Fall Festivals in Virginia

Virginia's fall festivals aren't just about pumpkins and pretty leaves. Music and food seem to be everywhere. Just follow your ears and taste buds and you'll find a festival that is alive with fun and cool things to do as local farms and Main Street communities transform into family playgrounds for fall festivals.

Here are some of the October fall festivals in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley:

Monterey - Oct. 11-13 - Hands & Harvest Festival - The event features an arts and crafts show & farmers' market. The Little Switzerland Cloggers perform Saturday afternoon. Southernmost Maple Products & Fair Lawn Farm invites visitors to their sugar camp for apple butter and cider making. Word of Faith Outreach Ministry hosts a BBQ Chicken Dinner to benefit those in need. Ginseng Mountain Store holds an "Open House" with door prize & discounts throughtout the store & lamb, beef & marinade tasting on the front porch.

Syria - Oct. 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 - Graves' Mountain Apple Harvest Festival - Enjoy fun-filled days complete with Graves famous Food, live Bluegrass Music, Hay Maze and Hay Moutain, Apple Picking and more!

McGaheysville - Oct. 12 - Massanutten Fall Festival - Over 60 arts vendors, live music, chairlift rides to the top of the Peak, kids activities, wine sampling, beer garden, food, petting farm, and more!

New Castle - Oct. 12 - Craig County Fall Festival - Don't miss the 31st Annual Craig County Fall Festival, to include street fair, antique car show, live entertainment and horse rides. 

Harrisonburg - Oct. 19 - Children's Harvest Festival at the Arboretum - Children's Harvest Festival at the Arboretum with educational tours, dancing, crafts, live music, horse drawn wagon rides and more.

For fall festivals in other regions of Virginia click on www.virginia.org/fall/ or visit these areas:

Blue Ridge Highlands

Chesapeake Bay

Central Virginia

Coastal Virginia - Eastern Shore

Coastal Virginia - Hampton Roads

Northern Virginia

Heart of Appalachia 

Southern Virginia

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

Celebrating Rice in the Arkansas Delta

Rice is important in Arkansas, especially in the Arkansas Delta (writes Kim Williams). The Natural State is at the top of the six rice-producing states, growing 48% of the rice in the United States. Nearly 1.4 million acres of rice is grown in Arkansas each year, with the majority being raised in the Arkansas Delta. It’s easy to understand why rice is important to The Natural State.

So important, in fact, that the lovely grain has at least two festivals that honor the crop.

The town of Weiner hosts the 37th annual Arkansas Rice Festival on October 11-12. The festival celebrates not only the Arkansas rice industry but the harvesting season as well. You’ll find a plethora of fun events, contests, and displays. Activities include a duck calling contest, live music, a weiner dog race and show, karaoke contests, a parade, a rice tasting luncheon, carnival rides, a car show, a mini-tractor pull and more. Check out all the events by clicking here . For all the details on the festival itself, log on to www.ArkansasRiceFestival.com.

On October 26, Hazen hosts the 37th annual Grand Prairie Rice Festival. The event kicks-off at 10 a.m. There are special events and attractions just for kids, such as the Little Farmer contest. Other activities include live music, food booths, a variety of vendors, an antique tractor parade, arts and crafts, and a magic show. Phone 870-255-3042 for more information.

To learn more about rice in The Natural State, check out the Arkansas Rice Federation’s website.

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