Your Guide to Indiana’s Best Fall Festivals
Indiana knows how to celebrate autumn. From apple pies and covered bridges to pioneer reenactments and brain sandwiches, the Hoosier State packs September and October with festivals worth the drive. Here’s a chronological guide to a dozen of the best, with 2026 dates so you can plan your fall. Dates can shift year to year, so confirm with each festival’s official site before you go.
September Festivals
Marshall County Blueberry Festival, Plymouth
When: September 4-7, 2026 (Labor Day weekend)
Admission: Free (parking around $10 per car)
The draw: Fresh blueberry donuts, a hot-air balloon glow, a big carnival, and a Labor Day parade at Centennial Park. It’s one of Indiana’s largest festivals, drawing an estimated 475,000 people.
Valparaiso Popcorn Festival, Valparaiso
When: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Admission: Free
The draw: Valparaiso was Orville Redenbacher’s hometown, and the festival honors him with the nation’s first popcorn parade, a Popcorn Panic 5K, and hundreds of craft and food booths downtown.
Nappanee Apple Festival, Nappanee
When: September 17-20, 2026 (50th anniversary)
Admission: Free
The draw: The famous seven-foot, roughly 600-pound apple pie, plus a parade, carnival rides, apple-themed contests, and 200-plus craft booths.
Johnny Appleseed Festival, Fort Wayne
When: September 19-20, 2026
Admission: Free
The draw: An authentic 1800s pioneer festival honoring John Chapman, with period crafts, food cooked over open fires, and living-history demos. It’s one of the region’s biggest, with crowds often estimated around 300,000.
Persimmon Festival, Mitchell
When: September 19-26, 2026 (79th year)
Admission: Free (Spring Mill State Park charges its own gate fee)
The draw: The famous persimmon pudding contest, persimmon treats, a carnival, and candlelight tours at Spring Mill State Park.
October Festivals
Riley Festival, Greenfield
When: October 1-4, 2026
Admission: Free
The draw: One of Indiana’s largest craft festivals, honoring Hoosier Poet James Whitcomb Riley with hundreds of artisan booths, an 1840s encampment, and a grand parade on the Greenfield courthouse square.
Seymour Oktoberfest, Seymour
When: October 1-3, 2026
Admission: Free entry (some rides and races charge)
The draw: German heritage done right, with two bier gartens, polka and live music, a balloon glow, a parade, and dozens of food and craft booths downtown.
Harvest Homecoming, New Albany
When: October 3-11, 2026 (parade October 3; booth days October 8-11)
Admission: Free
The draw: Southern Indiana’s largest fall festival, a riverside tradition with a parade, food booths, concerts, and contests in downtown New Albany.
West Side Nut Club Fall Festival, Evansville
When: October 5-10, 2026 (Half Pot drawn Sunday, October 11)
Admission: Free
The draw: One of the largest street festivals in the U.S., drawing more than 280,000 people to Franklin Street. Expect 137-plus nonprofit food booths (brain sandwiches, fried Kool-Aid, Pronto Pups), nightly Amateur Hour, and the record-setting Half Pot raffle, which topped $2.6 million in 2025. Read our complete guide to the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival.
Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, Rockville
When: October 9-18, 2026 (10 days)
Admission: Free
The draw: Indiana’s biggest festival by attendance, drawing more than 2 million people over 10 days. Drive or stroll scenic routes past the county’s 31 historic covered bridges, shop hundreds of craft vendors, and eat your weight in persimmon pudding and homemade pies.
Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, West Lafayette
When: October 24-25, 2026
Admission: Ticketed (buy in advance to save)
The draw: A recreation of an 18th-century French and Native American fur-trading gathering at Fort Ouiatenon on the Wabash, with thousands of costumed reenactors, period foods, and cannon and fife-and-drum demos.
Historic Irvington Halloween Festival, Indianapolis
When: October 24-31, 2026 (street fair October 31, 80th year)
Admission: Street fair free (some events ticketed)
The draw: One of the country’s oldest Halloween celebrations, a week of ghost tours, a masquerade ball, and a costume-filled street fair and parade in the historic Irvington neighborhood.
Plan Your Fall Adventure
From blueberry donuts in Plymouth to covered bridges in Parke County and Halloween in Irvington, Indiana’s fall festivals are full of food, music, and tradition. Pick a weekend, pack a jacket, and go.
Love fall flavors?
Pair your festival trip with a stop at one of the Best Wineries in Indiana, from Oliver Winery in Bloomington to Two-EE’s near Fort Wayne.
History buff?
Extend your trip with a tour of Indiana’s Grandest Mansions, where gilded details and presidential homes tell Hoosier history in style.