We love this time of year, a little chill in the air, changing colours of the leaves and everything pumpkin spice! My favourite fall treat is a pumpkin spice latte – typically from a Starbucks drive thru enroute to an event or meeting. I totally wait for the season to start and I drag it right out to the end… word to the wise, sometimes they still have the spice on hand right until June.
In the spirit of pumpkin spice and everything nice, we thought it would be fun to poll a few of our local businesses and organizations to check in on their favourite local fall treats to see if they could offer some inspo beyond my favourite latte.
Favourites selected by locals…
We checked in with Joanna Wreakes, Education and Engagement Coordinator over at the Strathcona County Museum (Strathma), she loves cinnamon buns and lattes, a classic combination – but she has her favourites.
“My favourite fall treat here in Strathcona County is grabbing a coffee at Roasti and cinnamon bun (with LOTS of icing) from Everyday Food Co. My colleagues and I are often making the run over there for these exact treats!
I’d also be remiss not to mention a good old visit to Strathma during October to check out the museum in a totally different light – the theme this year is Down the Rabbit Hole and the museum has been totally transformed into a psychedelic Alice in Wonderland dreamland.”
If you haven’t checked out Spooky Strathma yet, its a great opportunity to go explore our local museum. More information online at https://www.strathma.ca/spooky .
A little further up the road, we checked in with Crossroads Liquor Store, a long-time Sherwood Park staple.
If you have never been to the store, Owner, Jason Reynolds, is committed to supporting local brewers and distillers – he has set aside an entire section of the store dedicated to highlighting local.
Jason’s new favourite fall treat is the *new* and exclusive Thick & Dirty flavour from Hawke Prohibition Distillery, Black Forest Cake!
*This is, of course, an adult only treat and only available at Crossroads liquor store.
My friend and long-time sponsor of this website, Michael Draper, Seniors Real Estate Specialist and Founder of Next Home Hub is just loving taking his doggos for a walk at this time of year.
“Honestly? My favourite fall treat is the changing colours of the leaves. After moving away for 12 years to live on Vancouver Island, where the colours don’t really change seasonally, I love seeing all the different colours of the leaves in the fall. I’ve been back for more than 20 years, but I still just love seeing all the different colours.”
A few other fall treats you might want to consider:
- $12 Mussels at Cafe Celeste – Tuesdays and Thursdays (yum). They are also offering ½ price wine on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Nosh Food Fest – November 8 and 9 – check it out and sample all the treats from local food and beverage makers.
- Jacek Chocolate has their Halloween collection out (and word to the wise – you can now pre-order your advent calendars!)
- Branches has introduced a new avocado toast that looks incredible!
- Cherry Cola Crumble is a fall featured dessert at Sherlock Holmes – stop in for some dessert and live music (every weekend).
- Mr. Mike’s in Fort Saskatchewan just launched their new lunch menu and with features like Pesto Bruschetta Fettuccine for just $9.99, you’ll probably want to pop in for a visit. (If you go for happy hour – check out the Lobster Dunk!)
- Aysanabee is playing the Shell Theatre if you’re looking for a little musical treat. We had the good fortune of seeing this super talented guy when he played Festival Place last year with Allison Russell. He’s the first indigenous artist to win the JUNO Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and Songwriter of the year.
- Prefer country music? Check out Josephburg Presents on November 9th, dinner theatre with Canadian country music star Travis Dolter performing.
Written by Jennifer Hillmer, October 2025. Jennifer Hillmer is the founder and primary blog writer for ExploreStrathconaCounty.com and Hillmer Design and Creative. She has been a resident of Strathcona County since 2006.