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Seattle-area fall festivals celebrate the local apple harvest and lots more.
It’s fall festival time around Seattle — let’s get the party going! Many fall festivals focus on pumpkins and harvest time — we’ve got your Seattle pumpkin patch guide ready, naturally. On top of plucking your perfect pumpkin, this season has many more reasons to celebrate, from apples to maples and wurst to witches!
Here’s a sampling nearly-all-free fall festivals:
Seattle fall festivals
The Great Wallingford Wurst Festival
This long-running fest is popular with families for kids’ games with prizes and inflatables! Enjoy live entertainment — don’t miss the Eclectic Cloggers! — while you dine on brats and wurst.
Info: Friday–Saturday, Sept. 15–16, in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. Free entry; food and activities for purchase.
Edmonds Oktoberfest and Family Festival
There’s a beer garden for grown-ups (it’s Oktoberfest, after all), but this fest features all-ages fun such as the Kids’ Korner activity area and the pet parade at noon on Saturday!
Info: Friday–Saturday, Sept. 15–16, in downtown Edmonds. Free entry; food for purchase.
Seattle Fiesta Patrias
This installment in Seattle Center’s fantastic Festál series celebrates the independence of many Latin American countries, as well as the enduring traditions and customs that enrich our community. Enjoy folkloric dances and cooking demos, and try out Zumba!
Info: Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 16–17, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., at Seattle Center. Free.
Fall City Apple Festival
Taste apple desserts, press apples into cider using a cider press and hop on for a horse ride. You can even bake your best apple pie and enter it into the apple pie contest! Proceeds from this family fest support camp scholarships for local kids.
Info: Sunday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., in Fall City. Free entry; food and activities for purchase.
Mabon Festival
This unique festival caters to witches and the metaphysically minded. Is that you? This celebration is also known as Pagan Thanksgiving and invites all to consider their accomplishments over the past year, and to let go of things that did not bear fruit.
Info: Sunday, Sept. 17, noon–5 p.m., in Kirkland. Free entry; items for purchase.
Italian Festival
Sure, come for the food, but the Italian Festival has lots more to love. Admire classic Italian cars and make heart-eyes at the dog show’s adorable Lagotti Romagnoli, plus watch the bocce tournament and ever-popular grape stomp!
Info: Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 23–24, at Seattle Center. Free.
ChuSeok Korean Festival
Mark the harvest season during this celebration of Korean culture. Try making a paper lotus flower, inspect Korean musical instruments and taste delicious food. This festival takes place on two dates, in two locations, for double the fun.
Info: Saturday, Sept. 23, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., in Tacoma, and Saturday, Sept. 30, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., in Gig Harbor. Free.
Fall Festival in the Junction
This fest invites those with a competitive streak. Try your hand (face?) at the pie-eating contest, with divisions for kids and adults, or sign up for the corn hole tournament (players must be 16 or older) to try to win the cash pot!
Info: Sunday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., in West Seattle. Free.
Children’s Mooncake Festival
Join a community of families to snack on mooncakes and celebrate the harvest moon. Crafts for kids and performances will be followed by a movie screening in the Renton Community Center’s gym.
Info: Friday, Sept. 29, 5–9 p.m., in Renton. Free.
St. Demetrios Greek Festival
Yes, there will be spanakopita and souvlakia, Greek dancing and tours of the church. But come on, we all know why this long-running fest is so popular: It’s the sensational baklava! (You’ll find me first in line for it.)
Info: Friday–Sunday, Sept. 29–Oct. 1, in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood. Free entry; food for purchase (card only).
Nisqually Watershed Festival
This scien-terrific fest at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge involves bugs, reptiles and salmon dissection! Bring money for lunch from food trucks, listen to stories and tour the refuge.
Info: Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., in Olympia. Free; food for purchase (card only).
Fishermen’s Fall Festival
A fab fest supporting the Seattle community of fishermen, kids will find tons to do here, including toy-boat-building and pond fishing. Fingers crossed the highly entertaining and unique survival suit races will be back!
Info: Saturday, Sept. 30, 11 a.m.–6 p.m., in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. Free.
Seattle Japanese Garden Maple Festival
This festival is not free, but so lovely it’s worth paying admission to try out Momijigari, the Japanese tradition of admiring the art of nature. Wander the serene garden paths and marvel at the fiery fall colors of the garden’s maples.
Info: Oct. 5–15, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood. Garden admission $6–$10; ages 5 and younger enter free.
Harvest Fest at Suncadia
Family-favorite destination Suncadia invites both resort guests and visitors to celebrate the season with fall fun such as wagon rides, harvest crafts and pumpkins.
Info: Saturday–Sunday, Oct. 6–7 and 14–15, at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. Free entry; some activities for purchase.
Bonus: Swans Trail Farms’ Apple Festival
While this fest is definitely not free, the bevvy of kids’ activities may make it enticing for some families. Just prior to pumpkin season, Swans Trail invites families to celebrate our state’s signature crop, the apple! Book your admission to the festival for access to the petting farm, corn maze and kids’ play area with giant slides. You can also watch duck races!
Info: Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 16–17 and 23–24, in Snohomish. $19.95 per person; age 1 and younger enter free.
More fall fun around Seattle... |
