Fairy House Tours, Autumn-fest, Peanuts Corn Maze, Fluff Festival, Game of Thrones Weekend, and More: New England Fall Events Top Picks for Sept 21- 27

It's another white-hot weekend for fall festivities coming up! Your head just may spin from all the fabulous fun competing for your attention! 

Mother and Daughter peering into a
Fairy House in Portsmouth, NH

This weekend's Portsmouth Fairy Tour is one of the most anticipated events of the season!

The excitement has been building for weeks! Our experience at the Portsmouth Fairy House Tour was so special and memorable that we simply insist that you try to attend one of the best events of the season!
Here's a sneak peek into the Fairy House Tour with our short video of festival moments and our complete write up to give you in-depth look at why this is a festival not to be missed!

Can't attend this weekend? Here's our Fall Guide to Fairy and Princess Events Across New England.

Gaines Farm "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" Corn Maze Celebrates the Peanuts!

It's the 50th Anniversary for Charles M. Schulz's beloved Peanuts this year and Gaines Farm in Guilford, VT is honoring them this fall with a "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" themed corn maze! Gaines Farm, situated just 1.5 mile north of the MA state line off Rte 91, is super easy to reach from anywhere in central New England.

CONTEST! Enter to WIN a Family Four Pack of tickets to Gaines Farm! Contest ends 9/26. Enter here.

You may remember that Gaines was host to the wildly popular Frozen corn maze two years ago--a huge hit with New England Fall Events readers! In addition to the maze, Gaines Farm has tons of family-friendly activities to enjoy such as the cow train, a corn pit, pumpkin bowling, and a corn cannon too! Learn more about Gaines Farm.

Union Square Donuts' version of
Fluffernutter What the Fluff Festival.

Somerville's What the Fluff? Festival Coming up Saturday!
You may have heard that inventor Archibald Query developed Marshmallow Fluff right in Somerville’s Union Square 99 years ago. If you are a native New Englander you fully grasp how much nostalgia fluffernutter sandwiches hold in our childhood food memories.

This Saturday's What the Fluff? Festival gives this sticky sugary culinary goo it's due with wacky games, fluff-inspired food, fluff jousting, luff Fear Factor and more! Eating FlufferNutters are a New England childhood rite of passage and now you can add the What the Fluff? Festival to your True New Englander bucket list. Read about this one-of-a-kind festival right here: "Somerville's Fluff Festival is Sticky, Campy Fun for your Bucket List".

Bridgewater, MA Rings in 28 years of Family Fun at Autumn-fest this Saturday

The BSU Quad at Autumn-fest

We know it is a busy weekend of fall fun ahead but if you are looking for a low-key yet entertaining fall festival, then make a beeline to Autumn-Fest in Bridgewater, MA. They've been hosting this ever-expanding fall festival for 28^th years! 
Autumn-Fest is a family-friendly festival jam-packed with kids’ activities, performances, crafts, vendors, train rides, live music, bouncy houses, petting zoo, and more all on the grassy quad at Bridgewater State University. This is a large-scale fall festival with a personal touch and it's easy to see why it is an annual outing for many local families. Curious? New England Fall Events had the pleasure of attending this festival first-hand and here's everything you would love to know about Autumn-fest.

In case you missed it...

The Big E Celebrates it's 100th Year!

In the lead up to the Centennial Opening Day at Springfield, MA's The Big E, New England Fall Events' Facebook page offered a daily feature from our our "Complete Guide to The Big E"blog post. 
Are you a first-time Big E Fair-goer? Check out our just-posted "Five Must-Sees and Top Tips for Families" who are making their plans to attend this super-sized New England fair. 

As King Richard's Faire in Carver, MA is still running every weekend through October 23rd, be sure to read our "King Richard's Faire Offers Charm and Good Cheer" for a taste of the delight you'll have awaiting you there.

New England Fall Events' Top Recommendations for this Weekend's Fall Fun

With plenty of fantastic festivities going on this weekend you'll have your work cut out for you to narrow down where to go! Here's our group of this weekend's Top Pick and you'll find even more terrific events listed on every New England state’s Fall & Activities and Food & Harvest Festival Guides on our website.

Here are our recommended activities for September 21-27, 2016

The Big E
West Springfield, MA     Click for details
Wednesday through Tuesday, September 21st -27th, 2016
Plan ahead with New England Fall Events' essential "Complete Guide to The Big E"

Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival
Provincetown, MA      Click for details
Thursday through Sunday, September 22-25th, 2016
Read our article "The Provincetown Tennessee Williams' Theater Festival is Cultural Gem in New England"

Durham Fair

Durham, CT       Click for details
Thursday through Sunday, September 22nd – 25th, 2016

Acadia Night Sky Festival
Bar Harbor, ME       Click for details
Thursday through Sunday, September 22nd-25th, 2016
Click for more Moonlight and Sunset Fall Events.

Springfield VT Steampunk Festival
Springfield, VT        Click for details
Friday through Sunday, September 23rd, 24th, & 25th, 2016

47th Annual Scallop Festival

East Falmouth, MA      Click for details
Friday through Sunday, September 23rd - 25th, 2016

Mushrooming, Owling and Elegant Dining at the Maxwell Mays Lakeside Cabin 
Coventry, RI       Click for details
Friday, September 23, 2016

Pentangle Light Garden
Woodstock, VT        Click for details
Friday and Saturday, September 23rd & 24th, 2016
Click for more Moonlight and Sunset Fall Events.

The Portsmouth NH Fairy House Tour
Portsmouth, NH        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th &  25th, 2016
Read about our visit "Portsmouth NH Fairy House Tour is a Magical and Imaginative Weekend"
Get a sneak peek at the delights at the festival with our Portsmouth Fairy House Tour video.
Click for more Fairy and Princess Fall Events in New England.

Game of Thrones Weekend at King Richard's Faire
Carver, MA        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016
Read about our visit to KRF and find faire-going tips in "King Richard's Renaissance Faire Offers Costumed Charm and Good Cheer"

Autumn-fest
West Bridgewater, MA       Click for details
Saturday September 24th, 2016
Click to read all about New England Fall Events' visit to Autumn-Fest and plan your visit.

"What the Fluff?" Festival
Somerville, MA       Click for details
Saturday September 24th, 2016

Read about our visit in our article "Somerville's Fluff Festival is Sticky, Campy Fun for your Bucket List".

Escobar's Farm Pumpkin Festival
Portsmouth, RI     Click for details
Saturday, September 24th, 206 (rain date Sun 9/27)

Annual Maine Lakes Brew Fest
Casco, ME       Click for details
Saturday September 24th, 2016

B.O.N.E.S. Annual Beagle Bash
Auburn, MA         Click for details
Saturday, September 24th, 2016
Click for more Dog-friendly Fall Events.
Click for Dog-friendly Apple Orchards.

Peru Fair
Peru, VT        Click for details
Saturday, September 24th, 2016

Aeronautics Day at Discovery Museum and Planetarium
Bridgeport CT        Click for details
Saturday, September 24th, 2016

International Oktoberfest
Providence, RI        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016

Forest Festival Weekend
Woodstock , VT        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016

Apple Days Festival at Old Sturbridge Village
Sturbridge, MA        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016

19th Century Apple & Cheese Harvest Festival
Strafford, VT        Click for details
Sunday, September 25th, 2016

VT Fairy House Festival
Grafton, VT         Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016
Click for more Fairy and Princess Fall Events in New England.

Woofstock Dog Festival
Hudson, MA        Click for details
Saturday, September 24th, 2016
Click for more Dog-friendly Fall Events.
Click for Dog-friendly Apple Orchards.

Hartford ComiCONN
Hartford, CT        Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, September 24th & 25th, 2016

Going apple picking this coming weekend? New England Fall Events has complete guides, features, maps, and contact info for all the New England PYO apple orchards! Here are your quick links to the apple picking guides:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Even easier, New England Fall Events has state attraction maps which are handy for scrolling for farms near home or wherever you're headed. Quick links to orchard and fall attraction maps for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Remember, always best to call ahead before adventuring out to PYO as some farms will adjust their hours for weather or they close to allow more time for fruit to ripen.

Fairy Houses, Pumpkin Chuckin', Autumn-Fest, Fluffernutters, and more- New England Fall Events Top Picks for Sept 23-29, 2015

It's another white-hot weekend for fall festivities coming up! Your head just may spin from all the fabulous fun competing for your attention! 

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

How far can YOU chuck a pumpkin?

New England Fall Events is thrilled to be making our way up to the 7th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Event! Set in a wide open field, competitors engineer DIY trebuchets to see how far the participants can catapult a pumpkin!With three rounds of launching in four different "weight" categories, this fun fall event also features a chili cook-off, live bands, children's activities and more. Pumpkin Chuckin' Event details.

While in Vermont we will be popping by Sam Mazza Farms to enjoy their Giant Pumpkin Weigh-in for the first time. 
As if that isn't enough, we're also very excited to be visiting Springfield's The Big E on Friday and Fright Fest at Six Flags New England on Saturday! Looks like we will be busy making the most of the fall fun that New England has to offer--what will you be up to?

This weekend's Portsmouth Fairy Tour is one of the most anticipated events of the season!

Just one of over 200 stunning fairy houses

You've been seeing us build it up for weeks and you might be wondering why! Our experience at the Portsmouth Fairy House Tour was so special and memorable that we simply refuse to one of the best events of the season be overlooked!
We've got a sneak peek into the Fairy House Tour with our short video of festival moments and our full write up will give you in-depth look at why this is a festival not to be missed!

Can't attend this weekend? Here's our Fall Guide to Fairy and Princess Events Across New England.


The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is a world class gem in our backyard

Beatnik Jam at the PTown TW Fest

The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is an acclaimed 4-day festival featuring many of the lesser-known, rarely-produced, or newly interpreted Williams’ plays often in unconventional settings (inside a home, at a boat slip). 

Celebrating its 10th year, New England is incredibly fortunate to host a festival of this stature right here in our own backyard! We had an outstanding time last year attending this festival and appreciated the unique vision and re-imagined productions that this festival features. 

Tickets are limited for the performances running Thursday through Sunday and we hope you will have a chance to go. Here's a full account of our trip to this event and we'll give you a taste of the treat you are in for! 

Bridgewater celebrates 27 years of Autumn-fest this Saturday

Barn Babies were a hit at Autumn-fest

This Saturday will be a whirlwind of fun starting off with the Autumn-Fest in Bridgewater, MA--their 27^th year of bringing fall fun and community support to the residents of Bridgewater and beyond!

Autumn-Fest is a super family-friendly festival jam-packed with kids’ activities, performances, crafts, vendors, train rides, live music, bouncy houses, petting zoo, and more all on the expansive quad at Bridgewater State University.
New England Fall Events had the pleasure of attending this festival first-hand and here's everything you would love to know about Autumn-fest.

Flufferettes at What the Fluff? Festival

Somerville's What the Fluff? Festival Coming up Saturday!
You may not know that inventor Archibald Query developed Marshmallow Fluff right in Somerville’s Union Square 98 years ago but if you are a native New Englander you know what an important role fluffernutter sandwiches play in our childhood food culture.

The Somerville What the Fluff? Festival this Saturday gives proper homage to this sticky sugary culinary goo with wacky games, fluff-inspired food, fluff jousting, fluff fear factor and more! Eating FlufferNutters are a New England childhood rite of passage and now you can add the What the Fluff? Festival to your True New Englander bucket list. Read about this one-of-a-kind festival right here: "Somerville's Fluff Festival is Sticky, Campy Fun for your Bucket List".

In case you missed it...

We recently posted our wraps ups from our recent visits to a few delightful New England Festivals.
Be sure to check out "Celebrating the 'stinky rose' at Vermont's Garlic and Herb Festival" and "King Richard's Faire Offers Charm and Good Cheer" which is an ongoing festival through October.

New England Foliage Report from our favorite foliage tracker Jeff-Foliage:

This week Jeff Foliage says "Welcome to the First day of Autumn--Last week we were wondering if the cooler temperatures of autumn would ever arrive. But just in time for the first day of fall the summer temps have broken and it feels like autumn. The fall colors can't be too far behind these cool temps..."  Click here to read Jeff's full report.

New England Fall Events' Top Recommendations for this Weekend's Fall Fun

With plenty of fantastic festivities going on this weekend we don't envy you having to narrow down your fun. As always, there are even more terrific events listed on every New England state’s Fall & Activities guide and Food & Harvest Festival Guide.

Here are our recommended activities for Sept 23-29th:

An Evening With Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Peer into a fairy house in Portsmouth NH

Providence, RI     Click for details
Thursday, September 24, 2015

"Harvest Moon" Full Moon Dinner
Newry, ME     Click for details
Friday, September 25th, 2015

Brews & Blues Beer Tasting at The Windjammer
Westerly, RI     Click for details
Friday, September 25, 2015

11th Annual Portsmouth NH Fairy House Tour
Portsmouth, NH      Click for details.
Saturday and Sunday, Sept 26th & 27th, 2015
Our in-depth look at the Portsmouth Fairy House Tour!
Check out our video from last year's Fairy House Tour.

Autumn-Fest in Bridgewater MA

Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival

Provincetown, MA     Click for details.
Thursday through Sunday, Sept 24^th - 27^th, 2015
Here's why this is a cultural gem not to be missed!

Foraging Edible Wild Mushrooms at Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Boylston, MA     Click for details

Saturday, September 26th, 2015

Working Waterfront Festival
New Bedford, MA     Click for details
Saturday & Sunday, September 26th & 27th, 2015

Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In at Sam Mazza Farms

Fluff-a-tron 3000 at What the Fluff? Fest

Colchester, VT      Click for details
Saturday, September 26th, 2015

Autumn-Fest– FREE

Bridgewater, MA     Click for details.
Saturday, September 26^th, 2015
Read about our visit to Autumn-Fest!

Pumpkin Festival at Escobar’s Highland Farm 

Portsmouth, RI      Click for details. 
Saturday, September 26th, 2015 (rain date 9/27)
Coupon
Read about our visit to the Escobar Farm Corn Maze

What the Fluff? Festival – FREE
Somerville, MA    Click for details.
Saturday, September 26, 2015 (Rain date: Sunday, Sept 27th)

Garlic lovers unite in Orange, MA

Peru Fair

Peru, VT   Click for details.
Saturday, September 26^th, 2015.

North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival
Orange, MA  Click for details.
Saturday and Sunday, September 26^th-27^th, 2015

Wild Mushroom Festival at DPNC
Mystic, CT     Click for details.
Sunday, Sept 27^th, 2015
Read why we recommend and love this festival - festival tips included!

Williston Chowder Challenge

Trebuchet at VT Pumpkin Chuckin'

Williston, VT     Click for details
Sunday, September 27th, 2015

Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival
Stowe, VT  Click for event details.
Sunday, September 27^th, 2015

Especially for Me! Free Morning for Families with Deaf or Hard of Hearing Infants and Toddlers at the Discovery Museums
Acton, MA     Click for details
Monday, September 28th, 2015

Night Paddle and Blood Moon Eclipse Event at Fields Pond
Holden, ME     Click for details
Monday, September 28th, 2015

Heading out apple picking this weekend? New England Fall Events has complete guides, features, maps, and contact info for New England PYO apple orchards. Here are your quick links to the apple picking guides:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Need help mapping out where to go? New England Fall Events’ state page maps are handy for scrolling and spotting farms near home or near your road-trip destination. Orchard and fall attraction maps for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Remember, always call ahead before heading out to PYO as some farms will adjust their hours for weather or they close to allow more time for fruit to ripen.

Somerville's Fluff Festival is Sticky, Campy Fun for your Bucket List

The What the Fluff? Festival scene

As New Englanders who grew up noshing on beloved fluffernutter sandwiches, we here at New England Fall Events were over the moon with anticipation to attend the annual “What the Fluff?” Festival at long last.

Somerville MA’s What the Fluff? Festival enters its 10^th year of sticky-sweet jubilee on Saturday, September 24^th, 2016 from 3:00pm-7:00pm. (Rain-date is Sunday 9/26). Click for event details.

Unless you are a transplant to New England, you probably share our childhood nostalgia for the squishy, sticky, gooey peanut-butter-and-fluff sandwich for which our region is known. The fact that marshmallow fluff was invented in Somerville, MA almost certainly plays into its popularity and local reverence. For us natives it is the ultimate comfort food (though we'll concede that chicken pot pie is nothing to sniff at).

In the event that you were deprived of a fluffernutter-filled childhood, here's the irresistibly wonderful original Fluff commercial that not only will teach you how to make your own fluffernutter but you'll have the added bonus of the delightfully addictive jingle planting a seed in your brain for the rest of the day.

Revelers at Somerville's Fluff Festival

Somerville, with its fabulously eclectic and creatively driven residents, is ground zero for off-beat, clever, and outside the box gatherings and festivals. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the city’s annual PorchFest in July, their Ignite: Fire and Food Festival in August, and October’s insanely joyous three-day brass band extravaganza Honk! so it we were long overdue to attend September’s zany event which celebrates inventor Archibald Query’s 1917 culinary brainchild—fluff.

The day of the festival arrived feeling more like summer than fall. We snagged street parking on Highland Avenue –an easy ten-minute walk from Union Square where the festivities were set and we headed down the hill. Turning left onto Somerville Avenue, we walked right into the food and craft vendor stretch of the festival. The festival, with a decade under its belt, draws large enough crowds that several streets around Union Square are closed to pedestrian traffic, activities, stages, and games.

Polymer clay marshmallow people

Getting a feel for things, we peeked into the craft vendor tents as we worked our way down the street. Most of the vendors tip their hat to the day’s honored foodstuff (fluff) and the year’s theme (steampunk) by offering marshmallow or steampunk-inspired wares for sale.

The felted S’mores and marshmallow “pops” were fun and everyone was charmed by the polymer clay marshmallow people, but we snagged ourselves a super cool sculpted vertebrae mug by NH artist Megan McLeod Young’s Wicked Raven Studio whose gorgeous ceramic mugs, bowls and spoons drew her own respectable crowds.

The food vendors were populated by Somerville restaurants and a few even went the extra mile to create their own fluff-inspired goodies for our gastronomic pleasure. As with many events where they vend, the length of the queue for Union Square Donuts was as jaw-dropping long as ever. Previously intimidated by their lines that regularly snake down the block, one look at their mammoth Donut of the Day—a fluff-glazed donut with a peanut butter cream interior—and we couldn’t hold out any longer. We turned on our heels and aimed for the back of the line from which we could not even see the donut tent.

Many food vendors like Union Square
Donuts sold fluff-inspired food.

You heard it here—the Union Square Donuts line only looks interminable but in practice it was stunningly efficient and we made it through in 10-minutes flat (we timed it…we just had to know!). We learned what Somerville regulars already knew which is the USD line is never as bad as it looks and one shouldn’t be daunted—just get in there already!

With our colossal fluffernutter pillow of dough in hand, our festival-adventuring came to a grinding halt while we spied a seat from which to strategize how to eat the donut without wearing the donut—no small feat, indeed. Many napkins later and with a sugar rush reaching maximum velocity, we rallied to see what this festival had in store.

Original fun inside the Fluff-a-Tron 3000 

The whimsical and creative activities are what make this festival such riotous fun. The Fluff-a-Tron 3000 machine was a sight to behold and our descriptive will hardly do it justice. Intended for children (but wisely able to fit a parent too), one enters a tall framed box with clear vinyl paneled walls. The “door” closes and the machine operator turns on a giant fan which blows furiously into the clear box tossing countless pieces of “fluff”—Styrofoam popcorn-- swirling up and all around in a manic speed. The guests inside the box become nearly hidden inside the fluff whirling about them like a blizzard while those of us on the outside gleefully watch their reaction through the transparent machine walls.

Dare to eat the fearful fluff combos  

It’s hard to say who has more fun—the folks in the machine or the rest of us watching them! Kudos to the machine builders for making the Fluff-a-Tron large enough to fit an adult and child as we could see how the snowy, noisy experience could be somewhat overwhelming to a child entering the box solo.  

If culinary risk-taking is your thing, you can try your hand at Fluff Fear Factor. Crackers piled with fluff and…hot dogs, pickles, salami, green beans, Tabasco, carrots, tuna, you name it. There were many revolting combinations on display we won’t stand in the way of your double dog dare.

Fluff Baking Contest Trophy

Those seeking fluff recipe innovation more than fearful fluff fodder joined us in ogling the display of fluff cooking contest entries. With trophies for Best Original Recipe, Best Traditional Recipe, Most Creative, Best Youth Entry and the coveted Best Overall, contestants submitted their own fluff-y treats—sweet or savory-- for the judges to taste. After the judge tasting is complete, they’ll sell off any remaining treats in a fluff bake sale to festival-goers.

Contestant Kiersten Dockerney took home the prize for Best Overall winner with her Fluffernutter Pie. Here’s her recipe (you’re welcome).

What the Fluff? Festival Cooking and Caking Contest entries.

You may be wondering if one can actually get a straightforward, honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned fluffernutter on Wonder Bread. Rest assured, teens from the local high school mill around the streets selling them to help fund-raise for their school so you are totally covered on the nostalgia front.

The Flufferettes 

The “Main Stage” was set up on the square itself and featured performances from the burlesque Flufferettes, Federator No. 1, and other familiar local musicians such as our beloved Emperor Norton’s Stationary Band who notably had the steampunk vibe going before What the Fluff? pinned it as this year’s festival theme.

Across Somerville Ave. toward Prospect Street was the “Shenanigans Stage” and the name clearly says it all.  Every 20 minutes or so the crowds are treated to “Blind Man’s Fluff”, “Fluff Jousting” with foam noodles, “Fluff Hair-dos”, a “Fluff Lick-off” and “Fluff Musical Chairs”.

Despite the crowds, the multiple streets cordoned off to accommodate the festival-goers spreads everyone out quite well. It’s not too jammed to bring your kids in tow and they’ll certainly enjoy the day’s quirky fun as much as you. The streets are stroller-friendly and a kiddie train makes the rounds on Somerville Ave. If you don’t want your child to subsist on creamy sugar alone, you might want to pack a snack as some of the food lines were long.

The Kids Midway is filled with free crafts and fluff-themed games in a contained area.

Families will be thrilled with the Kids Midway which is set up down Sanborn Court (look for the street between Bronwyn and The Independent restaurants). The thoughtful festival planners designated a large lot the Kids Midway which is both contained for peace of mind and out of the stream of festival crowds.

A sunny scene at the Fluff Festival

The classic games will have kid-appeal and have, as you would expect, a fluff-themed twist. In the midway, you’ll find Fluff Bowling, Pin the Tail on the Fluff Boy, a Fluff Shoot-out, Fluff Coin Toss, a Fluff Pyramid to knock down and marshmallow crafts. In the event that your fluff-fueled children are going bonkers, they can jump their energy away in the requisite bouncy house which was situation.

The takeaway from our visit is the What the Fluff? Festival is a memorable, free, gleefully off-beat bucket-list event that you won’t want to miss.
 
Save the Date: Somerville’s What the Fluff? Festival is coming up Saturday, September 24^th, 2016 from 3:00pm-7:00pm. with a rain-date set for Sunday the 25^th.

Our Tips for Visiting the Somerville What the Fluff? Festival

Felted marshmallow s'mores and pops.

• Take public transportation if you can because parking is not abundant. If you must drive in, expect to park street-side and walk a bit. Read side street parking signs carefully because most streets adjacent to the festival area are permitted for residents only.
• Though all of the entertainment is free, bring cash for food and craft vendors.
• We spent nearly two hours there and saw just about everything. 
• If you want to try some of the baking contest entries, be sure to hover around the contest tables after the judges have tasted to be there when they sell off the leftovers in a bake sale. 
• The festival sells t-shirts to commemorate each year's event. Stop by their tent early on if you want a selection of sizes.

Family Tips for Visiting the Somerville What the Fluff? Festival with Kids

One of the free fluff games for kids

• Unless you want your kids subsisting solely on sugar, have lunch before coming to the festival. The food lines for kid-friendly food like pizza can be long, and for the fluff-inspired treats like Union Square Donuts even longer. It was easy, however, to snag a classic fluffernutter sandwich from the teens selling them for their fund-raiser. We didn't see any gluten-free options.
• The festival is physically stroller-friendly but could be crowded the closer you get to Union Square itself and the main stage area. The Kids Midway is the place to be--all the games can be enjoyed free of charge.  
• There is a kiddie train ride that snakes up and down Somerville Ave did have a fee. We didn't see exactly where the train was loading/unloading but we think it was near the bouncy house and slide at the Prospect St. and Somerville Ave. intersection.

Fluff, Fall Fests, Funghi, Pumpkin Chuckin', PTown Theater, and Game of Thrones: Top Events for Sept 24-30, 2014

Holy cow is this a white-hot weekend for fall festivities! You will either love us for tuning you in to some quirky, offbeat picks or you will hate us for making you choose between so many deserving activities—ignorance is bliss after all. (Of course, we hope you love us.)

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

Poolside theater venue at the renowned
Tennessee Williams Theater Festival

We’ve had the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival circled on our calendar for nearly a year now. We are thrilled to experience this acclaimed 4-day festival featuring many of the lesser-known, rarely-produced, or newly interpreted Williams’ plays often in unconventional settings (inside a home, at a boat slip). New England is incredibly fortunate to host a festival of this stature right here in our own backyard (or peninsula as it were). Tickets are limited for the performances running Thursday through Sunday and we hope you will have a chance to go. If you do make it, let us know and we’d love to meet up with you!

A full day of fun at Autumn-Fest

Saturday will be a whirlwind of fun with our day starting off with the Autum-Fest in Bridgewater, MA--their 26^th year of bringing fall fun to the residents of Bridgewater and beyond. Autumn-Fest will be jam-packed with kids’ activities, performances, crafts, vendors, train rides, live music, bouncy houses, petting zoo, and more all on the expansive, grassy quad at Bridgewater State University. We're super excited to check out this free community festival first-hand and we hope you'll join us.

What the Fluff? Festival in Somerville (MA) celebrates Fluff inventor Archibald Query who developed MarshmallowFluff right in Somerville’s Union Square in 97 years ago. This year is being called “SteamFluff” as it takes on a steampunk theme.

“Archiald Query was born in the nineteenth century and shares the steampunk desire to make something new.  An immigrant to Somerville, he knew a thing about perilous journeys.
Marshmallow Fluff itself, made the same way today as when Archie first whipped it up, is a magical substance that allows everyone who eats it to return to the time of their own childhoods.  We therefore declare SteamFluff as our vehicle for this year’s state of play.”

Well, Steampunk theme or not, all we know is that eating FlufferNutters is a New England childhood rite of passage and we plan to pay our respects to the man who gave us sticky fingers. Plus, we're a sucker for the fabulous Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band who will be adding their oopmah to the day. We'll see you there Saturday afternoon.

How far can YOU chuck a pumpkin?

The 6th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' has you covered in the wacky and clever categories this week. Set in a wide open field, competitors engineer DIY trebuchets to see how far their catapult can launch a pumpkin!
Last year nineteen teams from the northeast competed and nearly 2000 spectators came out to cheer them on.
With three rounds of launching in four different "weight" categories, this fun fall event also features a chili cook-off, live bands, children's activities and more. 
Pumpkin Chuckin' Event details.

New England Fall Events' Top Recommendations for this Weekend's Fall Fun

With plenty of fantastic festivities going on this weekend we don't envy you having to narrow down your fun. As always, there are even more terrific events listed on every New England state’s Fall & Activities guide and Food & Harvest Festival Guide.

Here are our recommended activities for Sept 24-30:

Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival
Provincetown, MA   Click for event details.
Thursday through Sunday, Sept 25^th & 28^th, 2014

Autumn-Fest– FREE

Bridgewater, MA  Click for details.
Saturday, September 27^th, 2014

Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival
Stowe, VT  Click for event details.
Sunday, September 28^th, 2014 

Pumpkin Festival at Escobar’s Highland Farm 

Portsmouth, RI   Click for event details. 
Saturday, September 27^th, 2014   Coupon

Game of Thrones Day at King Richard’s Renaissance Faire

Carver, MA   Click for event details. 
Saturday, September 27^th, 2014 

What the Fluff? Festival (Steampunk Edition) – FREE
Somerville, MA  Click for event details.

Wild Mushroom Festival 
Mystic, CT   Click for event details.
Sunday, Sept 28^th, 2014
Read why we recommend and love this festival - festival tips included!

Acadia Night Sky Festival
Bar Harbor, ME  Click for event details.
Thursday through Monday, Sept 25^th & 29^th, 2014

Peru Fair
Peru, VT   Click for event details.
Saturday, September 27^th, 2014.

White Mountain Storytelling Festival
Waterville Valley, NH  Click for event details.
Friday through Sunday September 26^th – 28^th, 2014 

Moon over Drumlin Fundraiser
Lincoln, MA  Click for event details.
Saturday, September 27^th, 2014

North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival
Orange, MA  Click for event details.
Saturday and Sunday, September 27^th-28^th, 2014

Heading out apple picking this weekend? New England Fall Events has complete guides, features, maps, and contact info for New England PYO apple orchards. Here are your quick links to the apple picking guides:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Need help mapping out where to go? New England Fall Events’ state page maps are handy for scrolling and spotting farms near home or near your road-trip destination. Orchard and fall attraction maps for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Remember, always call ahead before heading out to PYO as some farms will adjust their hours for weather or they close to allow more time for fruit to ripen.