Fairs, festivals and other special events promise fall fun

West Virginia offers a wide variety of fall events all across the state. Whether you want to enjoy the state’s fall foliage atop (or jumping off!) the country’s largest steel arch bridge, attending the richest night of horse racing in the state, visiting the many fall fairs and festivals, now is the time to plan for an autumn adventure in the Mountain State.

Celebrating its 31st anniversary, Bridge Day offers plenty of thrills on the New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, on October 16. Around 400 BASE jumpers participate each year in the largest extreme sports event in the world. Estimates have as many as 100,000 people attending the overall event. There is no charge for spectators to attend the festival.


The richest night of racing in West Virginia is scheduled for Saturday, October 16 in Charles Town when the West Virginia Breeders Classic showcases the West Virginia thoroughbred racing and breeding industry. The Classic is a day of nine races featuring horses bred or sired in West Virginia.

Many communities and counties celebrate the fall harvests with popular festivals. Here are a few examples.

The Kingwood community has its annual buckwheat festival from September 30 to October 3; the Mountain State Forest Festival at Elkins from October 2 to 10 promotes the beauty and utility of West Virginia’s forest land; Milton hosts the family-fun West Virginia Pumpkin Festival from October 7 to 10; and the West Virginia Black Walnut Festival at Spencer from October 14 to 17 is a celebration of the black walnut.

For more information about top events in West Virginia take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in West Virginia.

A list of festivals and celebrations can be seen online at www.wvtourism.com/