As Autumn settles upon the Southwest, North Texas communities have ample opportunity to enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents of multiple fall festivals.
Many cities will host fall festivities in October, including Dallas, Grapevine, Arlington, Fort Worth, and Plano.
In Dallas, people can enjoy Autumn at the Arboretum and the Dallas Brew Festival.
The 17th annual Autumn at the Arboretum festival began on September 17 and runs until October 31, features “100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash, hailing from THE pumpkin capital of Texas, Floydada, throughout the garden,” the website states.
“A Fall Fairy Tale” is this year’s theme, represented by Cinderella’s Carriage and pumpkin houses comprising a Pumpkin Village, sponsored by Oncor.
Younger visitors perennially enjoy a maze, and everyone appreciates the “gourd-eous displays” of creative structures that “reimagine classic tales of Jack & The Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Sword in the Stone, and One Thousand and One Nights.”
The Dallas Brew Festival will be celebrated in Old City Park on October 15, with more than 60 breweries represented. Guests can sample around 200 types of beer while enjoying lawn games and food trucks.
In Grapevine, PumpkinFest will be held on Fridays through Sundays from October 7 to October 23 at Meadowmere Park, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Nash Farm will host Fall RoundUp on October 15. Admission is free, and visitors are invited to participate in pumpkin patch picture posing, pie making, and pony rides.
The City of Arlington will hold the River Legacy Fall Festival on October 8 in the River Legacy Park & River Legacy Nature Center. It is held annually as a fundraiser for environmental education.
“This family-friendly fall festival features a variety of games, bounce houses, a pumpkin patch, live music, a dunk tank, delicious festival foods, and so much more,” the website shares.
North Texans who find themselves in a festival mood on the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd have even more opportunities to enjoy themselves.
They can visit Fort Worth and attend the Water Lantern Festival or wander into Plano for the Fall Harvest Festival & Outdoor Market. The free Halloween-themed festival in downtown Plano will take place on Saturday, October 22, from 5 to 10:30 p.m.
Fort Worth’s Water Lantern Festival is a family-friendly event where “friends, families, neighbors, and lots of people that you haven’t met can come together to create a peaceful, memorable experience.”
Plano’s Apparition Expedition has been held before, but the Rest in Plano (RIP) Fest is a new event. Both will be held on Saturday, October 22, and guests will get a glimpse at the historic and haunted sides of the city.
Visitors to Plano that Sunday, October 23, do not have to be in a hurry to leave, for The Shops at Legacy North will be hosting a Fall Harvest Festival & Outdoor Market from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Over 40 vendors will offer goodies for the upcoming holidays, and live music will provide background ambiance for taking advantage of the many photo opportunities.
Other North Texas cities hosting fall festivities in October include:
- Corinth (October 15)
- Denton (October 28-29)
- Ennis (October 28-30)
- Lewisville (October 29)
- Kaufman (October 22)
- Keller (October 27)
- Midlothian (October 23)
- Roanoke (October 8)
- Sachse (October 22)
- Southlake(October 14-16)