Pumpkin Carving Challenge, Ghostport, Harvest Dinner, Moon Landing Party, Jack O'Lantern Spectacular, and More: New England Fall Events Top Picks for Oct 19-25th

As we round the halfway point of October, many local fall events turn their spotlight on the glorious pumpkin and you'll see more Halloween festivities for kids and adults alike.

Many farms will continue to host their corn mazes and hayrides through the end of the month so wrap up in a scarf and head out to savor the final foliage-filled weeks of fall.

New England Fall Events continues to have many terrific fall events happening this weekend but the harvest fun will wind down quickly once Halloween arrives so get out there while you still have many events to choose from!

Pick your Perfect Pumpkin at a Local Pumpkin Patch!

New England Fall Events makes it a snap to find a local pumpkin patch for selecting a pumpkin with your favorite personality, color, and shape. Whether you choose them for carving, for turning into pumpkin centerpieces, paint them, decorate your stoop, or bake them into your grandma's classic pumpkin pie, pumpkins abound at this time of year so please support your local small farms with PYO Pumpkins!

Here are  New England Fall Events' Pumpkin Patch Guides for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Visit our sister site for your Local Costume and Halloween Stores needs

Our sister website Halloween New England has guides for finding your state's Costume and Halloween stores--locally owned, year-round, and pop up stores. 
For adults with a Halloween event coming up or who can't resist a costume party, if DIY costumes aren't your forte, you'll be happy to know that quite a few year-round, locally owned costume stores also rent adult costumes! You'll find who rents costumes in our features list on the right-side of each individual store page on Halloween New England.
Here are Costume and Halloween Store guides for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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

We're reaching the peak of the fall event season so take advantage while you can! After this weekend, you'll start to see more Halloween-focused activities and fewer farm festivals and outdoor harvest fun. Here's our Weekend's Top Picks (as always, you'll find even more online). 

Here are our recommended activities for October 20- 26th, 2016:

Moon Landing After-hours Party at PEM
Salem, MA         Click for details
Thursday, October 20th, 2016

Tales and Ales at the Swett-Isley House
Newbury, MA         Click for details
Friday and Saturday, October 21st & 22nd, 2016

Jack O'Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park & Zoo
Providence, RI          Click for details
Nightly, October 6th - November 6th, 2016

Shanty Night at Coggeshall Farm
Bristol, RI         Click for details
Friday, October 21st, 2016

Little Shop of Horrors
Fairfield, CT         Click for details
Friday October 21st - Sunday, Nov 6th, 2016

Annual Model Engineering Show and Maker Space
Windsor, VT         Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Ghostport
Bucksport, ME          Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

CARVE: High Speed Pumpkin Carving Challenge
Portland, ME         Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

The Great New England Craft Fair
Milford, NH         Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 22nd & 23rd, 2016

The Amazing Race at White Memorial
Litchfield, CT         Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Halloween Storybook Hayrides at DeMeritt Hill Farm
Lee, NH         Click for details
Saturday and Sunday, October 22nd & 23rd, 2016

Spooky Nature Trail - Where the Wild Things Are!
Mystic, CT          Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Candlelight Harvest Dinner

Brownington, VT         Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Red Beet Festival
Sherman, CT         Click for details

Saturday and Sunday,m October 22nd & 23rd, 2016

Halloween Town to benefit the Laura Foundation
Madison, NH         Click for details
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

Great Pumpkin Dog Costume Contest
Coventry, CT         Click for details
Sunday, October 23rd, 2016

Harvest on the Harbor
Portland, ME          Click for details
Sunday, October 23rd, 2016

Pumpkins at Powisset: A Kids Culinary Workshop
Dover, MA         Click for details
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016

Heading out for some fall fun this weekend? 

Need a little guidance to find out where to go? New England Fall Events’ state page maps make it easy to filter, scroll, and identify farms near home or close to 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 farms often adjust their hours for weather or to allow more time for fruit to ripen.

PYO Apples, Nectarines, Scavenger Hunts, Garlic, and Bluegrass: New England Fall Events for August 27-31

Hello New Englanders!

We caught a glimpse of the apples
coming along at Carlson Orchards

We’re thrilled to share that even more New England apple orchards are opening up for PYO apple picking this weekend! Early-season apples are what you’ll find - Paula Reds, Ginger Golds, Early Macs, and Zestar top the list.  

Always check with the farm the day-of to see if they are picking as many will begin selling pre-picked before PYO opens up (as you will likely find in southern New England).

When it comes to early picking, Maine’s PYO apples are furthest underway—consider Doles Orchard, Treworgy Family Orchard, and Lakeview Orchard if you live in Maine or are heading up for the long weekend. 

Many New England farms are still
hosting PYO peaches in their orchards

Last weekend after our outing at the Pig n’ Pepper Fest in Westford, MA we couldn’t resist popping by Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA on the way back. Carlson was still picking peaches and nectarines and they were excited to share that their apple picking kicks off this weekend.

We made a tasty nectarine crisp (recipe posted at the end) and have been swimming in this sweet late-summer fruit all week long—we love having this “problem”.

If you love berries, many local farms are still offering PYO blueberries, raspberries, and soon you’ll find blackberries and the peaches at Carlson Orchards looked spectacular.

We love this welcoming barn sign!

As always, New England Fall Events makes it a snap to find your local or vacation-area orchards. Here are your quick links to the apple picking guides:

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

New England Fall Events allows you to track farm locations on the interactive state maps too… 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.

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

White Church in Fall Foliage
Randolph, NH

Will September set us up for success or failure in our fall foliage search? In the last month or so I've written several articles about everything from, how to make plans in case of rain to what might happen if we get a colder than average September. So far this August we've seen cooler than average temperatures and a decent amount of rain. There's been talk of polar vortexes and even snow in September! 

What are we going to get? Find out the answer here.

New England Fall Events' Top Recommendations for Labor Day Weekend Fun
With the long weekend fast approaching, you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of fabulous outdoor activities to help you transition out of summer and into everyone’s favorite season. Here are our recommended activities for Labor Day Weekend:

New England Trail Family Ramble: Scavenger Hunt – FREE
Meriden, CT  Details
Saturday, August 30, 2014

Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival 
Bennington, VT  Details
Saturday and Sunday, August 30-31st, 2014

Labor Day Weekend Festival at Emery Farm 
Durham, NH  Details
Saturday, August 30th, 2014

Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Pairing Class
Haight-Brown Vineyards in Litchfield, CT  Details
Saturday and Sunday  August 30th-31st, 2014

North Branch Bluegrass Festival
Bridgewater, VT   Details
Wednesday-Sunday August 27th - August 31st, 2014

Portland Brew Festival
Portland, ME  Details
Friday and Saturday August 29th – 30th

King Richard's Renaissance Faire
Carver, MA  Details
Saturdays and Sundays - August 30th - October 19th, 2014

Where is New England Fall Events Headed this Weekend?

Escobar Farm's Corn Maze Celebrates
The Wizard of Oz's 75th Anniversary

New England Fall Events will be swinging by Escobar Farm in Portsmouth, RI to experience the Wizard of Oz anniversary corn maze for ourselves! 

Find maze details, prices, hours, special events, and links to directions here. You can save $2 when you print the coupon from Escobar’s page on New England Fall Events.

We hope to see you there too!

Say-Goodbye-to-Summer Nectarine Crisp Recipe
Makes 8 servings.

6 Cups sliced nectarines
1/2 Cup (for fruit) and 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (for topping)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼  tsp. salt (for fruit) and ¼ tsp. salt (for topping)
3/4 Cup flour
1/2 Cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ Cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 Tbsp butter (divided into 3 Tbsp cold butter and 3 Tbsp melted butter)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking dish with butter.

Fruit:
Mix together nectarines, ½ cup of brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Transfer into prepared baking dish.

Crumb Topping:
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, oats, 1/3 cup brown sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add 3 Tbsp of cold butter into the flour mixture and pinch crumble together using your fingers until the butter is distributed evenly into crumbs. Sprinkle crumb topping over the fruit and drizzle melted butter over the topping.

Bake for 30 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and topping is crispy and brown. Cool before serving.