The festival of fall have arrived! From Rittenhouse and Old City to Chestnut Hill and Peddler's Village celebrations of autumn's bounty, beer, food trucks and more fill the area. (Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia)
As the weather cools, the city heats up with fall festivals — seasonal celebrations, beer fetes, food truck corrals, major outdoor craft festivals, neighborhood block parties, a bacon festival and even more.
Every single weekend between now and mid-November is chock-full of festivals in all parts of the city and countryside, too.
At the beginning of the month, we shared our update on our summer festival coverage with a late-summer and early-fall festival roundup, but now that summer is completely over (sigh), we’ve update our list with a full-blown, comprehensive fall festival roundup.
And it’s going to be a phenomenal fall.
Fill your fall weekends with festivals galore, and plan out the fun now with our guide to the more than 50 fun-filled fall festivals coming your way.
Pumpkinland at Linvilla Orchards
Through November 2. Bring the kids to Pumpkinland at Linvilla Orchards for a display of more than 100 tons of pumpkins, live music, hayrides, scarecrows, a corn maze and much more. MORE INFO
Terror Behind the Walls
Through November 8. Halloween scares start early at historic Eastern State Penitentiary a gothic, castle-like structure in Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood — Terror Behind the Walls, is one of the nation's top-rated and largest haunted attractions with six frightening experiences and new up-close-and-personal frights. MORE INFO
Closing Weekend of Spruce Street Harbor Park
September 26-28. Spruce Street Harbor Park is going out with a bang. The park officially closes on Sunday, September 28, and on closing weekend, the Delaware River Waterfront Corp has set up awesome weekend-long celebration as a thank-you to all of its visitors throughout 2014. Look forward to music, games and chances to win Spruce Street Harbor Park prizes, plus a free concert on Saturday night from 7 to 10 p.m. from local musicians Bardo Pond, Spacin', and Needle Points. MORE INFO
Campus Philly CollegeFest
Saturday, September 27. College students return to Philly in grand fashion during Campus Philly CollegeFest on Saturday, September 27. Students will enjoy live music, opportunities to sign up to volunteer with local organizations, giveaways and free admission to a number of the city’s great museums. MORE INFO
Spruce Street Harbor Park closes this weekend, September 26-28, but not before putting on a festival complete with live music, games, food, drinks and more. (Photo by Matt Stanley courtesy Delaware River Waterfront Corporation)
Pour the Core Hard Cider Festival
Saturday, September 27. Hard cider has its day at The Navy Yard during the second-annual Pour the Core Hard Cider Festival on Saturday, September 27. Sip samples of hard ciders from across the country — enjoy sips from Woodchuck, Crispin, Stella Artois, Strongbow and more. Tickets are required for all of the cider-fueled fun. General admission tickets are $40 and tickets for designated drivers are $10. Tickets are available online. MORE INFO
Sly Fox Can Jam
Saturday, September 27. Sly Fox Brewing Company in Pottstown celebrates beer and music at its annual Can Jam, an all-day celebration of canned craft beer. Groove to live music while hanging out at the countryside brewery. MORE INFO
Brandywine Valley Wine Trail’s Annual Harvest Festival
September 27-28 and October 4-5. As summer turns to fall, it's harvest time at the region's wineries. Five wineries from the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail invite the public to participate in the annual rite of the harvest over two consecutive weekends of tastings, concerts, picnics, hayrides, grape stomping, vineyard tours and art exhibits. MORE INFO
New Hope Arts and Crafts Festival
September 27-28. Browse works from more than 200 artists during the 21st New Hope Arts and Crafts Festival. The free, outdoor festival at New Hope-Solebury High School features paintings, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, woodwork, photography and more. MORE INFO
Festivals like Bloktoberfest and the Midtown Village Fall Festival promise a solid lineup of free live music all day long. (Photo by R. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia)
Downingtown FallFest
Sunday, September 28. The fifth-annual Downingtown FallFest welcomes more than 5,000 guests for a day filled with festive events, including live music, food vendors, craft activities and displays from local businesses. The festival is presented by Victory Brewing Company, so expect a stellar beer garden with delicious brews and bites. MORE INFO
Many more festivals, below.
Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival
Sunday, September 28. Kicking off Manayunk Restaurant Week, the Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival on September 28 is a foodie's dream, featuring food trucks, gourmet food vendors and specials at Main Street's restaurants. Between bites, attendees enjoy live music and sidewalk sales. MORE INFO
Vendemmia Festival
Sunday, September 28. Wine of all sorts fill Girard Park on September 28 for the annual Vendemmia Festival. Sample an array of red and white wines while celebrating the local winemaking scene. Tickets, which start at $50, are available online. MORE INFO
PumpkinFest at Shady Brook Farm
September 29-October 31. Get in the fall spirit at Shadybrook Farm's PumpkinFest, a month-long fest of family-friendly pumpkin picking, hayrides, games, hands-on activities and much more. MORE INFO
Chinatown Night Market
Thursday, October 2. Philadelphia's supreme food truck festival returns for the last Night Market of 2014. Join the city's top food trucks in Chinatown an evening of fantastic eats, craft brews and live music. MORE INFO
The super popular Night Market hits Chinatown with dozens of food trucks, music, alfresco drinks and more. (Photo by Dave Tavani for The Food Trust)
King of Prussia Beerfest Royale
October 2 and 4. Right outside of the King of Prussia Mall, the King of Prussia Beerfest Royale returns for year three of beer-fueled good times. Groove to live music while enjoying beer from more than 50 brewers and fare from King of Prussia restaurants. Tickets are available online. MORE INFO
Outdoorsy Weekend at The Oval
October 3-5. The Oval returns for two weekends of fun this fall. From October 3 through 5, the pop-up park celebrates the great outdoors with an alfresco Yards beer garden, free outdoor movie nights, food trucks (with s’more kits!) and camping-themed activities. MORE INFO
Midtown Village Fall Festival
Saturday, October 4. Explore the restaurants and shops along 13th Street during the annual Midtown Village Fall Festival. The massive neighborhood block party is one of the biggest and best of the season, and features music, food, sidewalk sales and much more. Guests can expect a beer garden, dunk tank, games, multiple stages, tons of drinks and plenty of revelry. MORE INFO
Ambler Main Street Oktoberfest
Saturday, October 4. Downtown Ambler celebrates fall with its annual Oktoberfest complete with a beer garden, food, shopping, music, kid-friendly activities and more. The festivities last all day long on Saturday, October 4. MORE INFO
Revolutionary Germantown Festival
Saturday, October 4. On October 4, 1777, the Continental Army attempted to fight the British out of Germantown. Washington and his troops lost the battle and were forced to retreat to Valley Forge for the winter. Germantown commemorates the event on October 6 during the Revolutionary Germantown Festival with a battle reenactment, tours, food vendors and more. MORE INFO
Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival
Saturday, October 4. More than 140 teams race fiberglass dragon boats, complete with heads and tails, on a 500-meter course on the Schuylkill River during the Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival, an annual fall event that draws thousands of participants and spectators. MORE INFO
Graduate Hospital celebrates the season with fall beer, live music, food trucks and plenty of hanging out at its annual Bloktoberfest on October 11. (Photo by R. Kennedy for Visit Philadelphia)
The Great Pumpkin Festival at The Institute Bar
Saturday, October 4. Get your pumpkin beer on at The Institute Bar’s annual Great Pumpkin Festival. From 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., the festival highlights more than 90 pumpkin beers and ciders, in addition to pumpkin cocktails. The festival spans both inside and outside the Callowhill-area bar. Note that the festival is ticketed — but tickets include all-you-can-drink spirits and beer. Tickets start at $47. MORE INFO
Bacon Festival at Xfinity Live!
Saturday, October 4. Bacon has long outgrown its label as a breakfast staple and could now be considered a cultural icon. Xfinity Live! hosts a celebration of the joy of salty, crispy, fatty foodstuff during the inaugural Bacon Festival. The day-long block party will feature bacon-centric foods from local food trucks and restaurants, the 2014 Pennsylvania Bacon-Off, a bacon eating competition, cocktails, live music and more. Click here to purchase tickets. MORE INFO
Phoenixville Food Festival
Saturday, October 4. For its second year, the Phoenixville Food Festival brings together some of the area's best food trucks for a day-long event. From noon to 6 p.m., sample fare from a variety of sweet and savory trucks and shop items from an array of art vendors. The festival comes right before restaurant week in the Chester County town, which runs from October 5 through October 9. MORE INFO
Morris Arboretum Fall Festival
October 4-5. Morris Arboretum presents its annual Fall Festival on October 4 and 5 set amidst 92 acres of exquisite plant life and horticultural displays. This year's family-friendly activities include scarecrow making, pumpkin painting and apple tasting. MORE INFO
Skippack Days
October 4-5. Local art, crafts and gifts fill Skippack for the town’s largest art festival of the year, Skippack Days. Hear from local craftspeople while shopping their designs and enjoying food and live music. MORE INFO
Enjoy the fall weather with friends at any one of the more than 50 fall fests slated for the next two months. (Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia)
Chestnut Hill Fall For the Arts Festival
Sunday, October 5. Chestnut Hill transforms into an outdoor arts and crafts marketplace during the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival on October 5. More than 150 talented artists from throughout the country display and sell their creations in media ranging from watercolor paintings to jewelry. Live entertainment, children's rides and alfresco dining round out the excitement during this free event. MORE INFO
DesignPhiladelphia
October 9-17. The entire city celebrates DesignPhiladelphia, the largest festival of its kind in the U.S. with more than 120 events showcasing the work of 500 designers, architects and creatives. Each fall, venues across the city host exhibits, lectures, workshops, demonstrations and tours that highlight product, interior, architecture, multimedia, urban-planning, graphic and fashion design. MORE INFO
Country Fair at The Oval
October 10-12. For The Oval’s second weekend of fall programming, it presents a three-day country fair-themed festival. Enjoy two nights of free outdoor movie screenings, hard cider and wine, a petting zoo, hay rides, food trucks, fair rides and more. MORE INFO
Old City Seaport Festival
October 10-12. Tall ships from around the U.S. line Philly's waterfront during the Old City Seaport Festival every fall. Guests can climb aboard to tour the Delaware River, and on land, they enjoy live music, crafts, vendors and family-friendly activities that engage visitors in Philly's maritime history. MORE INFO
Pennsylvania Guild Fine Craft Fair at Rittenhouse Square
October 10-12. Head to Rittenhouse Square for the Pennsylvania Guild Fine Craft Fair. For three full days, shop furniture, pottery, art, photography, jewelry and more. MORE INFO
Get spooked at Eastern State Penitentiary’s ever-popular Terror Behind the Walls haunted house which runs through November 8. (Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia)
RiverCity Festival
Saturday, October 11. The Fishtown Neighbors Association presents the RiverCity Festival, a waterfront party with live music, a 5k run, hospitality and wellness tents and food and drink aplenty — thanks to an on-site beer garden featuring a variety of local craft brews. MORE INFO
Bloktoberfest
Saturday, October 11. Craft breweries, neighborhood vendors, live music and food trucks come together on South Street West for Bloktoberfest, an all-ages block party. Proceeds benefit local charities and programs. MORE INFO
Kennett Square Brewfest
Saturday, October 11. Kennett Square celebrates the local (and not-so-local) beer scene with a full day beer fete on Saturday, October 11. Sip brews from more than 90 breweries while enjoying music, food and shopping, too. MORE INFO
5th Annual Fall Wine Festival/Winetober Fest
Saturday, October 11. The fifth annual Fall Wine Festival in Skippack brings a variety of wines, food and live music to the town from 1 to 6 p.m. Enjoy sips from local wineries in addition to food pairings. Tickets are required and start at $25. MORE INFO
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours
October 11-12 and 25-26. Philadelphia Open Studio Tours, which is produced in conjunction with The Center for Emerging Visual Artists, allows guests to get an exclusive look into the worlds of some of the city's most celebrated artists. On two weekends in October, artists in neighborhoods all over the city open their workspaces for tours of all sort — self tours and guided tours. MORE INFO
Peddler’s Village hosts a variety of fall festivals this year, including a Scarecrow Competition and Display and its annual Apple Festival. (Photo by A. Sinagoga for Visit Philadelphia)
Old City Fest
Sunday, October 12. For the first time ever, the city’s Old City neighborhood presents Old City Fest, a full day of food, music and shopping from the neighborhood’s businesses including Franklin Fountain, Scout Vintage and Smak Parlour. The festival is presented in celebration of DesignPhiladelphia’s 10th anniversary, but certainly has a vibe of its own. MORE INFO
OutFest
Sunday, October 12. Philly's OutFest is one of the biggest National Coming Out Day event in the world, and with good reason — the street carnival features a sports area, family zone, craft market, live music, dance parties and much more. Much of the gayborhood shuts down to vehicular traffic for this annual block party allowing for shopping, dancing and eating in the street. MORE INFO
Philadelphia Film Festival
October 16-26. The Philadelphia Film Festival, an 11-day citywide event, showcases a range of short and feature-length, domestic and international films enhanced by special events and filmmaker Q&As. MORE INFO
Harry Potter Festival
October 17-18. Quidditch tournaments, horcrux hunts, sorting-hat demos and other magical Hogwarts activities delight fans of the boy wizard during the 4th annual Harry Potter Festival. Muggles beware as costumed wizards roam Chestnut Hill for a weekend packed with potions, spells, scavenger hunts, falconry, wizard chess, parades and more. MORE INFO
Memphis Taproom Thirstoberfest
Saturday, October 18. Sip more than 20 craft brews in Memphis Taproom's outdoor beer garden and fill up on fresh hot dogs from the Taproom's on-site hot dog truck at the annual Thirstoberfest on Saturday, October 18. Cheers! MORE INFO
The Oval returns for two weekends of fun festivals — and Outdoorsy Festival and a Country Fair Fest — this fall. (Photo by M. Fischetti for Visit Philadelphia)
Reading Terminal Market Harvest Festival
Saturday, October 18. Reading Terminal Market is undoubtedly one of the best places to savor the bounty of fall, and on October 18, visitors are invited to do just that during the Harvest Festival. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a portion of Filbert Street is closed to traffic and transformed into an urban farm, complete with hay bales and corn stalks. Kids and adults walk through an on-site pumpkin patch, ride an authentic farm tractor and enjoy freshly prepared donuts, candy apples and other seasonal goodies. MORE INFO
Conshohocken Beer Festival
Saturday, October 18. On October 18, join 40 breweries from Philadelphia-area favorites like Yards and Sly Fox to national mainstays like Rogue and Founders and more for the Conshohocken Beer Festival, which will also include live music, great food and more. Plus, in the week leading up to the festival, Conshohocken area restaurants and bars will be hosting a series of events, including tap-takeovers, pairing dinners and tastings. MORE INFO
Historic Bristol Day
Saturday, October 18. Historic Bristol Day brings a family-friendly street fair packed with arts and crafts, food vendors, entertainers, children's games, a sailing regatta and Colonial characters, all celebrating the town's connection to the Delaware River. MORE INFO
Pumpkin Days Celebration at Tyler Arboretum
October 18-19. Celebrate fall with pumpkins galore at the annual Pumpkin Days Celebration at Tyler Arboretum. Also tour the foliage-full grounds on a hayride and take part in a variety of family-friendly activities. MORE INFO
Oktoberfest at Dilworth Park
October 18, 23 and 25. The renovated Dilworth Park at City Hall is getting into the Oktoberfest spirit with three days of beer, food, music and more. Enjoy arts and crafts, a beer garden and live entertainment as you celebrate in the fantastic new space. MORE INFO
The blockbuster Harry Potter Festival returns to Chestnut Hill with a pub crawl, Quidditch matches, scavenger hunts, butter beer and so much more. (Photo courtesy Chestnut Hill Business Association)
Harvest Festival and River Adventure Day at Bartram's Garden
Sunday, October 19. Hay rides, local food, a youth fishing derby, free public paddling on the Schuylkill River and more are what's on the docket for Harvest Festival and River Adventure Day at Community Farm & Food Resource Center at Bartram's Garden on October 19. MORE INFO
Head of the Schuylkill Regatta
October 25-26. Rowers of all ages — high school to veteran rowers — gather in Philadelphia for the annual Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. The two-day race will welcome hundreds of rowers and nearly 50,000 spectators. The races are free for spectator’s to watch and promise a festival-like atmosphere complete with food, shopping and plenty of cheer. MORE INFO
Peddler’s Village Apple Festival
November 1-2. It's all about the apples at the Peddler's Village Apple Festival. The 41st annual Apple Festival at Peddler's Village honors the fruit with old-fashioned country apple butter, apple cider, apple dumplings, apple fritters, caramel-dipped apples and pie-eating contests. MORE INFO
Art Star Craft Bazaar
November 8-9. Inside of the 23rd Street Armory, Art Star Craft Bazaar will bring handmade goods to the spotlight over the weekend of November 8 and 9. Browse everything from prints and jewelry to clothing and photography. In addition to shopping, guests will also find food trucks, games and make and take activities. Admission is $2. MORE INFO
Philadelphia Marathon
November 21-23. With a fast course that winds through the city's historic downtown, past the stunning Philadelphia Museum of Art and along scenic Boathouse Row, this marathon has been one of the country's premier running events since 1994. The weekend also includes an 8K race, half-marathon, a Kids Fun Run and the Health & Fitness Expo. MORE INFO
The annual Philadelphia Marathon returns from November 21 through 23 with thousands of athletes and tons of cheer. (Photo by M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia)
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