Fall has returned to Middle Tennessee! It’s time for cozy scarves, pumpkin spice everything, fragrant apples, perfectly ripened squash, and vibrant photos of our boots as we tread through swirling autumn leaves. Throughout our communities, we have been hard at work preparing for our famous fall festivals. Now it’s time to snag tickets before they sell out, clear our weekend schedules, and invite our best friends and extended family members to come out with us and celebrate all things fall.
This September, October, and November, we hope you will visit as many of our region’s Top Fall Festivals as you can. The following are our top 11 destinations (plus 5 bonus selections) and we know you’ll have a blast at any or all of them.
Please do purchase your tickets as soon as possible; these popular events tend to sell out quickly.
Nashville Pumpkin Festival
When: Th – Sun | September 21 – November 1
Where: Lucky Ladd Farms | Eagleville
Purchase Tickets Here
Lucky Ladd Farms’ Pumpkin Fest has been voted Middle Tennessee’s Best Fall Festival and the #1 Pumpkin Patch in the state, making it a must-do event for visitors and locals alike. The sprawling farm offers thousands of pumpkins in a vast array of shapes, sizes, and colors, so whatever you have planned for your gorgeous squash, you’ll find your best pick here. Lucky Ladd sells small and sugary pie pumpkins, pint-sized decorative gourds, and hollow-bodied massive carving candidates from September onward.
Of course, this festival offers much more than pumpkins! Make your way through the gigantic corn maze, indulge in seasonal treats that are all made fresh on the farm (sweet kettle corn, spice-packed apple cider donuts, and aromatic pumpkin spice lattes are our favorites), visit the petting zoo, give your children the gift of a pony ride, bounce along on the hayride, experience educational exhibits, and careen down the mega slides!
Accessibility: Lucky Ladd Farms is wheelchair accessible. Additionally, the barnyard, wagon ride, and playground are accessible, and the playground has an accessible swing.
Cheekwood Harvest
When: September 14 - October 27
Where: Cheekwood Estate & Gardens | Nashville
Purchase Advance Tickets Here
Cheekwood Harvest is the star of the Estate and Garden’s annual autumnal celebrations. The gardens are a breathtaking venue where you can soak in the changing of the leaves across the thousands of lovingly tended trees, and the featured art exhibits are even more inspiring in these strikingly colorful natural surroundings. If you find yourself feeling a bit cold at any time during your adventure, you must stop by to pick up some hot apple cider to warm your hands and core while you meander through the nationally famous grounds.
El Día de los Muertos
When: November 2- November 3
Where: Cheekwood Estate & Gardens | Nashville
Tickets on Sale September 24
Throughout Latin America, El Día de los Muertos is the time for friends and families to gather and celebrate, honor, and share stories of their loved ones who have journeyed ahead into the spirit realm. Here in Nashville, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens would love to have you participate in their Día de los Muertos festival (now in its 25th year) as they share the music, art, cuisine, and dances of Latin America. Featured art includes handmade illuminated altar displays as well as other handcrafts and fine art sold at the popup market.
Halloween Pooch Party
When: October 26 – 27 | 10AM to 4:30PM
Where: Cheekwood Museum and Gardens | Nashville
Advanced Tickets Required
It’s time to celebrate Middle Tennessee’s fabulous, costumed canines at Cheekwood! One of 2024’s most adorably entertaining events will be this “pawtumn’s” Pooch Parade, so deck out your canine companion in their best costume, dress yourself to match, and march in the parade! You and your pooch will have the chance to win any one of several prizes, and of course winning one event will put you in the running for the day’s grand prize!
Local vendors will be in attendance with dog-centric wares and treats, and you and your pup can take selfies at the charming Pumpkin Houses. Leashes are required for all dogs, and you must bring your furry friend’s own water bowl.
Boo at the Zoo
When: October 11 - 31 | 5PM to 9PM
Where: Nashville Zoo at Grassmere | Nashville
Purchase Advance Tickets Here
Boo at the Zoo is back for 2024, and it will be as phenomenal as ever! There will be a huge array of handmade illuminated scenes to wander through and use as unique photo opportunities. Enjoy the annual Monster Mash dance, amazing animal shows, oodles of trick-or-treat stations, giant straw creations, complimentary rides on the seasonally decorated Scary-Go-Round Carousel, the pumpkin patch, and educational (yet spooky) tours at the Grassmere Historic Home.
The zoo encourages visitors of all ages to wear family-friendly costumes.
Nashville Dog Day Festival
When: October 19 | 10AM to 4PM
Where: Centennial Park | Nashville
The Nashville Humane Society will be hosting their annual Dog Day Festival again this year, and it’s your dog’s time to shine for all to see! Dress up your adorable fluff-ball in their best Halloween finery, walk them in the pup parade, have them pose for their portrait, and join in the festivities! This year will feature live music and entertainment, food trucks, and an array of seasonal fun centers.
Nashville Oktoberfest
When: October 3th–6th
Where: Bi-Centennial Mall, 600 James Robertson Pkwy | Nashville
Purchase Advance Tickets Here
Nashville’s longest consecutively running festival returns this fall, and Oktoberfest in Music City is famous for all the right reasons! All who are of German heritage, true beer enthusiasts, and all y’all party people are officially invited to raise your mug and drink deeply at all of the many draft beer stations! Each station will highlight beer imported from Germany just for the occasion. The party tent will feature live music, beer, and bratwurst all festival long.
You are also encouraged to bring your dog, especially if they enjoy dressing up, because costumed dogs are welcome to show off their outfits in the Pup Parade taking place in front of the main stage.
German restaurants will be offering traditional meals, arts and crafts vendors will be present to assist you with your holiday shopping list, and the Middle Tennessee’s second-largest 5k is happening during this phenomenal, free festival!
Halloween In the Park
When: October 19 | 11AM to 3PM (Rainout Day TBD)
Where: Charlie Daniels Park | Mt. Juliet
Free Admission
Each fall, Charlie Daniels Park holds Halloween in the Park, an event where children can fill their candy buckets, take a hayride, board the trackless train, visit the animals in the petting zoo, bounce to their heart’s content through the inflatables, participate in the costume contest, gather free gifts at various booths, and play together at the playground. Enjoy a safe and festive holiday in Mt. Juliet!
39th Annual Pumpkinfest 2024
When: October 26 | 10AM to 6PM
Where:Main Street, Downtown | Franklin
Free Admission
The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County is hosting Middle Tennessee’s biggest family-friendly fall festival, so be sure to save the date! This massive event spans the entirety of Main Street and several side streets to accommodate the more than 110,000 attendees expected.
There will be plenty of fun for everyone, with activities, arts, crafts, and locally made goods on display. You can enjoy seasonal food, drinks, and desserts that are unique to the festival. Remember to wear your costume—and dress up your dog, too—for a chance to compete in the costume contest! Stick around for live music and take the opportunity to connect with people from across Middle Tennessee.
Main Street Festival
When: October 5 | 10AM - 5 PM
Where: Main Street, Downtown | Gatlinburg
Free Admission, Free Parking
Gatlinburg’s Main Street Festival is returning this year and features over 200 vendors catering to more than 30,000 guests! This rain-or-shine event grows in popularity every year, so we strongly recommend arriving early to secure parking. Enjoy live music and performances on the main stage, indulge in tasty offerings from local restaurants, and bring the kids to the special children’s area where they can participate in seasonal activities and enjoy plenty of space to play.
Haunted Canoe the Caney
When: Fridays and Saturdays | September 27 through November 30 | Hourly 6PM to 10PM
Where: Caney Fork River | Silverville
Purchase Advance Tickets Here
This eerie adventure is for the most fearless Middle Tennesseeans. Are you ready to paddle the dimly moonlit waters of the Caney Fork River? Your ghostly journey starts with a walking tour near an old cemetery and a former military base, where chilling tales from the past sixty years await. Stick close to your guide as they recount unsettling stories of a town submerged by floodwaters, its lost graves, and the ghostly whispers that still echo to this day.
This is no staged experience—each story you hear has been passed down by those who lived here in years gone by. Only step foot into the canoe if you’re brave enough to float just 15 feet above a century-old graveyard now hidden beneath the river’s surface. Do the spine tingles you’ll feel result from spirits lingering mere feet below your canoe?
As you glide over these dark waters, keep an eye out for strange glimpses of specters passing by silently in the moonlight night—you might just leave with a ghost story of your own.
The Takeaway
Now that you have read to the end of our top eleven festival descriptions, and hopefully visited those near you, do you find that you still want more of Middle Tennessee’s fall celebrations? So do we! Autumn is our stunning state’s most gorgeous season, and our community events are our chance to celebrate our enthusiasm for it.
In addition to the many fall-themed festivities, we encourage you to consider patronizing the following events as well:
- Nashville Film Festival from September 19 - 25
- Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival on October 5
- Tennessee Craft Fair from October 11 – 13
- Nashville Whiskey, Wine, and Cider Festival from October 10 – 12
- NAIA 43rd Annual Indian Education Tennessee Pow Wow from October 18 - 20
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