Top Fall Festivals Across All 50 States

From Connecticut to California, here’s where to celebrate fall across the U.S.

Fact checked by

Jillian Dara

Fall is a season of festivals: harvest festivals, Oktoberfests, lumberjack festivals (yes, there are a few), wine festivals, and more. Autumn brings the joy of cider drinking, apple pie eating, costume donning, and pumpkin decorating — all of which are welcome and encouraged at the many fall festivals around the country.

No matter where you are in the U.S., you’ll likely be near one of these celebrations. Plan out your season of fun with this list of the best fall festival in all 50 states (plus D.C.).

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Alabama

Alabama hosts a variety of fun fall activities from Mobile to Birmingham. For a week’s worth of festivities, check out the Cullman Oktoberfest, an annual event in the city since 1982. The festival always has German-style craft beers made by Alabama brewers like Straight to Ale Brewing. You can also partake in German dinners, candle-lit walking tours, carriage rides, and the crowning of Miss Oktoberfest. The festival is topped off with wiener dog races, a 5K and 10K run, and a bratwurst eating contest.

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Alaska

Once the capital of Russian America, the charming city of Sitka celebrates fall with the Alaska Day Festival, commemorating the transfer of Alaska from Russian claim to the United States. The event includes a parade, a tea party, pipe band performances, Alaska Native dancing, an Alaska Day Ball, and more.

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Arizona

Arizona has numerous Oktoberfest-themed events, but a highlight for culinary enthusiasts is the Arizona Fall Fest in November. More than 200 local food and drink vendors come together to showcase the best of Arizona’s flavors during this one-day event in Phoenix’s Margaret T. Hance Park. All the deliciousness is best washed down with any of the local beers, wines, and spirits available to sample. The pet-friendly festival also has a kid zone with crafts and games, so you can bring the entire family.

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Arkansas

Timberfest has been held since 1984 in Sheridan, Arkansas, a city encircled by forest. As its name suggests, the festival celebrates the woodland setting with tree-related events such as the Pinewood Derby and lumberjack competitions. There are games and activities for children of all ages, arts and crafts, a 5K run, a parade, a cornhole competition, and more.

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California

Avocado lovers flock to California’s Carpinteria Valley in October for the three-day Avofest – not just to get a taste of the fleshy fruit but also to enjoy one of the largest free music festivals in the state. More than 60 musical acts keep the tunes flowing across four stages, while juried competitions crown the winners of the best guacamole and the largest avocado.

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Colorado

While beer-centered Oktoberfests take over the rest of the U.S. (and the world) during fall, Colorado celebrates a different kind of alcohol. The Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival, dubbed “Still on the Hill,” features a Grand Tasting where guests can try dozens of spirits. Other events include a distillery tour, live music, and a bloody mary brunch.

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Connecticut

Like garlic? You’d better because (almost) everything at the Connecticut Garlic and Harvest Festival tastes like it. The town of Bethlehem likely exudes a pungent smell when this celebration takes over the fairgrounds each October. Eat as much garlic dip, cheese, pizza — even fried garlic and garlic-flavored ice cream — as you want while learning how to grow and cook with the herb.

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Delaware

If you thought sea witches existed only in movies, think again. Every October, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, hosts the Sea Witch Festival, a coastal approach to your typical Halloween affair. Feel free to come dressed in costume yourself. The festival’s main event is a witch-themed parade, but there are also often beach games, artisan vendors, and trick-or-treating for the kids.

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Florida

As one of Walt Disney World’s most popular events, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is perfect for anyone planning an autumn trip to the Florida theme park. The event has been running since 1995 but has gotten longer each year, with the festivities now beginning in July and running until mid-November. Guests can taste their way around six continents at global marketplaces with themes that range from Alpine cuisine to India, partake in tasty scavenger hunts, and enjoy live music. Those visiting Disney World in October can also join Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit to track down character-inspired decorated pumpkins for spooky prizes.

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Georgia

More than 150 scarecrows line the streets of Alpharetta, Georgia, during the annual Scarecrow Harvest. And these are no average scarecrows; past designs by local schools, businesses, nonprofits, and neighborhoods have included Minions, unicorns, and Frida Kahlo. In addition to admiring the creativity of these straw-made masterpieces — and, of course, voting for your favorite — you can also play a little cornhole, take a hayride, and dance through the streets to country music.

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Hawaii

Fall sets the scene for Hawaii’s annual Aloha Festivals (formerly Aloha Week): free festivals and cultural celebrations all over the state. The grand finale is Honolulu’s Floral Parade, a colorful procession of horseback riders, floats covered with Hawaiian flowers, and traditional music. Since its inception in 1946, the event has aimed “to foster the Aloha Spirit through the perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture and the celebration of the diverse customs and traditions of Hawai‘i.”

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Idaho

One of the country’s more unique fall happenings — and so quintessentially Idaho — is the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, during which 1,500 sheep are herded down Ketchum’s Main Street. The tradition started in 1996 as a small community gathering and has since grown into nearly a week of farm-to-table dinners, cooking and food demonstrations, wool workshops, a folklife fair, sheepdog trials, and a parade.

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Illinois

Fall is a spooky season, and the small town of Centralia has been celebrating with a Halloween parade and festival for close to 100 years. Featured events include a chili cook-off and pumpkin carving contest. Community members (including pets) are encouraged to dress up and join the parade. Those with the best costumes are given awards at the end.

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Indiana

If Indiana’s Festival of Turning Leaves doesn’t scream fall, what does? Sure, New England gets most of the credit for its incredible leaf-peeping opportunities, but don’t count out the colors of the good old Midwest. Thorntown celebrates the season of change with a plethora of activities and events, including a cornhole tournament, live music, and a classic car show.

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Iowa

If you’ve never heard of a scenic drive festival, allow Iowa to explain: each October, the historic villages of Van Buren County hold flea markets, craft demonstrations, food markets, wine tastings, parades, cornhole tournaments, live music, fun runs, car shows, and you-name-it along a route lined with colorful Iowa foliage. To get the full two-day experience, visitors should take their time on the route, perhaps by spending a night or two at a charming bed-and-breakfast.

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Kansas

Rose Hill’s annual fall festival is everything you want in an autumnal gathering and more — think turtle races and a fishing derby to break up the otherwise predictable bill of carnival rides, parades, chili cook-offs, fun runs, and car shows (these, too, are included). Don’t miss the medallion hunt, a community-wide treasure hunt for a button just five inches in diameter.

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Kentucky

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. London, Kentucky, home of the original KFC restaurant, celebrates the life of its founder, Colonel Sanders, with a World Chicken Festival every September. The event invites guests to dress like the iconic character for a lookalike contest, participate in the annual egg drop, and — if not too stuffed with fried chicken — run in a 5K race. One of the highlights is seeing the world’s largest stainless steel skillet, which can cook 600 quarters of chicken at once.

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Louisiana

Launched in 1937 to recognize the importance of rice farming in the region, the International Rice Festival is celebrated in Crowley, Louisiana. This event includes rice and gravy cooking contests, musical acts on the Supreme Rice Soundstage, fiddle performances, a car show, a 5K run, and more.

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Maine

The Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta celebrates Damariscotta’s waterfront location and history of shipbuilding with pumpkin boats. Participants plop into gutted gourds and take to the river for some seasonal fun. Pumpkinfest also features decorated — really decorated; not the type you carve at home — pumpkins displayed around town, buskers, and a giant pumpkin parade.

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Maryland

If you want to bring fall fun to the beach, head to Ocean City’s famous boardwalk for Sunfest, a four-day extravaganza of arts, music, and food. The event features two stages for live music, more than 200 exhibiting artists and artisans, a beach maze, a pumpkin race, and costume parades with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Massachusetts

Held in West Springfield, The Big E — short for the Eastern States Exposition — is the biggest agricultural event in the Northeast and one of the largest fairs in the U.S., welcoming about 1.5 million people each year. It features a circus, a Mardi Gras-style parade, agricultural competitions, arts and crafts, food contests, and big-name musical acts at the Big E Arena, to name a few events.

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Michigan

Michigan’s Fall Fest offers a chance to immerse yourself in simpler times at Olde World Canterbury Village, a designated historical landmark near the banks of Lake Orion. The theme park-like setting is ideal for indulging in donuts and fresh cider from Yates Cider Mill or partaking in pumpkin bowling and tic-tac-toe. And don’t forget to dress up the kids and dogs for their respective costume contests.

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Minnesota

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival is a six-week-long affair held only on weekends from the end of August to early October. You can expect all the fixings of a typical renaissance fair — turkey legs, mead, themed weekends, artisan demos, magic shows, jousting, and more. The festival, held in Shakopee, is one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., drawing more than 300,000 visitors annually.

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Mississippi

Thousands in the Mississippi Delta gather at Cleveland’s Octoberfest for live music, an artistic showcase, kids’ activities, and, ultimately, barbecue. The event is a Memphis Barbecue Network-sanctioned event and features a BBQ cooking competition, so you can bet you’ll be getting a belly full at this quintessentially Southern event.

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Missouri

Branson, Missouri, is home to the 61-acre amusement park Silver Dollar City, and Silver Dollar City is home to the annual National Harvest Festival. Artists and crafters come from all over to showcase and sell their goods. At night, thousands of pumpkins are illuminated during the Pumpkins In The City event, creating quite the spectacle. Despite the jack-o’-lanterns, the park ensures visitors this is a “non-frightful” event fit for the whole family.

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Montana

The Montana Brewers Fall Rendezvous, put on by the Montana Brewers Association, is your quintessential beer fest set to blues, folk, and bluegrass music. Held in Caras Park, Missoula, the one-day event is a chance to try unlimited samples from Montana brewers, and go home at the end of the day with a collectible glass as your souvenir.

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Nebraska

The Nebraska City-based AppleJack Festival attracts up to 80,000 people every year. Taking place over two weekends, the festival revolves around all things apple — apple pie, apple cider, caramel apples, apple fritters … you get the picture. There’s also a parade, a classic car show, live music, water barrel fighting (it’s a Midwestern thing), a flea market, and a carnival.

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Nevada

The RiSE Lantern Festival, which takes place in the Mojave Desert, is designed to elevate hope as we collectively move into the holiday gathering season. It’s one of the world’s largest sky lantern releases, and watching thousands of flames ascend into the night sky is quite a powerful scene. The festival partners with Leave No Trace to use biodegradable lanterns with a short burn and flight time. The event also features wellness programming such as yoga, meditation, breath work, and sound bathing.

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New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival is not for the faint of heart. Taking place in Laconia, New Hampshire, the annual fall celebration features pumpkin displays including a 34-foot tower of pumpkins, plus rides, games, live music, food and beverages, and haunted attractions. Evenings bring a zombie walk, jack-o’-lantern lighting, and Halloween movie screenings at Main Street’s Colonial Theatre.

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New Jersey

Every year, Heaven Hill Farm in Vernon holds a Great Pumpkin Festival with an extensive — and eclectic — event lineup. Included is a stunt dog show, themed corn maze, duck and pig races, gem mining, apple cider donut making, apple cannons, wine tasting, a spider web crawl, and carnival rides, all made even more appealing with funnel cakes and deep-fried Oreos.

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New Mexico

One of the most whimsical fall festivals in the U.S. is undoubtedly the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Imagine 600 colorful balloons ascending at once over the city, then floating over the New Mexico desert. Apart from the awe-inspiring mass ascension, the event includes live music, flying competitions, and a car show. The simplicity and beauty of hot-air balloons lit up at dusk is not to be overlooked.

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New York

New York sets the mood for Halloween with a dual-location Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze. Taking place at a historic manse in the Hudson Valley and a living history museum on Long Island, the immersive light shows feature thousands of hand-carved, illuminated pumpkins, all making up elaborate art installations like the Statue of Liberty, animated windmills, and walk-through tunnels. Long Island’s event runs for about six weeks, and Hudson Valley’s runs for nine weeks.

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North Carolina

In the fall, Raleigh hosts the North Carolina Gourd Arts and Crafts Festival at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. Every year is a different theme, such as “Under The Sea” or “Just My Imagination.” In addition to craft competitions — in which all the items are gourd-inspired or made from actual gourds — there are crafting classes and a craft supply market.

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North Dakota

At North America’s largest Scandinavian festival, Norsk Høstfest, you can expect enough old-world Nordic fare to induce a food coma in addition to traditional storytelling, dancing, and musical acts. You’ll see lots of Viking attire and an international marketplace where Swedish clogs, Norwegian sweaters, stoneware pottery, and Ekelund linens beg to be bought for Christmas presents.

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Ohio

Every October, the town of Westerville lights up with more than 1,000 glowing pumpkins. The Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow is a community-wide festival featuring gourd-centric exhibits (including some not-so-spooky ones) in Heritage Park. Other attractions include axe throwing, LED mini golf, mazes, and more. A rotating selection of food trucks will offer pumpkin-themed delights, so you’ll want to come with an appetite.

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Oklahoma

The Tulsa Oktoberfest, running since 1979, is often deemed one of the top Oktoberfest celebrations in the country. Expect an authentic Bavarian celebration, the grand finale of the city’s German week, including 200 taps of beer, local German bands, and on-theme goodies like bratwurst and wiener schnitzel. Highlights include the annual Dachshund Dash, bier barrel races, and stein carrying and holding contests.

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Oregon

The beach at the D River State Recreation Site in Lincoln City, Oregon, is reliably windy, making it the perfect venue for a kite festival. Held in October, the Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival features giant kites depicting whales, octopuses, and other enchanting symbols, plus rokkaku kites, a type of Japanese fighter kite whose six-sided design makes it incredibly fast and maneuverable. In addition to a parade and flying performances, there are also kite-making demonstrations.

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Pennsylvania