Ready for Autumn Getaways? How to find a festival or event near you
By Eileen Ogintz
Tribune Content Agency
Taking the Kids
Pumpkins, apples and cranberries. Corn mazes and scarecrows. Live music and all variety of great eats. Parades galore, wiener dogs and even one with more than 1,000 sheep. It’s autumn in America!
Let’s not forget Oktoberfests. There are more than 150 to choose from in the United States, many that are kid friendly, according to Germanfoods.org. (MyWanderlustyLife.com offers The Best Oktoberfests in all 50 states.)
You gotta love fall festivals. They are in big cities and small towns across the country, decidedly family-friendly, some a tradition dating back a half-century or more with a backdrop of spectacular fall foliage. Many are free.
That’s an especially good thing these days. According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 74 percent of us are planning a fall day trip or overnight trip in the coming months. However, half of us planning fall trips cite financial constraints and travel costs as factors which may limit travel plans. Because of high gas prices, 40 percent are choosing destinations closer to home, and 37 percent are reducing the time away. (Check out our new Fall Getaways Guide.)
You should have no trouble finding a fall festival a drivable distance from home. Perhaps you will want to make going a tradition for your family. Some festivals last one weekend, some most weekends during the fall. (You can find festivals by state at FestivalFinderUSA.com.)
In case you are wondering, the biggest fall festival in the US is said to be the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana that draws millions (Oct 9 to 18) and showcases the county’s 31 historic covered bridges.
The largest Oktoberfest in the US is Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati (Sept. 17 to 20). Got your lederhosen? Don’t miss the Running of the Weiners all dressed like hot dogs.
Leavenworth, Washington, boasts a replica Bavarian village for its Oktoberfest (weekends Oct 2 to 3, 9 to 10 and 16 to 17). Three stages will provide nonstop music and there will be a 15,000-square-foot kinderplatz kids’ area with a Ferris wheel and carousel.
One of the most unique fall festivals might be the Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum, Idaho, with its parade of 1,500 sheep. (Oct 7 to 11).
Certainly, one of the oldest is the Circleville Pumpkin Show in Ohio (Oct. 21 to 24), ongoing for more than a century and attracting over 400,000 visitors to this town of 12,000. There are more than two dozen amusement park rides. Have a pumpkin doughnut or take home a pie (23,000 pies are sold during the festival).
Got a wiener dog? Denver Union Station, the German Cultural Foundation and the Mile High Dachshunds Rescue are excited to host the inaugural Wieners on Wynkoop on Saturday, Oct. 3. The free festival will include Dachshund costume contest and Dachshund races while the Crawford Hotel is waiving pet fees all October for Dachshunds and gifting their humans a $50 Union Station dining voucher. (The newly refreshed Crawford is in Union Station.)
Hot air balloon enthusiasts from around the world converge on Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the nine-day Albuquerque International Balloon Festival. (Oct 3 to 11). Take the opportunity to drive on Route 66. (Albuquerque has the longest continuous urban stretch of Route 66 spanning 18 miles.) Fun fact: Many believe the breakfast burrito, especially popular with pilots, gained its global prominence at Balloon Fiesta. Visit the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum in Balloon Fiesta Park.
See amazing sand sculptures in Virginia Beach at the Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend (Sept. 26 to 28). The festival not only features the International Sand-sculpting Championship, but concerts, a parade, outdoor arts & craft show and plenty for kids at Poseidon’s Playground.
How about lit-up pumpkins? The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze in New York’s Hudson Valley features more than 7,000 carved pumpkins with light shows, projections and sound. Some of the displays feature enormous characters and scenes (weekends starting Sept. 18 until Nov. 8).
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Autumn at the Arboretum (Sept. 19 to Nov. 1) includes displays with 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash of every size. The popular Pumpkin Village theme this year is Harvest Hues with six pumpkin houses created by artists out of pumpkins, gourds, squash and harvest materials.
The Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival in northern California (Oct. 17 to 18) is among the most famous for its World Championship Giant Pumpkin Weigh-offs and 250 vendors selling handmade goods.
Tualatin, Oregon, hosts the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta (Oct. 18) where big crowds cheer on those who race around a lake in giant carved-out pumpkins, while in Damariscotta, Maine, the Pumpkinfest & Regatta (Oct. 9 to 12) features competitors paddling giant pumpkin boats across the local river.
The Warrens Cranberry Festival (Sept 25 to 27) celebrates all things cranberry, one of Wisconsin’s big products. The small village of Warrens attracts hundreds of exhibitors, showcases cranberry-based treats, crafts markets, and plenty of entertainment. Take a tour of a cranberry marsh.
Ever seen an apple-peeling contest? The National Apple Harvest Festival (Oct. 3 to 4 and Oct 10 to 11) in Biglerville, Pennsylvania, which is near Gettysburg, features one along with apple treats, music, crafts, and plenty of family activities. Check out the antique cars. The Bayfield Apple Festival in Wisconsin is in its 64th year and the Midwest’s largest apple celebration. (Oct. 2 to 4)
Ever seen a parade of puppets? Muertos Fest in San Antonio (Oct. 25 to 26) brings together Latin American art and culture, including two drum and puppet processions, dance and the city’s largest altar exhibit honoring lost loved ones.
Love music? Making Time ( Sept. 18 to 20) in Philadelphia focuses on electronic music and takes place at the historic Revolutionary War site Fort Mifflin.
Oceans Calling Festival (Sept. 25 to 27) is a massive seaside music festival in Ocean City, Maryland.
Austin City Limits in the heart of Zilker Park balances concerts by internationally known musicians with local food and food trucks (Oct 2 to 4 and Oct. 9 to 11). The (free) Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park features bluegrass, folk, country rock and more (Oct. 2 to 4).
What’s your pick?
(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)
©2026 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.