit of an annual event for me and my partner to head out to the farms surrounding Vancouver to pick fresh harvested squash, artichokes, onions and pumpkins. Decked out in gumboots, warm sweaters and scarves, it always makes fall that much more real. The bounty we take home with us allow us to cook up some of our favorite foods. Squash puff-pastry pizza, wild-mushroom pot-pie, caramelized onion soup are all favorites. It’s a great run up to the deliciousness of Thanksgiving and a reminder of all that we have to be thankful for.

*Cover photo courtesy of leopardsarespotty