BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Fall has officially arrived in the Lehigh Valley, bringing dozens of festivals over the next few months.
No matter what way you’re looking to celebrate the season — from family fun at Grim’s to frosty mugs of beer at Oktoberfest — there are plenty of events from which to choose.
Here is a list:
The Spooktacular Hot Air Balloon Festival
The hot air balloon festival will take place 9/29 to 10/1 at Slatington Airport.
The event will include the launch of over 20 hot air balloons into the sky over the scenic Lehigh River. The festival will also offer carnival rides, live music and craft vendors. There will also be more than 10 food trucks and a beer garden with craft beers, including a festival brew. A picturesque DJ laser light balloon glow and fireworks will take place each evening after sunset.
Helicopter and tethered hot air balloon rides daily.
For more information visit https://balloonfestpa.com/.
Bacon and Brews Festival
The Bacon & Brews Festival returns to Coca-Cola Park in Allentown from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. The festival will include tastings from various brewers, cideries, distilleries and wineries. IronPigs Concessions also will offer some of its best-selling bacon items and a handful of food vendors will be cooking up bacon dishes, as well.
The festival will take place on the stadium field as well as on the concourse and plaza. There will be lawn games on the field, as well as live entertainment by Dead Jimmy.
Lehigh Valley Zoo Fall Wine Festival
This is the seventh annual festival, taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30.
Attendees can sample wine, cider and more from various wineries and distilleries around the region. There will be various vendors and treats for sale, along with live music and interactive exhibits to learn about some of the zoo animals.
Craft beer and other alcoholic beverages will be available to buy.
Williams Township Fest-O-Fall
Williams Township will hold its annual fall festival beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. The event will take place at Municipal Park and will include fall activities, food and entertainment. Festivities will end with fireworks at dusk.
Monocacy Farm’s Eighth Annual Food Festival
Come for the food, stay for the fun at Monocacy Farm’s eighth annual Food Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1 at 395 Bridle Path Road, Bethlehem.
The event will include local food and artisan vendors, a petting zoo, crafts and activities, live music, raffles and more.
The suggested admission donation is $5 per person or $10 per family. Parking is free. All proceeds benefit the Monocacy Farm Project.
Wilson Borough Fall Fest
The third annual Wilson Borough Fall Festival will be Oct. 12-14 at Meuser Park. Musical acts, including The Large Flowerheads, The Wonton Soups, Acoustic Kitty Project and Joyous will perform at the bandshell. Enjoy rides, games, food and fireworks.
For more information, visit https://www.borofallfest.com/.
Freemansburg Fall Fest & Bonfire:
The annual Fall Fest & Bonfire will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 at Gerald C Yob Community Park. The bonfire will be lit at 6:15 p.m.
Northampton County Festival
Come out for the fourth annual Northampton County Fall Festival at Louise Moore Park in Easton from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14.
The event will include live music, vendors, food trucks, awards and demonstrations.
Grim’s Fall Festival and Corn Maze
No reservations are needed to enjoy fun on the farm at Grims, Saturdays and Sundays only — and Columbus Day Monday — every weekend now through Oct. 29. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the last admission at 5:30 p.m. On Columbus Day, the last admission will be at 4:30 p.m.
Enjoy pumpkins, snacks, fall foods, hard cider and wine. Activities and exhibits include a corn maze, pick-your-own pumpkins and apples, hay ride tours and more. Other activities in the play corral for children include a ball toss, sand pit, spider web climb, ladder golf, corn bin and tricycle course. Guests ages 3 years and older require a ticket. For pricing on this and other packages, visit https://grimsorchard.simpletix.com/.
Seiple Farms Fall Festival
Celebrating more than 40 years of pumpkins, Seiple Farms is open for its fall festival weekends now through Oct. 29.
Enjoy a hayride to a 34-acre pumpkin patch, a 28-acre big corn maze and a 6-acre kids corn maze. Children can visit farm animals and take pony rides, and there also will be amusement rides and food trucks. The Pumpkin Barn & Gift Shop will be pen, with vendors and more.
The Friday Nights Flashlight Fundraiser takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. on participating Fridays.
For pricing and additional information, visit https://seiplefarms.com/autumn/.
Hausman Fruit Farm Fall Festival
The Hausman Fruit Farm in Coopersburg welcomes visitors to its 2023 Fall Festival, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 30 through Oct. 29.
Free admission, free parking, free hayrides and more. Also enjoy pony rides, pedal tractors, a corn maze, live music, warm apple dumplings, local beer, cider slushies and hot concessions. Prices vary from $2 to $5 for each kid's activity, with an optional wrist band to cover most activities (pony rides not included).
Oktoberfest returns to SteelStacks in Bethlehem on Oct. 6-8 and 13-15. Hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Now in its 13th year, Oktoberfest continues to remain a free festival that features brews, food, live music, local artisans, as well as activities such as the fan-favorite dachshund races and more.
Games are free to play, including Stein Hoisting, which will run the first 30 minutes of every hour through the festival. Test your strength to see how long you can hold a full stein of beer in front of you.
A qualifier competition will be at 6 p.m Oct. 7. and the championships will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 14. Winners will receive $500 each.
Additional activities include glass-blowing demonstrations, a Riesling tasting, Kong Pong Tournament and a fashion contest.
The fourth annual Lehigh Valley VegStock festival will take place Saturday, Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. as a celebration of healthy living, vegetarian, vegan & plant-based foods, local musicians, small businesses, community involvement, and family engagement.
The event will take place in Tatamy alongside the Bushkill Creek in and all proceeds from the event will benefit the Kellyn Foundation's Healthy Neighborhood Immersion Strategy, including the Kellyn Schools, Kellyn Educational Kitchens and the "Eat Real Food" Mobile Market Program.
Eat, drink and stink at this year’s Easton Garlic Fest, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 7-8.
Activities include two tasting events (tickets required) — the Gastric Garlic People’s Choice Contest and the Dangerous Desserts Contest.
Free events include watching various cook-offs, including Mystery Basket Cook-offs, the 3 Mayors’ Cook-off and the Chef’s Choice Cook-Off.
There also will be multiple stages for music and roving entertainment throughout the festival, including stilt walkers, jugglers, a clown and more. Plus, the Little Stinkers Row will include a moon bounce, face painting, arts and crafts and a kids culinary contest.
Bethlehem Harvest Fest
Harvest Fest will return to Downtown Bethlehem from noon to 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, with an after-party starting at 6 p.m.
Pop singer Ryan Cabrera will perform during the free street fair, which runs along Main and Broad Streets and also includes artisans and vendors. (There also will be a Ryan Cabrera look-alike contest).
Other performing acts will be Cunningham & Associates, We’re From Antarctica and The Audio Files and Seth Witcher.
Tickets for the tasting trails are $35 for the Soup Trail and $40 per person for the Beer and Wine trails, on sale now. Day-of tickets are $5 more.
Bethlehem Running Festival
The festival, scheduled Oct. 21-22, will be the city’s first major multi-day running event since the Runner’s World Half and Festival in 2019.
It will include a 5K, 10K and half-marathon, along with a fundraiser walk for the American Cancer Society.
Each race in the festival will start from South Bethlehem’s SteelStacks and head west, crossing the Lehigh River over the Fahy Bridge.
All three races also will end on the campus. The 5K course circles around City Hall and returns to the South Side over the Fahy Bridge. More information can be found at runsignup.com.
ChiliFest
ChiliFest in Bethlehem’s SouthSide Arts District returns for a day of celebrating the flavor of the local community through food and fun.
The event takes place from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, with passports priced at $30 to enjoy a variety of homemade chilies from local restaurants and businesses competing for the title of “People’s Choice Chili.”
The winner will receive a hand-blown glass ChiliFest pepper trophy.
Harvest & Haunts Fall Festival
The George Taylor House Association will hold its annual Harvest & Haunts Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28.
Vendors and crafters will fill the lawn at the George Taylor House, while historical tours will take place at the George Taylor mansion (35 S. Front St.). The tours will include stories of all the “spirited guests” at the property.
As the sun begins to set, volunteers and guests for the VIP, pre-ticketed paranormal investigation tours will prepare for a night of ghostly communication and evidence gathering.
This annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Greater Easton Development Partnership will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4-5.
Named as one of the country’s “5 Can’t-Miss Bacon Festivals,” expect every sort of bacon-flavored food you can imagine.
Included this year are pig and weiner dog races, a rock-climbing wall, bacon eating contest, mascot dash, face painting, balloon creations, costume contest and hog calling contest.
There also will be plenty of live music, a 5k race and more.
