Southern Affairs
Harvest festivals are a traditional way to welcome autumn. Start the season by booking a trip to experience one (or all!) of these celebrations across in the South. Oktoberfest, wine and food festivals, and antique fairs, all come together to celebrate the local culture through fun, festive, and special traditions unique to an areas culture. These festivals may even inspire you to embrace a new family tradition!
September 1 - October 31
Huntsville Botanical Garden Scarecrow Trail
Huntsville, Alabama
The Scarecrow Festival at the Garden is a favorite fall event. Over 60,000 guests visit the popular Scarecrow Trail each year. Any family friendly Scarecrow is welcome. They supply Scarecrow frames to help you create your own scarecrow. Do not miss the opportunity to be part of the Scarecrow Trail and the excitement! Hayrides will be every Saturday and Sunday from 1-4. The Pumpkin Patch offers a wonderful backdrop for your fall family photos on our vintage tractor and unique pumpkin displays. hsvbg.org
September 6 - 9
50th Annual Yellow Daisy Festival
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Visit one of the top arts and crafts shows in the nation by the Southeast Festival and Events Association. Despite its growth from a small arts & crafts show to the four-day event that it has become today, the Yellow Daisy Festival continues to be a big show with a small-town feel. The mission of reconnecting families and friends with fun, shopping, live entertainment and good food has remained constant over the past forty-nine years. More than 400 artists and crafters from 33 States and two countries display their works. Enjoy daily live entertainment, Children’s Corner activities, fabulous festival foods, and crafter demonstrations throughout the event. stonemountainpark.com
September 13-15
6th annual South Carolina Tobacco Festival
Lake City, South Carolina
The 2018 South Carolina Tobacco Festival is a three-day, family friendly, small town celebration featuring live music Friday and Saturday night. Enjoy local artisans and craftsmen, food trucks, musical and dance performances, heritage games (show up to discover more!), a catfish contest, a Swamp Run, carnival rides, a car show (at the new Lake), and fireworks Saturday capping off an awesome fall weekend. Thursday and Friday: 4 – 10 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. – Swamp Run; 10 a.m. all the vendors and fun begins! The Grande Finale Fireworks are at 10:10 p.m. lakecitysc.or
September 16 - November 22
Autumn at the Arboretum
Dallas, Texas
The highlight of this ongoing event is the pumpkin village, made out of 75,000 pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Autumn at the Arboretum is Dallas’ Favorite Fall Tradition. The fall festival is a spectacular show of color with 4,500 of fall’s favorite flower – Chrysanthemums, along with 150,000 more stunning, fall blooming plants, our internationally acclaimed Pumpkin Village, and the most outstanding Children’s Adventure Garden in the world. Do not miss this amazing festival and be sure to bring your camera. It is breathtaking color at every turn. dallasarboretum.org
September 24 - 30
Mayberry Days
Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mayberry Days® is a festival for the whole family with activities and events for the fans who long for the days when life was simple and the sheriff did not carry a gun. Enjoy a bottle of pop while playing checkers relax to music from many local bands playing the same songs that Andy grew up with and performed on The Andy Griffith Show. From the first laugh at “The Mouth of Mayberry” on Monday to “The Emmett” golf tournament on Thursday to eating a pork chop sandwich to singing along on the last song at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Sunday evening, there is something for everyone in the family. The Surry Arts Council and City of Mount Airy welcome fans of all ages and from all around the world to Mayberry Days. Make plans now to attend this family-friendly festival and enjoy days filled with the Mayberry spirit. mayberrydays.org
September 22
12th Annual Heritage Harvest Festival
Monticello, Virginia
Enjoy garden tours, fruit and vegetable tastings, and gardening lessons to celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s legacy as America’s “first foodie.” The 12th Annual Heritage Harvest Festival celebrates Jefferson’s legacy in a fun, affordable, family-oriented, educational event promoting gardening, sustainability, local food, and the preservation of heritage plants. Learn about organic gardening, seed-saving, cheese-making and southern recipes. Taste hundreds of heirloom veggies and savor local artisan jams, honey, and chocolates. Pet heritage breeds of animals with the kids, or revive your own kitchen garden at the annual Old-Timey Seed Swap. heritageharvestfestival.com
September 29
Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival
Moneta, Virginia
Featuring 27 Virginia wineries and nearly 90 fine craft and food vendors, this festival is the perfect weekend event. With live bands to keep your tempo up, you will surely enjoy a full day of food and wine by the lake. This is event goes on rain or shine, so get your tickets quick. visitsmithmountainlake.com
September 29
Everybody’s Day
Thomasville, North Carolina
Always held the last Saturday in September, enjoy North Carolina’s oldest street festival! For more than 100 years, Thomasville has been home of the award-winning Everybody’s Day Festival. Each year people from throughout the Southeast come to shop for arts and crafts from the over 200 vendors, enjoy live music of all genres, carnival rides for the whole family, and lots of great food! The festivities begin at 9 a.m. in downtown Thomasville. thomasvillechamber.net
October 1 - 6
Original Round Top Texas Antiques Fair
Round Top, Texas
Celebrate the 50th annual Antiques Fair in Round Top. Their reputation was earned through consistent and unsurpassed quality for unusual, one-of-a-kind antiques. They offer three shows each year: the world-renowned spring and fall Antique Fairs, and the newer Winter Antiques Show in the Big Red Barn. When you step through the door in the Big Red Barn, or the Continental Tent, you will experience one of the best antique shows in the nation. roundtoptexasantiques.com
October 5-6
Oktoberfest
Leake County, Mississippi
The 46th Annual Oktoberfest returns to the Carthage Coliseum on October 5th and 6th. It will run Friday from 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be arts and crafts of all types, the ever-popular Tyson Pumpkin Patch, for the kids, will be back along with door prizes and more. It is a great time to get started on your Christmas gifts needs with that one of a kind item for that special person on your list. leakems.com
October 5-8
King Biscuit Blues Festival
Helen, Arkansas
The King Biscuit Blues Festival is one of the nation’s foremost showcases of blues music. Held for three days annually in October, tens of thousands of blues enthusiasts converge on historic downtown Helena, Arkansas to hear stirring and uplifting performances of an American art form on the banks of the Mississippi River. Helena’s musical heritage was largely unknown even to hardcore blues fans. The King Biscuit Blues Festival was an effort by local blues lovers to establish Helena’s rightful place in the Delta’s musical history. Taking its name from “King Biscuit Time,” the longest-running radio show in history, the festival brings people together who appreciate blues culture. kingbiscuitfestival.com
October 6
Bacon, Bourbon & Beach Music Fest
Smithfield, Virginia
The Bacon, Bourbon & Beach Music Fest held the first Saturday in October and boasts over 50 selections of high-end, small batch and some “hard to get your hands on” Bourbons for tastings. Tickets for the 3,000 attendees includes a 1/2 lb. of bacon and a trip thru the bacon condiment bar, VA Brew Tastings, retail & food vendors and live entertainment all day. Eat your bacon hot off the grill, or take it to the Bacon Condiment Tent and dress it up - make a BLT Wrap, Bacon Nachos, or Dip/Shake a variety of great seasonings on it. Listen to live music on two large stages and out on the Manor House Lawn Stage.Additional food, wine, and VA brews will also be for sale. The Bacon Eating Contest can win you a year’s supply of bacon! smithfieldvabaconfest.com
October 12 - 14
Fall for Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina
On Main Street, selections of dishes from over 40 of Greenville’s restaurants can be enjoyed with live music. Discover a world of tempting tastes, sights, and sounds, as mouthwatering aromas carry you from one end of Main Street to the other. Over 40 of Greenville’s finest restaurants will be displaying almost 200 menu items. Explore exciting new cuisine or indulge in some of your favorites. Each booth offers something for everyone. From rock to country to jazz and blues, music lovers can enjoy a wide variety of free musical entertainment offered on five stages all weekend long! fallforgreenville.net
October 13
Harvest Festival
Historic Village French Camp Academy, MS
For more than 60 years, the French Camp community has gathered in October to “give thanks, celebrate life and enjoy small-town living,” with a benefit auction, music, horse and buggy rides, crafts, sorghum making and more. The highlight of the day is the quilt and craft auction, where visitors can bid on unique handmade items and one-of-a-kind quilts. All proceeds from the auction benefit local churches and French Camp Academy. Period demonstrators and artisans highlight their crafts, like chair caning, quilting, woodcarving and more. Partake in sorghum making, from cane to delicious syrup. frenchcamp.org/harvest
October 13 - 14
28th Virginia Wine & Garlic Festival
Amherst, Virginia
The second weekend in October, a small winery in Amherst County hosts the most odiferous wine event of the year! The Virginia Wine and Garlic Festival present visitors with food, wine, live entertainment, arts, crafts, and loads of garlic! There are five stages with music and entertainment, including a Garlic Cook-off, Garlic Queen, and Jr. Queen Contests - all with cash prizes. For those interested in getting a jump on Christmas, the Garlic Festival provides the opportunity to see over 150 different unique arts, crafts, and specialty foods. Wine tastings are available from nine different local wineries. This festival truly has something for everyone. Attend for a reeking good time! Admission $20-$40. virginiagarlicfestival.com
October 13-14
25th Annual Pleasure Island Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival
Pleasure Island, North Carolina
Two days, two stages and fourteen bands. The 25th Annual Pleasure Island Seafood Blues & Jazz Festival is being billed as “The Year of the Woman” featuring International Blues Recording Artist Ana Popovic, Kansas City’s Danielle Nicole and the incredible Heather Gillis Band. This two-day festival takes place along the scenic Cape Fear River at the Fort Fisher Military Recreational Area in Kure beach. Enjoy browsing at the Arts & Wine Garden, shopping for crafts, listening to music, and fine wine tasting. Children will stay entertained for hours as they enjoy magicians, face painting,exhibits, inflatables, and much more in the Kidz Zone. pleasureislandnc.org
October 20-21
Ozone Songwriter Festival
Mandeville, Louisiana
The Ozone Songwriter festival is a two-day, original-music festival, covering three stages in Mandeville, LA which is in the New Orleans metro area. Now Accepting Performer Applications - If you are a performer of your own original music, now is your chance to apply! This is their first annual Ozone Songwriter Festival so performing at this festival is your chance to make history. The Ozone Music Education Foundation is committed to making this one of the premier songwriter festivals in the country. ozonemusic.org
October 27
Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest
Fredericksburg, Texas
Partake in the annual grand celebration of Texas wine and food. Twenty-eight Texas wineries and over forty Texas-made specialty participants will be featured. With Texas chefs demonstrating culinary talents, the Gargantuan Great Grape Toss, silent and live auction, along with art, and lively entertainment round out the festival. Do not miss trying Nature Nate’s Honey and paying homage to the area’s German heritage with a sample from German Roasted Nuts. The event is located in Marktplatz, or the Market Square — the center of local life in Fredericksburg, which is about an hour and a half drive west of Austin and an hour north of San Antonio. fbgfoodandwinefest.com
November 3
Rail Fan Day
Thomasville, NorthCarolina
This annual event honors the vast rail heritage in Thomasville as well as the rail fans that enjoy photographing the wide array and high volume of trains that pass through Thomasville. The event features professional speakers talking about everything from photographing trains, Train Control Systems, and dispatchers. The main event is the unveiling of the following year’s Train Calendar. visitthomasvillenc.com
Photo courtesy of the Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest (Texas)
