Crowds of people in a warehouse-like room where sampling tables have been set up.
If great seafood is what you're after, visiting this festival will let you sample of the best food in the region.
Photo Credit: Harvest on the Harbor

7 of the Most Colorful and Amusing Fall Festivals in the USA

Take in the Fall Ambiance

The air is crisp, fresh and cool on your face in the morning and warm and inviting come afternoon. Leaves have changed from an ardent green to bright red, orange and yellow, spiraling down from trees to be crunched underfoot.

It’s the season of warm drinks, sweet treats and cozy scarves. While some of the best fall vacation destinations are those where fall colors abound, sometimes it all comes down to the seasonal activities.

What better way to enjoy the best that fall has to offer than by going to a fall festival?

This season brings some of the best festivals in the United States, and among this list you’re sure to find at least one event that’s just right for you.

Harvest on the Harbor Festival, Portland, Maine

In recent years, Portland has become a popular foodie destination, offering a lot more than lobster rolls and New England clam chowder. Today, you’ll find some of the best restaurants in the Northeast serving up perfectly prepared local harvest seafood and more.

The Harvest on the Harbor Festival, hosted October 17-20, 2019, brings these artisans together and throws them into competitions like “Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant.” It features local foods, tastings, breweries, distilleries and wineries along with live music.

Covered hay wagon with people sitting on board, being pulled by two horses.A wide array of German beers are the feature of the event.Photo Credit: Columbus Oktoberfest

Columbus Oktoberfest, Columbus, Ohio

The Columbus Oktoberfest offers a great way to kick off fall, taking place September 6-8, 2019 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.

While “bier” is the highlight, with a wide array of German brews along with domestics, there are all sorts of German food favorites too, including beer brats, German potato salad, schnitzel, frankfurters and sauerkraut.

Dozens of crafts people sell their wares, there are stages for live music and dance floors for doing the polka too.

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Circular carnival ride with people milling about below.This festival is all about the apples, as its name suggests!Photo Credit: Apple Jack Festival

Apple Jack Festival, Nebraska City, NE

This one doesn’t wait for fall — the historic Apple Jack Festival offers the chance to enjoy an early taste of autumn, held September 20-22, 2019. Of course, this festival is all apple-focused, including just about everything apple you can imagine: caramel apples, apple fritters, apple pie cider, cider donuts, apple salad — the list goes on.

There are glittering parades and street dances, craft fairs, live music and dancing, a classic car show, a flea market and even a dinosaur exhibit where would-be paleontologists can excavate for bones.

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