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Great fall festivals

Here are the best of the fests in 2008.

Fall is made for festivals. It's harvest time, and the fields and orchards are overflowing. Trees turn red and gold. And it's the last time we'll enjoy warm weather until spring.

The many people who heed the urge to get out and about on crisp autumn weekends make it the busiest tourist season of the year. Any town that can hold a fall festival does, and well-established ones, such as Bayfield's Apple Festival (see Big apples), become almost too popular.

"Apple Fest is an anomaly; it's not what Bayfield is like the other 364 days of the year," says Mary Motiff of Bayfield's Chamber of Commerce. "There are two kinds of people: those who love Apple Fest and those who want to avoid it at all costs. "

So the town started the longer Scarecrow Festival, hoping it could get some of the tourists to come in September and later in October instead.

"It's a great time for people to be here, when there aren't the crowds," Motiff said. "We hope that catches on."

Other festivals also attract big crowds — Cheese Days in Monroe, Wis.; Oktoberfest in La Crosse, Wis.; the Fall Art Tour in southwest Wisconsin — and people who haven't reserved lodgings may not be able to get them.

But small festivals also attract a lot of people, and leaf-peepers will be out en masse in the north woods and along the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers (see Great fall drives). And many people combine scenic drives with artist tours (see Autumn in the studios).

So, if you want to travel in fall, plan ahead. Here are just a few of the best festivals.

Second weekend in September

Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, Minn. There's a riverfront fine-arts festival, rodeo and Saturday bike tour in this town, a hour south of the Twin Cities, but don't miss the re-enactments of the famous bank raid (6 and 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. and 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday). The Grand Parade is at 2 p.m. Sunday.  Sept. 9-13.

Rock Bend Folk Festival in St. Peter, Minn. This free, easygoing festival in this Minnesota River town's Minnesota Square Park features Watermelon Slim, Lehto & Wright and local favorites The Divers.

St. Paul Classic Bike Tour in St. Paul. Ride a 15-, 30- or 45-mile route along the Mississippi, lakes Como and Phalen and St. Paul parkways, starting and ending at the University of St. Thomas and punctuated by food and live music. Sept. 13.

Boulevard Lakefront Tour in Chicago. Ride the 15-mile South Side Ramble, the 35-mile Boulevard Tour or the 62-mile Ultimate Neighborhood Ride; there's a festival afterward at Midway Plaisance, the start and finish.

James J. Hill Days in Wayzata, Minn. The festival in this western suburb of Minneapolis is best known for its dachshund races, in which more than 100 dogs compete in the hurdles, sprints and sofa jump, followed by a costume contest and smart pet tricks. Races start at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wayzata West Middle School. 952-473-9595. There's also an arts and crafts fair, kids' carnival and parade at 1 p.m. Sunday on Lake Street.

Indian Summer Festival in Milwaukee. It's in Henry Maier Festival Park and features a powwow, fireworks, lacrosse tournament, fine arts and tribal village. Sept. 11-13.

Villa Louis Carriage Classic in Prairie du Chien, Wis. The Victorian estate on the Mississippi River hosts horses, restored carriages and drivers in period dress for competitive arena and cross-country sport driving, a passion of the frontier aristocrats who built it.

Pufferbilly Days in Boone, Iowa. This festival in central Iowa, just west of Ames is named for a steam engine and features a spike-driving contest, parachute jumps, mud volleyball and rides on the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. A parade starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Sept. 10-13.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Days in Pepin, Wis. The famous author was born in the bluffs above this Mississippi River town, which celebrates with guided bus tours to the birth site, kids' pioneer games, traditional music and crafts and a Pepin Laura contest that tests knowledge of the "Little House'' books. The Grand Parade is at 2 p.m. Sunday. Sept. 12-13.

Celtic Fest in Chicago. This free festival in Grant Park celebrates the music and traditions of the seven Celtic nations, including sheepherding and Scottish heavy athletics. Sept. 12-13.

Third weekend in September

Minneapolis Bike Tour. Ride a 14- or 27-mile route on parkways along the Mississippi and the Chain of Lakes. Start and finish is Parade Field, across from the Walker Art Center; there's a party afterward.

Younger Brothers Capture in Madelia, Minn. Sept. 13. A three-part re-enactment in town and in the countryside shows what happened in a small western Minneota town after Northfield chased off the Jesse James gang. There's also music, dancing and a gunslinger show.

Ethnic Fest in Walker, Minn. Alphornists, Irish and Czech-Slovak dancers, an Andean band, the Winnipeg Bag Pipe Band and the Great Anishinaabe Nation Drum and Dance Corps perform in this town on the shores of Leech Lake. There's also a Viking encampment and an 11 a.m. parade.

Wo-Zha-Wa Days Fall Festival in Wisconsin Dells. There's a juried arts and crafts show, street carnival and parade at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Sept. 18-20.

Wine & Harvest Festival in Cedarburg, Wis. There's a pumpkin regatta — yes, people paddling hollowed-out pumpkins across Cedar Creek — at this year's fest in this historic mill town just north of Milwaukee. There's also a scarecrow contest, grape stomp, hayrides, juried arts fair and lots of food. Sept. 19-20.

Mahkato Wacipi in Mankato, Minn. This traditional powwow in Land of Memories Park honors the 38 warriors hanged after the war of 1862. Grand entries are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Wife-Carrying Championships in Minocqua, Wis. Macho men carry their wives over a course in Torpy Park with sand, water and log hurdles. There's a brat fry, too. Sept. 20.

Whooping Crane & Wildlife Festival in Necedah, Wis. Go on bus tours of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, listen to music, watch a Little Whooper puppet show and try Whooper brew.

All-State Barn Tour in Iowa. It's the Iowa Barn Foundation's annual free, self-guided tour of more than 75 restored historic barns.

Fall Gathering at the North West Co. Fur Post in Pine City, Minn. No one's more fun than a voyageur, and they'll be dancing, boasting and trying to best one another at this family-friendly event an hour north of the Twin Cities.

Oktoberfest in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Meet the Narren, enter a sauerkraut-eating contest, listen to polka and zydeco and watch the daily parade.

Dozinky in New Prague, Minn. The harvest festival in this Czech town an hour south of the Twin Cities features music, dancing and Czech beer and treats. The Parade of Farm Pride is at noon.

Fourth weekend of September

Civil War Weekend at the Wade House in Greenbush, Wis. This festival near Sheboygan includes the biggest and best battle re-enactments in the Upper Midwest, held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. This year, they're set in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in 1862. There's also a traveling medicine show, court martials, a sutler's row, period concerts and appearances by Abraham Lincoln. For more, see Blasts from the past.

Cornish Festival in Mineral Point, Wis. In the old lead-mining district in southwest Wisconsin, play shove ha'penny in the Kiddleywink Pub, eat figgyhobbin and pasties, listen to tommyknocker tales and tour Cornish miners' cottages. For more, see Cozying up to the Cornish.

Oktoberfest in La Crosse, Wis. This big festival includes nine days of non-stop partying. There's food, music and carnival rides, plus the Maple Leaf Parade, the Laff Olympics, Craft Beer and Heritage Night and the Torchlight Parade. Sept. 25-Oct. 3.

Art in the Park in Afton, Minn. Combine a visit to this St. Croix River village with a hike in adjoining Afton State Park.

Apple Festival in Gays Mills, Wis. It's the 50th annual festival in this southwest Wisconsin village, hit hard by the June floods. There'll be arts and crafts, music and a canoe race Sunday. The big parade is at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tour of Historic Galena Homes in Galena, Ill. Tour five private homes and the History Museum in this picturesque town in northwest Illinois.

German Fest in Guttenberg, Iowa.  There will be music, dancing, children's games and lock and dam tours in this antebellum town on the Mississippi River.

Kalona Fall Festival in Kalona, Iowa. This Mennonite community just southwest of Iowa City, famous for its quilts, will offer pony rides, a pumpkin-carving contest, demonstrations of Old World artisanry, music and homemade potato chips, apple fritters, ice cream and chicken, biscuits and gravy.

Unplugged VII: The Northern Harvest at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minn. The harbor-side school celebrates with storytelling, traditional workshops, a fish boil and a concert by songwriter/musicians Kathy Mattea, Dan Chouinard, Bill Cooley and Jon Vezner.

Cable Area Fall Fest in Cable, Wis. In the colorful northwest woods, there'll be hay rides, a chili cook-off, kids' sawdust scramble, fish boil and arts and crafts.

Cranberry Festival in Warrens, Wis. At this huge festival in west-central Wisconsin, there'll be marsh tours, contests and more than 1,300 booths selling antiques, produce and arts and crafts. The big parade is at noon Sunday.

Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival in South Dakota's Custer State Park. There's fine arts, Western and American Indian entertainment and a chili cookoff next to the Peter Norbeck Visitor Center. On Monday, 1,500 bison are herded into corrals to be sorted, branded and vaccinated. Sept. 26-28.

First weekend in October

Apple Festival in Bayfield, Wis. This festival swamps the little village on Lake Superior, but it's still fun. Highlights include Big Top Chautauqua concerts, Pipes & Drums from Thunder Bay, the lighted Venetian boat parade and the grand parade at 2 p.m. Sunday. Oct. 2-4.

Oktoberfest in Amana, Iowa. There's German music and food at this Amana Colonies village, plus contests that include the Eisenmann, or Iron Man, competition: Teams roll kegs, walk a balance beam with full steins of beer and saw logs. The parade is at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Big Island Rendezvous and Festival in Albert Lea, Minn. This southern Minnesota festival is great for families, with more than 1,200 re-enactors dancing, demonstrating, competing and pulling visitors back into the fur-trade era.

Apple Affair in Galesville, Wis. In the bluffs above Trempealeau, this festival features a 10-foot apple pie, a hunt for a Silver Apple, a race of floating wooden apples and a bicycle tour with a 20-mile route through apple orchards and hillier 35- and 60-mile routes.

Audubon Days in Mayville, Wis. The festival in this town next to big Horicon Marsh features bed races, a bike tour, DockDogs competition, rubber-duck race and parade at noon Sunday.

Four studio tours in scenic areas: in western Minnesota, Meander, the Upper Minnesota River Art Crawl; along the Ice Age Trail in central Wisconsin, the Hidden Studios Art Tour; on the Wisconsin side of Lake Pepin, the Fall Fresh Art Tour; and in northeast Wisconsin, the Northwoods Art Tour.

And three festivals in southeast Minnesota bluff country:

Harvest Moon festival in Lanesboro, Minn. This low-key festival includes a cookie walk, trolley tours and a Saturday drag revue.

Uff Da Fest in Spring Grove, Minn. This friendly Norwegian village holds a bluff run, fall-foliage car cruise, Pinewood Derby, kids' archery instruction and music and food in Viking Park.

Harvest Day at Historic Forestville near Preston, Minn. In this living-history site frozen in 1899, visitors will see horse-drawn corn harvesting,  watch a quilting bee and help make an apple pie.

Country Music Festival in Chicago. The last of the big free Chicago music festivals,  it features three stages and a dance tent at Soldier Field Parkland, with Gretchen Wilson performing Saturday and Taylor Swift on Sunday. Oct. 3-4.

Second weekend of October

Madison County Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset, Iowa. John Wayne was born there, George Washington Carver lived there and the famous covered bridges still are there. The festival in this town southwest of Des Moines features guided bus tours to the bridges, free horse-drawn wagon rides to Wayne's house, appearances by Carver and other historical figures, spelling bees, a belt-buckle auction, live music and an antique vehicles parade at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Civil War Heritage Weekend at Norskedalen near Coon Valley, Wis. This pioneer farmstead in the coulees southeast of La Crosse is wonderfully atmospheric, and the crackerjack re-enactors of the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry's Company B give the region's most affecting portrayal of war (see Fight club). Battles are at 1 p.m. both days.

Historic Downtown La Crosse Day in La Crosse, Wis. This river town is offering  trolley and carriage rides, guided architectural walking tours, children's games, street music and dancing, a geocaching seminar in Riverside Park, 1860s shoeshines and caricatures, and everything is free.

WhistleStop Marathon, Half Marathon & Brews and Blues Festival in Ashland, Wis. A beautiful fall-colors run on the limestone Tri-County Corridor rail trail between Iron River and Chequamegon Bay. There are also 5K and 10K runs and a toddler run at the Bay Area Civic Center, plus evening sampling of 50 microbrews and blues music all night in a heated festival tent.

Galena Country Fair in Galena, Ill. There's a fine arts/arts and crafts fair, bake shop, farmers market, classic rock bands and Irish dancing.

Scenic Drive Festival in the Villages of Van Buren County, Iowa. In the southeast corner of Iowa, 11 villages feature quilt shows, scarecrow contests, bake sales, tours of historic sites, wine tasting and street fairs.

World Food Festival in Des Moines. In downtown's East Village, eat at 30 cultural cafes for $5 or less (or taste for $1), shop at the world marketplace or listen to musicians strolling the streets or on stage.

Northeast Iowa Artists' Studio Tour. Drive through bluff country to see 56 artists at 43 sites around Decorah, Burr Oak, St. Lucas, Waukon, West Union, Cresco, New Albin, Lansing, Elgin and Clermont.

Third weekend of October

Moose Madness Festival in Grand Marais, Minn. This Lake Superior town offers all things moose: a medallion hunt, moose-sighting expeditions, contests, scavenger hunts and appearances by Murray the Moose.

Autumn Harvest Fest in downtown Wisconsin Dells. Along with hayrides, pony rides, music and arts and crafts, there will be pumpkin decorating and a scarecrow-stuffing contest Saturday; that afternoon, chat with brewmasters and sample beer from 31 Wisconsin breweries at Wisconsin Dells on Tap. Tickets are $25, $20 in advance. On Sunday, there's a straw dig and a pie contest.

Fall Festival in Sister Bay, Wis. This Door County festival features a fish boil and children's cake walk Friday and a dog show and 11 a.m. parade Saturday, plus games, helicopter rides and arts and crafts.

Chicagoween in Chicago. Daley Plaza in the Loop turns into Franken Plaza for this festival, which features daily performances of the Midnight Circus (start times vary from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.), movies, music, pumpkin and mask decorating and a big parade down State Street.

Halloween in Anoka, Minn. This town, just north of Minneapolis, calls itself the Halloween Capital of the World. Festivities start with an orange-tie ball, Light up the Night parade and medallion hunts. There's a house-decoration contest , block party and costume contest, carnival and 1 p.m. Grand Day Parade.

Southwest Wisconsin Fall Art Tour. This popular studio tour includes artists at 40 studios between Mineral Point, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Baraboo. Oct. 16-18.

Fourth weekend of October

This weekend, anything that can be haunted — zoos, airplane hangars, corn mazes, nature centers, historic houses, cemeteries, trolleys and trains — will be haunted.

But there's only one Haunted Lighthouse. In Ontonagon, Mich., 12 miles east of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, the 1866 lighthouse will be the scene of a wake for a young woman who died of diphtheria in the lighthouse in 1885. "She was 17, but they said she looked like 90,'' says historical society volunteer Jessica Speer. Tickets are $10; reserve at 906-884-6165.

Four Wisconsin state parks will hold night hikes by torch or candlelight: Harrington Beach on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Sheboygan; High Cliff, on Lake Winnebago near Appleton; Mirror Lake, near Wisconsin Dells; and Governor Nelson, across Lake Mendota from Madison. 

UFO Day in Belleville, Wis. There's a craft fair, kids' games and a Forbidden Forest, but the 1:30 p.m. parade is the main event in this riverside village just south of Madison, where residents reported more than a dozen UFO sightings in the winter of 1987.

Mystery at the Fur Post: The Case of the Spectral Bride in Pine City, Minn. Visitors try to solve a murder by lantern light at this re-created North West Company Fur Post, an hour north of the Twin Cities.

Tour of Historic Haunts in Baraboo, Wis. Find out why a Civil War colonel's house split in two on a Sauk County Historical Society walking tour at 7 p.m. from Ochsner's Park, $8.

Chicagoween in Chicago. Daley Plaza in the Loop turns into Franken Plaza for this festival, which features daily performances of the Midnight Circus (start times vary from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.), movies, music and pumpkin and mask decorating. There's a big parade down State Street, followed by trick-or-treating for kids, a circus performance and a costume contest.

And there's one non-Halloween event: The Winter Camping Symposium in Ely, Minn. This camping expo at the gateway to the Boundary Waters features workshops, field trips, agear swap and a campfire cooking bakeoff at Vermilion Community College.

Last weekend of October-first weekend in November

Haunted High Ropes course at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center near Lanesboro, Minn. As if this isn't scary enough in daylight (it is; I've done it), the treetop course high above the Root River is haunted on Halloween night. Tickets are $15 and go fast, so reserve early at 507-467-2437.

Balloon Glow and Halloween Parade in Galena. The town's annual Balloon Glow along the Galena River is at dusk Friday and the parade along Main Street at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Freakfest on State Street in Madison. There'll be music on three stages, outdoor horror movies, a costume contest with prizes and much sampling at bars.

Autumn Candlelight Hike in Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wis. A two-mile trail will be lit by candles in luminaries.

Haunted Forest: Trail of Ghouls in Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls, Wis. Guided tours through forest and field, with Junior Frights from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and Ghouls Unleashed from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Second weekend in November

River & Bluffs Fall Birding Festival in Lansing, Iowa. Bald eagles, tundra swans and ducks love the sloughs and islands near this town in northeast Iowa, which also has one of the Mississippi's best views. The fest includes field trips, boat cruises and owl prowls; register in advance.

Candlelight hike at Council Grounds State Park near Merrill, in north-central Wisconsin.

Deck Opener at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn. The Mississippi River center celebrates the beginning of eagle-watching season with storytelling, music, American Indian dance and programs on falcons and tundra swans as well as eagles.

Edmund Fitzgerald beacon lighting at Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota's North Shore. This event, which commemorates the 1975 sinking of the ore freighter with 29 men, is the only time the public can see the interior of the light tower when the beacon is lighted. Nov. 10.

Fourth weekend in November

Winterer's Gathering in Grand Marais, Minn. There's a tent encampment, winter skills seminars, Arctic film festival and chili feed at the North House Folk School.

Outdoor Adventure Expo in Minneapolis. The fall expo at the Midwest Mountaineering store on the West Bank includes dozens of speakers and seminars about skiing, sled-dog racing and ice-climbing as well as backpacking, kayaking, sailing and other summer sports.

More festivals

For a complete list, check Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Galena, Chicago and Thunder Bay.

Last updated on January 4, 2009