UPDATED 2013: Celebrate the harvest season in the Hudson Valley at these fall fairs and festivals in Westchester and Rockland counties, including Bear Mountain, Brewster, Cortlandt Manor, Katonah, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, and beyond. Bring the kids for apple picking, pumpkin carving, hayrides, corn mazes, and more fun fall activities.
Fall Festivals in Westchester
Philipsburg Manor, Sleepy Hollow
Aug. 31 - Sept. 2
CORNucopia, the Hudson Valley’s first-ever corn festival, will feature a bounty of corn-centric delicacies and interactive, corn-related activities over Labor Day weekend. Ideal for all ages, this celebration of all things corn will feature hands-on activities, craft and cooking demonstrations, lots of corny cuisine, bluegrass music, and a friendly scarecrow come to life. All visitors get a free bag of popcorn as they enter. Maize-inspired food selections like sweet corn ice cream will be available for purchase. Visitors can compete in a corn-shucking contest, participate in a barn dance, and play corn-inspired games like Ring-a-Cob in the CORNival gaming area. Other activities include scarecrow making, open-hearth cooking demonstrations, and demonstrations of coopering (barrel-making) and milling. A kid-sized “mini maize maze” will beckon the little ones, and live bluegrass and folk music will take place throughout the day.
Greenburgh Nature Center, Scarsdale
GNC's naturalists prepare tasty treats from their organic garden. Learn about beekeeping, the fascinating social network of honeybees, and how honey is harvested. The harvest from the hives will be extracted indoors and away from the active outdoor beehives by beekeeper H. Peet Foster. Free tasting of fresh honey from-the-hives, and the newly harvested honey will be available for purchase.
Shop for one-of-a-kind and limited edition jewelry, fashion, and accessories, furniture and home decor pieces, as well as functional and sculptural work in ceramics, glass, metal, painting, photography, wood, and mixed media. Visitors can enjoy live music all weekend long, watch craft demonstrations, participate in children's activities, eat in the expanded food court, and purchase specialty foods.
John Jay Homestead, Katonah
Expect lots of old-fashioned fun, including an informal barbecue, ice cream sundaes, a campfire, and music by local bands, at the Barn Dance at John Jay Homestead. The swimming pig races (held at 5:30pm and 7:30pm sharp) are always a crowd favorite. New this year: racing dachshunds!
The Seabury at Fieldhome, Cortlandt Manor
There’s something for everyone at Fieldhome’s 9th Annual Fall Festival—arts and crafts, a classic car show, pumpkin patch, homemade bake sale, fall plant sale, great food, and live entertainment. Little ones will head straight to the Kids’ Zone for inflatable rides, pumpkin decorating, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides, games, and prizes. Bring canned and dried foods to donate to the food drive benefitting Yorktown Community Help, Inc. FREE!
Blue Mountain Reservation, Peekskill
The only show in Westchester County with both English and Western riding contests. Fair attractions include pony and hay rides, a country fair and craft market, bounce and slide rides, and a “Kountry Kitchen” featuring baked goods. Rotary members work in the foot tents serving up a full range of grilled foods, beverages, and ice cream. FREE admission and parking.
Rosenthal JCC, Pleasantville
Rosenthal JCC’s Fall Fest includes a barnyard petting zoo, pony rides, touch-a-truck, a trackless train, bounce house, pumpkin patch and decorating, wacky photo booth, water slide (weather permitting), crafts, and refreshments. Ride/activity tickets are sold in advance at a discount. FREE!
Green Chimneys, Brewster
At Green Chimneys’ Fall Harvest Festival, the fun starts with the Children’s Harvest Fun Run around the Green Chimneys Horse Barn. The rest of the day features great seasonal activities, including pumpkin decorating, hay rides, the little folks’ hay maze, and make-your-own scarecrow. Also included: live animal demonstrations, nature activities, kids’ crafts, and the bungee trampoline.
Wave Hill, Bronx
Wave Hill’s Honey Weekend features demos, art projects, information stations, and tastings. Most events take place throughout the weekend. For a full listing of Honey Weekend activities, visit the website.
Maria Regina High School, Hartsdale
The Country Fair weekend will include rides, games, pumpkin painting, food stands, live entertainment, and much more. FREE!
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Pocantico Hills
Festivities for the whole family include live music, hayrides, farm Olympics, food-crafting, farming demonstrations, and square dancing.
Dobbs Ferry Streetfront, Dobbs Ferry
Stroll the streets and shop for collectibles, arts and crafts, toys, clothes, and more, all while listening to the sounds of live music. There will be inflatibles for kids, an obstacle course and bouncy castle, more than 100 vendors, and many local restaurants serving their fare al fresco. Rain or shine.
Glen Island Park, New Rochelle
Hundreds of walkers and their dogs will take a leisurely 1.5-mile stroll along Long Island Sound as they walk the perimeter of Glen Island Park. After the procession, browse the wares of two dozen vendors (with lots of dog-related merchandise), listen to music, and enjoy refreshments such as pizza, home-baked treats, and ice cream. Get a take-home photo of you and your dog posing at the water's edge, get a balloon shaped like a dog, watch an agility demonstration, and stop by the "kiddie korner" for some face painting, a game of musical chairs, or best trick competitions.
Muscoot Farm, Katonah
Spend the day listening and dancing to a band, watch a blacksmithing demonstration, make origami, visit the antique cars, try your hand at a variety of farm games, decorate a sugar pumpkin, visit the Farmers' Market, take a peaceful hayride to the back fields, and more. There is a small fee for the farm games, decorating a sugar pumpkin, and hayride.
Greenburgh Nature Center, Scarsdale
Enjoy scarecrow-building and pumpkin-carving or painting, cider making, petting zoo, scavenger hunts, tractor rides, and more. Food available for purchase. Rain or shine.
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, Yonkers
Celebrate fall with a variety of activities, including harvest demonstrations, cider pressing, storytimes, and a pop-up playground. The day will end with a family-friendly, Halloween-themed movie.
Fall Festivals in Rockland County
Main Street, Nyack
Take a break from an otherwise busy month by stopping by Nyack's fall street fair. Check out the event's selection traditional "fair food," street cafes, live music, funky crafts, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, art, kids games, and rides. Rain or shine.
Bear Mountain State Park, Bear Mountain
Sept. 14 – Oct. 27, weekends
Bear Mountain once again hosts Oktoberfest, with seven weekends full of German music, food, beer, and vendors. Stroll around Hessian Lake, take in the park’s fall foliage, and enjoy the season at this family-friendly event.
JCC Rockland, West Nyack
Families are invited to spend a "fun day at the J" at this annual event, which this year falls during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Kids can enjoy activities in the JCC's sukkah while parents check out the community center's new group exercise schedule, learn about new offerings, and try out demos of new specialty classes such as Kettlebell, Get Fit for Baby, and IntenSati. The day also includes programs on nutrition, heart health, and healthy living.
Platzl Brauhaus, Pomona
Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, 12-13
Platzl Brauhaus offers a buffet of German food and beer, live music, folk dancing demonstrations, and amusement rides for kids. Reservations are required.
Belleayre Mountain, Highmount
Belleayre Mountain hosts this fall festival weekend with live music, theater performances, children's crafts, fishing, inflatables, mountain bike riding, kyaking demonstrations, a sky ride, guided hikes, and winter apparel sales.
Central Avenue, Pearl River
Stop by for food, music, entertainment, demonstrations, shopping specials, face painting, pumpkin painting, balloon twisting, bouncy attractions, and more.
Crospey Community Farm, New City
Enjoy farm tours, demonstrations, children's activities, and displays from local nonprofit groups.
Greenmeadow Waldorf School, Chestnut Ridge
The school hosts a fall fair with children's activities including cider pressing, pumpkin carving, face painting, and hayrides. Adults can check out vendors, live music, organic food, and much more.
Provident Bank Park, Pomona
Sample specialty foods from hot sauce and spice companies as well as food from area restaurants and produce from local farms. The event will include a Rockland County culinary competition. Activities for the public include live music, children's entertainment, a fire juggler and, of course, a spicy food-eating contest.
Get a jumpstart on holiday shopping at this final event of Nyack's street fair season. The fair features more than 250 exhibitors with hand made crafts, art, photography, unique retail items, collectibles, and delicious festival food. Kids can have fun at a large children's area set up in the Main Street parking lot. Rain or shine. FREE!
Memorial Park, Nyack
Jeffrey and his Bossy Frog Band will provide the entertainment. Activities include an apple pie baking contest, "William Tell" (with a member of the Village Board balancing an apple on his/her head), apple face making, a guest appearance by the Hudson Vagabond Puppets, and more.
Main Street, Nyack
Dancing ghouls, marching bands, floats, stilt walkers, and giant puppets are all part of the action at this major annual event. Immediately following the parade, don't miss Nyack Center's Monster Mash, with live music, dancing, and a dinner buffet for kids of all ages.
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