Frozen's Anna and Elsa, Faerie Village, Scarecrows, Ghostport, a Wicked Evening, and More: Top Events for Oct 15-21, 2014

We’re going to be straight with you—this is a BIG weekend for events this fall. 

If you were thinking of going to the movies this weekend or sleeping in, we suggest you rethink your plan. With a Thursday night game this week even the Patriots are cooperating to free up your weekend to take full advantage of the bounty of fall fun coming up.

We just posted dozens of new late fall events to the Fall Activities and Food Festivals Guides on New England Fall Events –more will continue to be added every day so check back often for even more terrific ideas lined up for every New England state. 

We’re excited that this Saturday, October 18^th is the Wallingford Scarecrow Festival-- one of our favorites of the year! Even if you have never made a scarecrow before, you will have your chance to create one from scratch and they’ll have all the goodies you could need to bring home a harvest friend to plant in your lawn. You can vote on scarecrow contest entries, and if you love crafts—making them or buying them—this festival has you covered. This year they’ll be featuring performances from FROZEN’s Anna and Elsa so your little Frozen fanatics will be delighted as can be.

If you missed it, you can read about our wonderful time last year at this festival and we’ve included useful family and festival tips for making the most of your visit.

We also want to highlight a special event featuring author Gregory Maguire and the composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz of the smash musical WICKED. This is a Tuesday night event so you may want plan ahead to take a trip to this special event in Hartford.

Details here.

You’ll notice from this week’s selection of Top Picks that the Halloween season is in full swing and many of the events have a Halloween theme or costume aspect to them. This is really just a drop in the bucket so be sure to visit New England Fall Events for a complete list of Food, Fall, and Harvest events for each New England state.

If you are looking for more Halloween and night activities, remember to visit our sister website Halloween New England for guides to local haunted houses and trails, ghost tours, haunted and flashlight corn mazes, night hayrides, costume guide, a Salem guide and more.

Pumpkins Abound!  New England Fall Events has compiled guides to Pumpkin Patches and PYO Pumpkins for every New England state. Remember to support your local farms by purchasing your pumpkins from your local farm’s harvest—everybody wins when you do! Quick and Easy Guide to Pumpkin Patches in New England.

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

We, like you, will have a hard time narrowing down where we end up—there is SO much to fit in! We’re eyeing the Goffstown Weigh-off & Pumpkin Regatta and the Newburyport Great Pumpkin & Lighting Stroll, We’ll be spending our evenings on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday covering night attractions for our companion website Halloween New England .

VT's most photographed farm - Jenne Farm in 2014 foliage

New England Foliage Report from Jeff-Foliage:

This week Jeff Foliage gives us a report from Jenne Farm, which has the distinction of being Vermont’s most photographed farm.

"5:00AM came way too early on Friday and Lisa and I (she’s a great trooper, BTW) made our way to join the throng of photographers at the Jenne farm. Maybe I should call it a murder of photographers? Why? read on…"
Click here to read Jeff's full report.

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

Here's a sample of some wonderful events to keep on your radar heading into the weekend! Find 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 Oct 15-21:

Wallingford Scarecrow Festival -appearances by FROZEN’s Anna and Elsa – FREE

Wallingford, CT  Click for details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014
Read why we LOVE the Wallingford Scarecrow Festival.

Trick or Treat FROZEN Corn Maze at Smolak Farms

North Andover, MA  Click for event details.

Saturday & Sunday, October 18^th & 19^th, 2014

Hallowlantern Hayride at C.N. Smith Farm
East Bridgewater, MA   Click for event details.

Friday through Sunday, Oct 17^th – 19^th, 2014

Ghostport – FREE

Bucksport, ME   Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014

Wee Faerie Village in a Steampunk'd Wonderland

Old Lyme, CT   Click for event details.

Tuesday through Sunday, now through November 2^nd, 2014

Food Truck and Beer Festival
at Six Flags New England

Agawam, MA   Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014

Masquerade Tween Night

New Milford, CT  Click for event details.

Friday, October 17^th, 2014

Howl-o-ween at the Beardsley Zoo

Bridgeport, CT   Click for event details.

Saturday & Sunday, October 18^th & 19^th, 2014

Ballet Spooktacular
Old Saybrook, CT  Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014

 

Bike Boulevard Scavenger Hunt – FREE

Glastonbury, CT   Click for event details.

Sunday, October 19^th, 2014  

Goffstown Pumpkin Weigh-off and Regatta
Goffstown, NH  Click for event details.

Saturday & Sunday, October 18^th & 19^th, 2014

Pumpkin Festival at Lanni Orchards  – FREE 

Lunenburg, MA  Click for event details.

Saturday & Sunday, October 18^th & 19^th, 2014

Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival – FREE
Newport, RI  Click for event details.

Saturday & Sunday, October 18^th & 19^th, 2014

Adult CosPlay and Costume Contest
at King Richards Faire 
Carver, MA   Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014 (rain date: Oct 19^th)

Glastonbury Apple Harvest Festival– FREE

Glastonbury, CT   Click for event details.

Friday through Sunday, October 17^th – 19^th, 2014

Cabot Apple Pie Festival

Cabot, VT   Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014

CT Cheese and Wine Festival
Milford, NH   Click for event details.

Saturday, October 18^th, 2014

A WICKED Cool Evening! with Gregory Maguire and Stephen Schwartz
Hartford, CT  Click for event details.

Tuesday, October 21^st, 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, it's always smart to call ahead before heading to your PYO location as some farms will adjust their hours to accomodate weather or to give extra time for fruit to ripen.

Jack-o'-Lanterns, Pumpkins on the Pier, Apple Fests and Food Trucks: Top New England Events for Oct 1-7, 2014

Welcome October! Nothing says fall like looking at the calendar and seeing that we have landed in the loveliest month of the year. It seems like everywhere you look the leaves are working their way into brighter hues and even a drive to the store is made more scenic with the arrival of fall colors. In short, it's time for a road-trip!

Even if you want to hit the road for a day-long drive don't know where to end up, New England Fall Events provides you with quick and easy guides for every New England state. 

Walk out on the Walnut Beach Pier
to enjoy the jack-o-lantern display

One of our very favorite annual festivals is coming up this Sunday October 5th--The Pumpkins on the Pier Festival in Milford, CT. When a MA-based friend of mine asked me for a worthwhile road-trip (under 2 hour drive) for her family with children ages 3 and 6, this was my top choice. For one, even though their travel time will be just shy of 2 hours the festival provides a full-day of varied activities starting at 11am and running through 7pm ending with a laser light show so they'll be there for hours and the kids will be tuckered out for the drive home. 

With pie-eating contest (for adults and kids), magicians, plentiful activities like pumpkins golf, carving, play areas, pumpkin painting and a pumpkin patch you'll happily spend hours here. Best of all is the lovely display of jack-o'-lanterns lined up along the pier stretching into Long Island Sound--it's just a beautiful event. We have festival tips and will give you the low-down on Pumpkins on the Pier on our blog feature.

Gorgeous foliage at last year's Apple Days

Another favorite event of ours this weekend is Apple Days at Old Sturbridge Village.  Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, this charming celebration of the apple offers tastings of antique apples, make your own sachets, DIY orange and clove pomanders, cider boil down demonstrations, cider making demos, and ox-powered cider mill, lovely foliage, hiking trails, old-fashioned games and much more.
We love this 1830 New England living history museum and it's a lovely place to spend a fall day.

It's Pumpkin Season! With endless ways to admire, eat, and carve up those cheerful orange globes, remember that New England Fall Events has a list of Pumpkin Patches and PYO Pumpkins for every New England state. Please support your local farms and swing by to enjoy their pumpkin bounty.
Quick and Easy Guide to Pumpkin Patches in New England.

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

Six Flags transforms into Fright Fest

With October underway, we're heading off to Connecticut for a few days to cover some events for our companion website Halloween New England but we'll pop by the Southington Apple Festival and Pumpkins on the Pier on our way back.

We may even swing through Six Flags New England to take in their special fall Fright Fest activities for a second time and we'll carve out a few hours for more apple picking!

New England Foliage Report from Jeff-Foliage:

Leaving Errol, NH ~ Jeff Foliage

This week Jeff Foliage gives us a Fall Foliage report from Maine:

"Maybe you missed it? The peak fall colors have arrived!
Frosty temps earlier in September have created favorable conditions for turning colors. We drove from Rangeley Lake Maine on Sunday the 28th and all along Route 16 into NH, we saw high color straining towards peak fall color. We got a flat and this caused us to …" Click here to read Jeff's full report.

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

Here's a sample of some wonderful events to keep on your radar heading into the weekend! Find 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 Oct 1-6:

Jack-o’-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo
Providence, RI  Click for event details.
Opens Thursday, Oct 2nd and runs nightly through November 2nd, 2014

Penguin Book of Witches Party at the Salem Witch Museum – FREE
Salem, MA   Click for event details.
Thursday, Oct 2nd, 2014

Pumpkins on the Pier Festival – FREE
Milford, CT  Click for details.
Sunday, October 5th, 2014
Read about why Pumpkins on the Pier is one of our favorite annual events!

Apple Days at Old Sturbridge Village 
Sturbridge, MA  Click for event details.
Saturday and Sunday, October 4th & 5th, 2014

Southington CT Apple Festival and Fireworks – FREE
Southington, CT   Click for event details.
Friday through Sunday, October 3rd - 5th, 2014

Champlain Mini-Maker Faire at Shelburne Farms
Shelburne, VT   Click for event details.
Saturday and Sunday, October 4th & 5th, 2014

Pumpkin Festival at DeMeritt Hill Farm – FREE
Lee, NH   Click for event details.
Saturday and Sunday, October 4th & 5th 2014

Adam Fears and Adam Craig headline Country Music Concert for a Cause
Easthampton, MA   Click for event details.
Saturday, October 4, 2014

NH Lakes Region Barrel Tasting Weekend at Hermit Woods Winery
Meredith, NH   Click for event details.
Saturday and Sunday, October 4th & 5th 2014

Bike Applecycle Maine 
Lymnan, ME  Click for event details.
Sunday, Oct 5th, 2014

NH Food Truck Festival at Redhook Brewery
Portsmouth, NH  Click for event details.
Sunday, October 5th, 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.