Fall is upon us, which means it’s time to find a fall festival! There are easily a dozen festivals around the state every weekend. Which means there is always something fun to do.
If we can’t get away for a full weekend, spending a few hours at a festival can really feel like a little getaway. We have our favorites of course that we try to get to each year, but it’s also fun to find new ones. Although I’ll share in this post a little more about how to find festivals, I have to admit I love it when we stumble across one – especially when traveling – so fun!
Fun Festival we found in Ohio where we got to help paint their wall!
However, if you have limited time, you can’t just assume you’ll find something. You need to know what’s out there. Here are some tips:
- Use the visitors’ bureau website. There is almost always an event calendar so click on that, pick the dates you are free and see what’s happening. I always do this while traveling too – you never know what might be going on while you are vacationing.
- Request a brochure. Many states have guides that specifically list festivals by season. Indiana has an amazing one that shares all the festivals throughout the entire state by month for the full year. I keep a copy on my desk and on Thursday or Friday morning I’ll thumb through it and see what’s nearby.
- Ask around. Ask your friends, families, and co-workers if they know of any fun festivals. They might not know of an upcoming one, but they probably have a favorite or two, so you can look up the info and put them on your calendar for future outings.
Here are a few of my favorite festivals in Indiana:
Covered Bridge Festival – Parke County, IN. This one encompasses several small towns and weekends. It can be VERY busy so plan for traffic.
Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie – Fishers, IN. We make sure to visit this event every year. There is a fun hayride (daylight hours available for little ones so it’s not so scary), lots of fall treats, a hilarious puppet show and tents full of fun activities and shows.
Feast of the Hunter’s Moon – West Lafayette, IN. We love this festival. It has grown substantially through the years. Tickets can be a bit pricey but you can buy them ahead of time for a discount. The food is delicious, and the crafts are really fun to check out. Last year we found a Viking chess game our son loved – he sat and played it for a good half hour!
Carmel International Art Festival– a free festival in Carmel, IN. The booths tend to have more art versus crafts, which is a nice change of pace. It can get pretty crowded, so go early! We just enjoyed this one last Saturday morning – coffee in one hand while looking at art on a crisp fall morning – perfection!
Johnny Appleseed Festival – Fort Wayne, IN. Another really large festival with all kinds of things to do. Admission is free, food choices are plentiful and there are many fun kids activities. It’s especially fun for elementary school children.
What makes up a good festival for you? Which ones are your favorites? Please share so I can add them to my list of future things to do!
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I love going to festivals in my state – I’m glad someone else loves them as much as I do! Thanks for sharing the ones in Indiana!
Katie – check them out if you ever head our way!
A good festival for us is one that is not crowded and have live music.
Yes to the live music! We always try to get to a festival right when it opens. Then if we feel it starting to get too crowded we can leave!
Fall festivals are the best!
I agree – the weather is great, food is yummy. Good times!
I love fall festivals and never thought to look at the visitor bureau. They are such a great way to get the family out of the house and together for a day.
It is – a good family day is always high on my list of favorite things to do!
I love festivals! Since I live in both Georgia and North Carolina, I have a great selection of fall festivals to choose from. It’s apple season in western NC so it’s time to find a festival! Thanks for sharing your experience in Indiana.
Nice! You get two states to pick from!
What a great idea! Festivals are always so fun, and they are usually very family friendly.
Yes, a fun way to spend time with the kids.
Never thought of just searching for festivals around me. Interesting idea!
I love covered bridges! I bet that festival is so fun.
It is a really neat one – and SO big!!!
I love the idea of asking for a guide! Festivals kick up in Florida starting in fall when it’s not so hot.
Here too actually – we are lucky to have such a fantastic guide!
We have so many different festivals up here in Washington! So much fun to attend the different ones in different cities!
I think so too – we always search them out if we are traveling someplace.
I love and have been to a few of the festivals you mentioned! The Heartland Apple Festival at Beasley’s Orchard in Danville is another one of my favorites!
We haven’t been to that one yet – I’ll have to add it to my list!
Fall really is the best festival time. Tomorrow we’re headed apple picking and donut eating! YUM!
Fun! We are going to go apple picking next week sometime.
What a great variety of festivals! I am actually really interested in a few of them! And how cool that you got to help paint that wall!!
Our area has loads of fall festivals but honestly the main difference is what kind of fresh donut they are serving. And so, we must visit and eat them all!
I love it – a good donut is always a draw for me too!
The Johnny Appleseed one sounds so fun!
It is an amazing festival – we’ve been a few times but the last few years have had soccer games that weekend.
Love the idea of contacting the visitor’s bureau for a list of festivals. We visited a local apple festival last weekend.
I love a good apple festival – fun!