The Best Fall Festivals by State (Maine–Florida)

September 20, 2025

field-notes-kids-at-fall-festival — Pumpkins in hand, smiles all around — fall festivals on the East Coast are made for moments like this.

Fall doesn’t just paint the trees — it fills calendars with harvest fairs, seafood feasts, and small-town traditions that make the season feel bigger than the sum of its days. From pumpkin regattas to shrimp boils, here’s a state-by-state guide to the best festivals along the East Coast.

Maine

Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta (Damariscotta) – Giant pumpkins carved into boats racing down the river.
Acadia Oktoberfest (Southwest Harbor) – Craft beer and food with Acadia as your backdrop.
Freeport Fall Festival (Freeport) – Arts, crafts, and food vendors in a classic New England village.
Common Ground Country Fair (Unity) – A beloved agricultural fair celebrating Maine’s farming traditions and organic food.

New Hampshire

Warner Fall Foliage Festival (Warner) – A small-town tradition with parades and maple everything.
NH Pumpkin Festival (Laconia) – Thousands of glowing pumpkins lighting up downtown.
Apple Harvest Day (Dover) – A single-day event with apple treats, crafts, and entertainment.

Vermont

Stowe Foliage Arts Festival (Stowe) – Arts, crafts, and food framed by fall color.
Harvest Fest at Mount Snow (West Dover) – Scenic chairlift rides, live music, and Oktoberfest brews.
Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival (Stowe) – Homemade trebuchets launch pumpkins through the air — pure fall fun.
Tunbridge World’s Fair (Tunbridge) – Agricultural exhibits, rides, and one of Vermont’s oldest fairgrounds.

Massachusetts

Wellfleet OysterFest (Cape Cod) – Oysters, shucking contests, and tastings by the sea.
Salem Haunted Happenings (Salem) – A month-long celebration of parades, tours, and Halloween flair.
The Big E (West Springfield) – New England’s largest fair, with food, exhibits, and a carnival atmosphere.
Head of the Charles Regatta (Cambridge) – A world-famous rowing event paired with fall color along the Charles River.

Rhode Island

Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival (Newport) – Shellfish, live music, and salty air.
Scituate Art Festival (Scituate) – Crafts, antiques, and local food on Columbus Day weekend.
Rhode Island Comic Con (Providence) – Not your traditional fall fest, but one of the state’s largest events in November.

Connecticut

Durham Fair (Durham) – The state’s largest agricultural fair, full of rides and fried dough.
Southington Apple Harvest Festival (Southington) – A community favorite celebrating all things apple.
Connecticut Renaissance Faire (Lebanon) – Jousting, artisans, and turkey legs every fall weekend.
Pumpkintown USA (East Hampton) – A quirky village made entirely of pumpkin-headed characters.

New York

Sleepy Hollow Halloween Events (Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown) – Parades, lantern tours, and the Headless Horseman.
Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze (Croton-on-Hudson) – Thousands of carved pumpkins glowing in elaborate displays.
Apple Festival (Warwick) – A massive fair with orchard-fresh apples and small-town charm.
Adirondack Balloon Festival (Glens Falls) – Hot air balloons against fall foliage skies.

Pennsylvania

National Apple Harvest Festival (Biglerville) – Apple everything, from cider to pie.
Autumn Leaf Festival (Clarion) – A nine-day celebration with parades and crafts.
Bloomsburg Fair (Bloomsburg) – One of the oldest and largest fairs in the state, full of food and rides.
Carbon County Oktoberfest (Poconos) – A celebration of German culture with food, drinks, and music.
Jim Thorpe Fall Foliage Festival (Jim Thorpe) – A celebration of the beautiful fall colors in the Pocono Mountains region.

Maryland

U.S. Oyster Festival (St. Mary’s County) – The state’s seafood claim to fame.
Maryland Renaissance Festival (Crownsville) – Weekends of medieval fun into October.
Autumn Glory Festival (Oakland) – Western Maryland’s big fall foliage event.
Fell’s Point Fun Festival (Baltimore) – Food, music, and waterfront fun in a historic neighborhood.

Virginia

Shenandoah Fall Foliage Festival (Waynesboro) – Arts and music against mountain backdrops.
Chincoteague Oyster Festival (Chincoteague) – All-you-can-eat seafood, especially oysters.
Richmond Folk Festival (Richmond) – Music and culture from across the globe, held every October.
Appomattox Railroad Festival (Appomattox) – A small-town festival commemorating the Norfolk & Western Railroad’s donation of the Appomattox Depot to the Town of Appomattox in 1973.

North Carolina

North Carolina Seafood Festival (Morehead City) – Shrimp boils and carnival rides by the coast.
Carolina Renaissance Festival (Huntersville) – One of the largest Ren fests in the country.
North Carolina State Fair (Raleigh) – Midway rides, agricultural exhibits, and deep-fried everything.
Woolly Worm Festival (Banner Elk) – A quirky tradition predicting winter’s weather by a fuzzy caterpillar.

South Carolina

Beaufort Shrimp Festival (Beaufort) – Shrimp dishes and Lowcountry flavor.
South Carolina State Fair (Columbia) – Classic fairgrounds fun with rides and concerts.
Fall for Greenville (Greenville) – A huge food festival with dozens of local restaurants.
Harvest Home Weekend (Murrells Inlet) – An autumn tradition with a pumpkin patch, scarecrow building, and lots of entertainment.
The Walhalla Oktoberfest (Walhalla) – A celebration of Walhalla’s German heritage with delicious food, an Oktoberfest Beer Tent, and more!

Georgia

Georgia Apple Festival (Ellijay) – Apples in every form plus local crafts.
Savannah Greek Festival (Savannah) – Food, dance, and history in a beautiful city.
North Georgia State Fair (Marietta) – One of the region’s biggest fall fairs.
Helen Oktoberfest (Helen) – Bavarian-style celebration in the Blue Ridge.

Florida

St. Augustine Greek Festival (St. Augustine) – Food, dancing, and history in one of America’s oldest cities.
Pensacola Seafood Festival (Pensacola) – Gulf Coast seafood and arts downtown.
Fall Farm Days at Aunt Louise’s Farm (Monticello) – Wagon rides, barrel train rides, rubber duck races, a corn maze, friendly animals, and more.
Micanopy Fall Festival (Micanopy) – Arts, crafts, and antiques in a historic small town.
Flamingo Road Nursery Fall Festival (Davie) – Expect the state’s “biggest pumpkin patch,” weekly themed events like Pepper Palooza, antique tractor hayrides, kids’ crafts, and plenty of food.

The takeaway: From Maine to Florida, fall weekends are overflowing with ways to celebrate — from pumpkin boat races to oyster feasts, state fairs to quirky traditions. If you’re chasing the season down the coast, you’ll never run out of reasons to stop.