Pumpkin Fests, Corn Mazes, PYO Apples, Fairies, Hobbits, Giant Puppets, Cornhole Tourney, Oktoberfests and More: New England Fall Events Top Picks for Oct 5-11

When New England Fall Events takes a peek at the events calendar and we see all the delicious, quirky, memorable, and traditional events and festivals lined up, we know all this local outdoor goodness is just what our site was truly made for!

Peak PYO Apple Season is Upon Us--Get Picking!!!

It's all apples all the time these days! Apple Festivals, Apple Days, apple pies, applesauce, and apple picking!
Look for McIntosh, Cortland, Macoun and Liberty apples are still hanging around in southern New England while Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Gala, Pink Beauties, Creston, early-Fuji, Empire, Jonamacs, and Primas are the show-offs right now.

If you're curious about "antique" apples you might check out Smolak Farms' antique apple orchard or pop by Old Sturbridge Village this weekend for their Apple Days Festival which offers heirloom apple tastings and you can try your hand apple picking in their orchard with a long "fruit picker" for fun!

As always, New England Fall Events has your complete guides, features, maps, and contact details for your local or destination-area New England PYO apple orchards. Here are your quick links to our apple picking guides: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Pumpkins are Everywhere - Find a Local Pumpkin Patch!

Fun in the Pumpkin Patch

Everywhere you turn you will see piles of gorgeous pumpkins of every size, shape, and personality! What better sign of fall is there?

Your local pumpkin patch is likely to be in full swing too so support your local small farmers by popping by their pumpkin patch to load up on pumpkins for your home, front steps, centerpiece, flower vase, pie, carving, and pumpkins for toasting seeds---shall we go on?

Here are  New England Fall Events' Pumpkin Patch Guides for CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT.

Corn Mazes are Wonderful Outdoor Fun for Families

Wojcik Farm Corn Maze

If you haven't treated yourself to a corn maze yet this fall we ask, what are you waiting for?

We're always surprised by how many New Englanders have never enjoyed a corn maze so if that sounds like you, please don't wait another year to explore one!

Most corn mazes have a different themed design every year and many will incorporate statues, surprises, characters, signs, and props that support that year's theme--imagine coming across the Tin Man while inside a Wizard of Oz theme corn maze. Not only do the goodies or puzzles inside the maze fit the theme but the paths through the giant cornfield will create a picture as seen with a birds-eye view.

Escobar Farm Corn Maze Map

You might be given a map to carry with that overhead maze pattern to help you guide your way or you may just wing it as most people seem to enjoy. Some mazes will have puzzles to solve, clues to find, raffles you can enter when you discover hidden boxes within the maze, and more. It's common that there will be a tall bridge somewhere within the maze where you can pause to get a view of the whole maze from a different vantage point and soak up the scenic moment.

Kids and adults alike will have fun and if you call ahead to a farm, you can often get an idea how long it might take to go through. Some, like Sterling, MA Davis MegaMaze could take up to 3 hours to get through whereas local farms like Portsmouth, RI's Escobar Farm has two smaller, adjacent corn mazes so you can complete one and decide if you'd like to re-enter to complete the second (perfect if you have little ones and aren't sure what you're in for).

Dozens of Corn Mazes in New England

This year RI's Escobar Farm features a "RI ComicCon themed Super Hero" design and Mike's Maze in central MA has a theme called "See America". Riverview Farms in CT has you covered with all kinds of fun at their corn maze including additional farm activities like a petting zoo and an ice cream shop!

Gaines Farm in Vermont hosts a 7-acre "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" design celebrating 50 Years of the Peanuts. With its location just 1.5 miles over the Massachusetts border, Gaines Farm is a snap to get to whether you live in central MA, Connecticut or Vermont. We have a full list of New England Corn Mazes at our website so you can easily search by state.

CT's Pumpkins on the Pier is returns to Milford this Saturday!

Pumpkins on display at the Milford CT
Pumpkins on their Pier event.

Pumpkins on the Pier is one of our favorite family-friendly festivals of the season. Featuring pumpkin displays (some carved, some decorated/painted) local families, small businesses and others contribute to this showcase of our season's iconic squash. The displays are featured all along the Walnut Beach pier so you can walk on the pier over the water to see the dozens of funny and clever pumpkin displays. The pier is well-fenced and you can feel safe walking your children out to see the pumpkin displays.

Back on the beach, away from the water, there are dozens of games, pumpkin carving, pumpkin activities, games, a pumpkin patch costume contests, and more activities under the giant pavilion or on the stage. Read about what you can expect from the Pumpkins on the Pier Festival (plus family tips).

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

Giant Puppets at Night Fall Hartford

With so much going on over the long weekend we're keeping all our options open to see how we can fit as much in as possible.
We've definitely circled Hartford's Night Fall for this Saturday! We'll be swinging through CT for a few days and nights so we'll see how many day and nighttime events as we can get to!

With Halloween before us we're also getting into the spirit of more nighttime and Halloween-focused events so we'll be checking out local flashlight corn mazes and a couple ghost tours while we can! Our companion website Halloween New England has all your guides to nighttime events, attractions, haunted houses, night hayrides, Salem attractions, costumes, and Halloween fun.

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

During the long weekend will offer you no shortage of fantastic local events. If you're headed out of town to a neighboring New England state, New England Fall Events makes it super easy to see what's happening in your getaway area.

This is one of the biggest fall events weekends of the year so please don't pass up the opportunity to support your local farms, seasonal attractions, and community festivals of every size and shape. We've narrowed down our long weekend's Top Picks (and you'll find even more online). 

New England Fall Events' Top Recommendations for October 5th- 11th, 2016

Wee Faerie Village presents A Flutter in Time
Old Lyme, CT         Click for details
Wednesday through Monday, October 5th - 10th, 2016
Click for more Fairy and Princess Fall Events in New England.

Damariscotta PumpkinFest and Regatta
Damariscotta, ME          Click for details
Friday through Monday, October 7th-10th, 2016

Milford NH Annual Pumpkin Festival
Milford, NH          Click for details
Friday through Sunday, October 7th-9th, 2016

Stargazing Night at Frosty Drew Observatory
Charlestown, RI          Click for details
Friday, October 7th, 2016
Click for more Moonlight and Sunset Fall Events.

Star Party at the Northern Skies Observatory 
Peacham, VT          Click for details
Friday, October 7th, 2016
Click for more Moonlight and Sunset Fall Events.

Oktoberfest - Loon Mountain
Lincoln, NH           Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 8th & 9th, 2016

Stratton Chili Cook-off and Brew Fest
Stratton Mountain, VT           Click for details
Saturday through Monday, October 8th-10th, 2016

Pumpkin Weigh-Off at Frerichs Farm
Warren, RI           Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016

Fall Foliage Festival at Waterville Valley
Waterville Valley, NH           Click for details
Saturday through Monday, October 8th-10th, 2016

Old Sturbridge Village presents Dig In: A Field to Table Festival
Sturbridge, MA           Click for details
Saturday through Monday, October 8th-10th, 2016

New Hampshire Fall Festival
Portsmouth NH          Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016

Cranberry Harvest Celebration
Wareham, MA          Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 8th & 9th, 2016

Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival
Bethlehem, CT           Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 8th & 9th, 2016

King Richard's Renaissance Faire
Carver, MA         Click for details
Saturday through Monday, October 8th-10th, 2016
Find everything you want to know about the KRF
experience in our  article "King Richard's Renaissance
Faire Offers Costumed Charm and Good Cheer"

Fairy and Hobbit House Festival Fundraiser
Lee, NH           Click for details
Saturday through Monday, October 8th-10th, 2016
Click for more Fairy and Princess Fall Events in New England.

Annual North American Wife Carrying Championship
Newry, ME           Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016

Pumpkins on the Pier Festival
Milford, CT          Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016 (rain date: Oct 9th)
Read why we love Pumpkins on the Pier and find family tips!

Fall Festival at Dog Mountain
Johnsbury, VT           Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016
Click for more Dog-friendly Fall Events.
Click for Dog-friendly Apple Orchards.

Maine Fall Foliage Canoe Tour
Durham, ME          Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016
Click for more Moonlight and Sunset Fall Events.

Night Fall Hartford
Hartford, CT          Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016

Anthony Bourdain at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Mashantucket, CT          Click for details
Saturday, October 8th, 2016

New England Cornhole Championship
Newry, ME         Click for details
Sunday, October 9th, 2016

Harpoon Octoberfest
Windsor, VT         Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 8th & 9th, 2016

Prescott Park Chili Cook-Off
Portsmouth, NH         Click for details
Sunday, October 9th, 2016

Heading out for some fall fun this weekend? 

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.
Find 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.