(PHOTOS) Casper Community Hayride delights hundreds

CASPER, Wyo. — Hundreds of members of the local community celebrated the arrival of fall on Saturday with the annual Casper Community Hayride, hosted by Casper Adventist Church.

Throughout the day, families were able to enjoy scenic hayrides around Casper Mountain, getting to see the changing colors of the leaves and other flora in the process. However, the festivities included far more than just hayrides. The festival also included dancing from Beautiful Feet Academy of the Dance Arts, a petting zoo, historical reenactors from Platte Bridge Company, plenty of food and more.

Now in its eighth year, the event has grown every year, Pastor Michael Taylor said. This year marked the first year featuring the dancing and historical reenactments. But it hasn’t only grown in terms of what it offers, but also in how well-attended the event is.

“For the first few years this event was put on, it was only for members of our church,” Taylor said. “But we kept having so many people ask, ‘Can I bring my neighbors,’ and, ‘Can I bring my friends,’ that we eventually opened it up to the whole local community. In the very first year we did that, we went from having 30-40 people attend to closer to 400.”

Since then, Taylor said, attendance has stayed strong, with hundreds of people joining in the fun each year. This year was no different, and Taylor said they were on track to have a similar turnout the recent years.