Fall provides relief from months of oppressive weather and brings in a plethora of once-a-year activities such as apple picking, pumpkin carving, and leaf peeping. Autumn like Fall Festivals in the U.S. is historically a season to celebrate agricultural harvesting, including grapes, cranberries, apples, squash, and pumpkins, so people rush to farms and orchards around the country to choose their own vegetables and snap family photographs with farm animals and scarecrows.
In warmer regions of the U.S., more conventional fall festivities may be off the menu, but there are intriguing festivals highlighting local produce or rituals, such as Día de los Muertos in Texas and chiles in New Mexico.
Though the season is brief, with the majority of events taking place in October, this list is packed with interesting fall festivals, events, and activities to fill your weekends with pleasure.
Sever’s Fall Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota: Sept. 14 to Oct. 27
This event has been going on for over 25 years and is hosted on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the fall, with tickets ranging from $14 to $26 depending on the scheduling. Sever’s Fall Festival, located approximately 35 miles southwest of Minneapolis, is home to one of the country’s most unique corn stalk mazes – a masterpiece that remains one of its most popular fall attractions, with an elaborate new design carved by hand each year. Participants who finish the annual Corn Maze Challenge are placed into a drawing for cash prizes.
Other notable sights and activities include a corn pit playground, straw sculptures, zip lines, and a petting zoo. For an extra cost, you may also play with a pumpkin blaster (similar to a cannon but with pumpkins) and ride a pony. A comprehensive program of live concerts and entertainment is also available, including pig races, children’s dance parties, magic acts, and live music.
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati: Sept. 19-22
Every year, almost 700,000 people come to downtown Cincinnati for the country’s largest Oktoberfest. This free festival, which has been going on since 1976 and currently takes up six city blocks near the banks of the Ohio River, is known for events like the Running of the Wieners, in which around 100 dogs compete in hot dog costumes. Other exciting events include the World’s Largest Chicken Dance and a variety of live music ranging from polka to rock. Since 2023, you’ll get an extra day to soak in the German atmosphere, as the event begins on a Thursday evening.
National Apple Harvest Festival in Biglerville, Pennsylvania
This celebration of fall’s favorite fruit, held during the first two full weekends in October, covers everything apple, from delicious meals to eccentric memorabilia. Apple crafts, apple jellies, and apple syrup manufacturing await festivalgoers who pay the entry charge of only $10 for adults. Visitors to a carnival near Gettysburg may also explore over 300 arts and crafts merchants, see chainsaw carving demonstrations, enjoy live entertainment such as puppet shows, and observe collections of classic vehicles and antique farm equipment, among other things.
In between events, guests can have themed appetizers such as apple pastries, candied apples, or even apple pizza and sausage. Don’t miss the crowning of the Pennsylvania Apple Queen or the gorgeous tours of the nearby orchards.
Salem Haunted Happenings in Salem, Massachusetts: Oct. 1-31
Haunted by a dark history that earned it the nickname “Witch City,” Salem celebrates its spookiness all year, but especially in October, when hundreds of thousands of people flock to town for the Salem Haunted Happenings event. This annual fall celebration begins in early October and celebrates the harvest season and the associated ancient feast of Samhain.
Throughout the month, the town hosts special family-friendly activities such as costume parties, ghost hunts, and movie evenings. Those who are attracted by the occult may find thrills in psychic readings and recreations of the famous witch trials – but plan ahead of time, since certain activities require tickets. Salem Haunted Happenings also includes family-friendly activities such as the free Salem Zombie Walk.
The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze in Hudson Valley, New York: Sept. 13 to Nov. 17
This scary sight, now in its 20th year, features over 7,000 handcarved pumpkins on the grounds of Croton-on-Hudson’s historic Van Cortlandt Manor. It takes 45 to 90 minutes to stroll the half-mile trail, which is lined with lit gourds artfully organized in themed designs and presentations, such as a New York City streetscape.
Moody music plays throughout The Blaze, as part of a unique soundtrack composed specifically for this fall spectacle. The proceeds from this Historic Hudson Valley-hosted event will help the nonprofit’s educational activities. Visitors must purchase tickets online in advance for access on select nights between September and November; prices begin at $20. The Blaze is also staged yearly in a second historic New York venue, Old Bethpage Village Restoration on Long Island, from October 4 to November 3.
Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta in Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sept. 25 to 29
For Fall Festivals in the U.S. more than three decades, gourmands have congregated in Santa Fe, the “Land of Enchantment”‘s capital city, for this Southwestern festival of wine, cuisine, and the state’s most renowned crop: New Mexico green chiles. Cooking demos, wine seminars, breakfast, luncheons, and even a beautiful wine tour by train are among the culinary events planned at locations around the city during the five-day festival, which corresponds with grape and green chile harvest seasons Fall Festivals in the U.S..
Día de los Muertos (Muertos Fest) in San Antonio: Oct. 26-27
San Antonio has one of the greatest festivities of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican festival honoring dead loved ones around Halloween. This free, two-day festival at the end of October takes place in Hemisfair in San Antonio, the site of the 1968 World’s Fair, which is presently being turned into an urban community.
The celebration has ornate altars, live music, art dealers, and other activities that celebrate Mexican ancestry. Don’t miss the colorful processions with dancers, puppets, and even mobile altars. A convenient phone app provides access to the event schedule and map, as well as the ability to vote for your favorite altar.
Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum, Idaho: Oct. 2-6
This really unusual festival honors Ketchum’s ranching history, which were once one of the world’s major sheep shipping centers, via a variety of events. Farm-to-table dinners, wool workshops, the Sheepdog Trials, and the Folklife Fair all feature demonstrations, live entertainment, and substantial cuisine.
For the Love of Lamb is an event in which visitors can try lamb-based meals from various local restaurants after purchasing a “passport” in advance. The eponymous festival features a real sheep “trailing” march that herds around 1,500 sheep down Main Street to their winter fields. Visitors may even sponsor a sheep, but be sure to leave your dog at home.
Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: Oct. 25-27
Rehoboth Beach, regarded as the “Nation’s Summer Capital,” will commemorate the scary season with the 34th annual Sea Witch Festival at the end of October. The festival often includes Halloween activities with a nautical twist, such as a costume parade for humans and their dogs, a “haunted” beach bonfire, a broom tossing competition, and the townwide Sea Witch Hunt, in which players follow clues to discover the Sea Witch and win a reward.
Magic performances, face painting, trick-or-treat bag manufacturing, and other activities are available for children in the specific kids section. Local artist and vendor booths encircle the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand and fill the Convention Center, giving Fall Festivals in the U.S. visitors lots of alternatives for dining and shopping for homemade goods and official Sea Witch Festival souvenirs.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico: Oct. 5-13
This annual fall spectacle, regarded as the world’s largest hot air balloon festival, has been going on for more than a half-century, with the most recent edition pulling almost a million visitors to New Mexico’s biggest city. Revelers may eat, drink, photograph, dance, shop, and generally enjoy everything Albuquerque has to offer, including the beautiful fall weather. You will be charged an entry fee for each “session” of the fiesta; each day includes a morning session and an afternoon/evening session.
A packed calendar of events keeps spectators entertained throughout the day, from the first bright launch at dawn to a series of themed balloon “rodeos” and other prized competitions.