The Best Fall Festivals, Oktoberfests and Spooky Events Around Pittsburgh

As the cool days creep in, we have you covered with apple and pumpkin picking, German beer festivals, community farm celebrations, haunted trails, parades, and more. Plus, some of the scariest (and cutest!) haunted houses around.

Teutonia Männerchor Oktoberfest

Aug. 29

One of Pittsburgh's biggest, oldest German cultural organizations hosts its annual festival over Labor Day weekend, including imported beer, authentic food, and live music.

Moon Wizarding Fest

Sept. 6

Step into the magic with Moon Parks & Recreation, featuring boozy and non-alcoholic potions, arts and crafts, music, games, costume contests, and more. Ticket sales support local parks!

Sewickley Harvest Festival & Fall Music Festival

Sept. 6

Look for food, arts and crafts, kids’ activities, and all-day sidewalk sales in Sewickley proper, then skip up to the music festival at the Fern Hollow Nature Center for food trucks, yard games, and more. 

Hilltop Harvest Festival

Sept. 6

Celebrate summer’s bounty with Mt. Oliver Borough and Hilltop Urban Farm. Look forward to a local vendor market, fresh produce, craft beer, seasonal treats, live music, and family-friendly activities. Think you have the best pumpkin recipe? Bring it for the bakeoff!

Septoberfest

Sept. 11-21

Enjoy Bavarian food while sipping on the “Ordinary Things” fest lager or “Cinnamon Ghoul” pumpkin ale at Spoonwood Brewing Company in Bethel Park.

Garfield Community Farm Fall Benefit

Sept. 12

Celebrate Garfield Community Farm at their 7th annual fundraiser, featuring small bites from local chefs, special drinks, and beautiful art at Tree Pittsburgh’s serene riverside campus.

Corn Maze at Gearhard Farms

Starts Sept. 12

Mark 25 years in this enormous Murrysville corn maze — grown every year in a different design — and once you find your way out, try to draw it! Don’t skip the pumpkin patch or the cozy hayrides, either.

Phantom Fall Fest at Kennywood

Select dates, Sept. 12 - Nov. 1

Start early for family-friendly fun, then stay late for scares at six haunted houses and four scare zones — including the newest, most extreme haunt yet: Detached, a puppetmaster’s quest!

Idlewild’s HALLOWBOO!

Weekends, Sept. 13 - Oct. 26

Trick-or-treat through the Story Book Forest and enjoy one of the longest treat trails in Pennsylvania, take a spin on favorite rides like the Midnight Conductor Railroad, and find out what happens when growing pumpkins goes horribly wrong. 

Pumpkingfest

Sept. 13

Join Southern Tier Brewing for ​​the ultimate fall block party on the North Shore with festival-style pumpkin pints, fall bites, live music, tarot readings, and a local vendor market.

Green Tree Octoberfest

Sept. 13

Come touch a truck or show off your own ride at this annual festival. Bring the kiddos for face painting, balloons, juggling, magic shows, and musical chairs for both kids and adults! End your day with fireworks at 8:15 p.m.

Pittsburgh County Fair

Sept. 13

Take part in a celebration of handmade, homegrown, and fermented fun at Allegheny Commons Park West on the North Side. Try an activity like indigo dying and wild clay ceramics, or bring your best submission for the pie and tomato contests.

Hobbit Festival

Sept. 13

Enjoy a Tolkien-inspired day of fantasy, food, and fun for the whole family at Bloom Cafe in Valencia. There will be live folk music, local vendors, craft workshops, themed drinks, and more.

Harvest Trail at Simmons Farm

Starts Sept. 13

A wristband gets you access to the petting zoo; pumpkin patch; carving displays; a butterfly house; corn, hay, and sunflower mazes; and a ton of special events and games, like the human hamster wheel, pumpkin Guess Who?, basketball corn hoppers, strongman sledge hammers, and more.

Fall Fest & The Great Pup-Kin Race

Sept. 14

Watch costumed dogs (up to 25 pounds) zip around an obstacle course near the Waterfront gazebo while the kiddos get their faces painted, take home balloon animals, and more. The pumpkin patch alone is worth a walk around the square.

FigFest

Sept. 14

Celebrate harvest season and this revered fruit in Italian culture with a day of food, entertainment, and ancestral gardening education in Robin Hill Park in Moon Township. Look for olive curing, wine making, cooking demos, Italian card games, and more.

Soergel Orchards Fall Festival

Weekends, Sept. 13 - Oct. 26

Go for a tractor ride with a cider slushie, pick apples and pumpkins right from the source, and dig into market food every Saturday and Sunday in Wexford. We live for the homemade apple cider donuts.

Pennsylvania Bavarian Oktoberfest

Sept. 19-21

Dust off your lederhosen and head south to Canonsburg in Washington County for a weekend of German-inspired fun. Bring the whole family for crafts, carnival rides, games, dancing, and of course, tasty eats — like pretzels, sausage, and potato dumplings.

Penn Brewery Oktoberfest

Weekends, Sept. 19-27

Drink beer from a milk jug in Troy Hill’s historic cobblestone biergarten, where a taste of Munich takes over four festive floors and a pair of purple-tinted, outdoor caves. We love the hot German potato salad, schnitzels, and Soergels x Penn shandy. Plus, there’s a VIP party!

Cheeseman Pumpkin Festival & Fright Farm

Weekends, Sept. 19 - Nov. 1

Take a hayride, pick a pumpkin, and make your way through a haunted corn maze on 100 acres of Portersville farmland. Dates and times vary for the pumpkin fest and fright farm experiences.

Pigtober Fest

Sept. 20

Hit up Troy Hill’s community festival for homemade food and drink, live music, craft vendors, and more (previous years had a bake-off and pumpkin carving contest). The name is a reference to when Rialto Street was once called “Pig Hill.”

Erntedankfest

Sept. 20

Celebrate the harvest at Old Economy Village in Ambridge and the many tasks settlers once took on to prepare for winter, including cooking, baking, and craft demonstrations. 

Monroeville Harvest Festival

Sept. 20

Embrace the spirit of fall at the Monroeville Convention and Events Center for food, fun, and autumnal festivities.

Roktoberfest

Sept. 20

Sip on craft brews, cider, and seasonal cocktails while rocking out to live music at Fermata Brewing in Ambridge. Robals food truck will be slinging sandwiches, like smash burgers and pulled pork.

Covered Bridge Festival

Sept. 20-21

Take in the countryside in Washington and Greene counties with handmade arts and crafts, homestyle foods, historical re-enactments, demos, and entertainment.

Evans City PumpkinFest

Sept. 20-21

Check out pumpkin-themed activities just a few miles from where filmmaker George Romero brought his classic “Night of the Living Dead” to life. 

Hay Days: Harwood Acres Park & South Park

Sept. 20 & Sept. 27

Enjoy an Allegheny County tradition with hayrides, inflatables, puppet shows, and balloon twisters — plus a petting zoo, art station, sensory-play area, and 10-foot soccer dartboard, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and their mascot, Amo.

Trax Farms Fall Festival

Weekends, Sept. 20 - Oct. 26

Enjoy a hayride to the pumpkin patch or see if you can find your way through the giant, 3-acre corn maze in Finleyville.

Shenot Farm & Market

Sept. 27-Oct. 31

Taste 25 varieties of farm fresh apples, romp through a 10-acre pumpkin patch, and take a hayride in Wexford. They also press their apples into cider, which you can take home here or from Janoski’s in Clinton.

VOktoberfest

Sept. 27

Shop for art and all things spooky, watch live music and cultural dance performances, participate in a skeeball competition, and dig into vegan treats at Velem Fermentation in the South Side.

Pittsburgh Fall Wine Fest

Sept. 27

Sip on wine, beer, cider, and cocktails, plus enjoy live music, local food, and fall vibes at Sawa Wine Bar and Pittsburgh PopUp! in PPG Plaza. Choose from day or night sessions, or splurge on VIP tickets.

Butler Fall Festival

Sept. 27

Head north to Butler for live music, art, food, and a car cruise — plus a kid zone with bounce houses, face painting, a petting zoo, and more.

Ben Avon Fall Festival

Sept. 27

This north Pittsburgh borough gathers every year for a fall celebration featuring 50+ vendors and local organizations, raffles, games, book sales, and more. Proceeds support grants and scholarship programs.

Pumpkinland

Weekends, Oct. 4-26

Enjoy Janoski’s Farm and Greenhouse’s annual haunted barn, corn maze, pumpkin patch, straw jump, bike path, pony rides, farm animals, and more.

Kids Day & Fright Farm

Sept. 27

Come early to Rich Farms in Smithfield for family friendly activities, and stick around for a haunted hayride, haunted mansion, and terror maze.

Schramm’s Fall Festival

Dates TBD

Take a hayride and pick a pumpkin at Schramm Farms and Orchards in Jeanette, where the full service bake shop and farmers market is always full of tasty noms. We hear their white pumpkins are especially neat.

Oktoberfest Pittsburgh

Oct. 2 - 12

Revel in 11 days of live music, food vendors, family activities, and a 60–foot Ferris wheel on the Roberto Clemente Bridge when the karneval and biergarten take over Downtown.

Freedom Farms Fall Festival

Weekends in October

The fall festival is Freedom Farms’s biggest event of the year. It features a corn pit, pumpkin patch, farm fun hay tunnel, hayrides, and pick-your-own pumpkins for the kids, plus beer and live music for the adults.

Harvest Valley Farms Fall Festival

Weekends in October

Visit this full-time working produce farm in Valencia as it becomes a seasonal pick-your-own-pumpkin festival, complete with hayrides, a corn maze and straw tunnel, and more. 

Fall Activities at Hozak Farms

Weekends in October

How does a Christmas tree farm celebrate autumn? With pumpkin patches, of course! Take a scenic hayride, ride a pony, and pick your favorite gourd at this picturesque spot in Clinton.

Pumpkin Days

Dates TBD

Pick pumpkins, enjoy covered hayrides, and even play a round of mini-golf at Kerber’s Dairy in North Huntingdon. Look for the baked goods and fresh ice cream, too.

Jack O’Lantern Extravaganza

Oct. 2 - Nov. 2

Visit the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium at night to be dazzled by thousands of skillfully-carved pumpkins glowing throughout the park. Dress up the kiddos for ZooBoo trick-or-treating the last two weekends in October.

Cinderfest

Oct. 2

Put on your favorite lederhosen for a best-dressed competition, dance to live music, make flower crowns, and enjoy traditional German brews and food at Cinderlands in Lawrenceville.

Festival of Combustion

Oct. 4

Get fired up for a day of industrial arts, live music, and local vendors at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Swissvale. Watch live demos by blacksmiths, glassblowers, welders, and metal fabricators or get your hands dirty with a bunch of hands-on activities. Stick around after dark to see fireworks glow over the furnace.

Seven Springs Autumn Fest

Weekends, Oct. 4-19

Ride the chairlift to get gorgeous views of fall foliage, shop from dozens of crafters and artisans, prance through the pumpkin patch or hay maze, and enjoy live performances at this annual event in the Laurel Highlands.

Braddock Fall Festival

Oct. 4

Celebrate Braddock Farms’ mission to provide organic local produce to the neighborhood with their 8th annual festival featuring farm games, harvest activities, demos, and seasonal bites.

Mars Apple Festival

Oct. 4

Celebrate 40 years of fun with all things apple — you have to try the dumplings! — plus 150 local vendors, a library book sale, and live music at this annual event in Butler County.

• Get out of town: The National Apple Harvest Festival in Central Pa., starts the same day!

Black Cat Jam

Oct. 4

Black Cat Market is teaming up with Pittsburgh Vegan Expo for a festive fundraiser at Helltown Brewing in the Strip District. Don your most free-spirited outfit for a flower child costume contest, shop from witchy vendors, dig into vegan treats, and of course, meet rescue kitties — and maybe take one home!

Hickory Apple Festival

Oct. 4-5

Take a drive south of Pittsburgh to Hickory for an apple celebration on a crisp fall day. Browse nearly 100 craft sellers and attractions while sampling brick-oven-baked bread, homemade apple butter, hand-dipped caramel apples, and more.

Phipps’ Fall Flower Show: Visions of Japan

Oct. 4-27

Commune among vibrant chrysanthemums grown in traditional Japanese style all over Phipps, plus a traditional bright red torii gate and pagoda, a show-stopping 113-foot dragon, coy fish, and more. Pick up an autumnal treat in the cafe or gift shop, too.

WorkshopPGH Fall Fest

Oct. 5

Don’t miss WorkshopPGH’s biggest event of the year in and around their Wilkinsburg warehouse. Mosey through the pumpkin patch, shop from more than 75 local makers, or try your hand at DIY stations. Food trucks, beer and cider, and music will keep the festivities going along Pennwood Avenue.

Armful of Flowers Fall Fest

Oct. 5

Head to Armful of Flowers on Mt. Washington for a pumpkin patch, local vendor market, bouquet bar, and mini golf course. Then skip right next door to Bigham Tavern for a hot wing competition, an ax-throwing tournament, stein hoisting, and a dog costume parade.

• Pregame for Fall Fest: You can check out their Harvest Night Market and concert series Sept. 20!

Houston Pumpkin Festival

Oct. 10-12

This Washington County town hosts an annual three-day festival featuring 175+ food and craft vendors, children's games and activities, a parade, and pumpkin-related contests.

Fort Ligonier Days

Oct. 10-12

Commemorate a key battle from 1758 in the Laurel Highlands, while sampling local spirits, hometown bites, and local tunes. There’s also a 5K walk and run, grand parade, live music, historic reenactments, and more.

Magic Pumpkin & Trick or Trolley

Oct. 10-26

Join the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum for a ride through beautiful fall scenery to the pumpkin patch, or dress up in your best costume to trick or treat among the antique streetcars. Kids under 17 get in free the last two weeks of September.

Old Economy After Dark

Oct. 11

Look for ghostly Harmonists and experience the “nightlife” of Old Economy Village with an after-dark tour.

Sleepy Hollow Festival

Oct. 11

Scoot up to Harmony for carriage rides, pet fairs, kids and pet costume contests, trick-or-treating, and more. Organizers say there’ll be a few surprises for the fest's 13th anniversary.

Allentown Night Market

Oct. 11

Peruse a most curious bi-annual artist market and performance faire, hosting over 150 unusual and offbeat artisans and crafters and food and beverage vendors — all within five indoor/outdoor spaces that sprawl along East Warrington Avenue.

Pumpkin Fest & Flea Market

Oct. 11

There'll be lots of homemade goodies — like apple and pumpkin pies, soups, and more — alongside the huge annual flea market at Ascension Lutheran Church in McCandless.

Dormont’s Street & Music Festival

Oct. 11

Fall in love with this south Pittsburgh borough as musical acts play up and down Potomac Avenue. There will be delicious food from local vendors, unique arts and crafts, and fun activities for all ages.

Zelienople Fall Festival

Oct. 11-12

Look for free tractor rides, sidewalk sales, a chili cookoff, bounce houses, and a car cruise along Main and Spring streets in Zelienople.

‘Chiller Theatre: The Musical’

Oct. 17-19

Visit The Strand, Zelienople’s historic (and beautiful!) main street theater, for a chilling celebration of classic horror monsters.

WitchFest

Oct. 18

Gather the coven for a celebration of all things witchy at the Monongahela Aquatorium in Washington County. Expect live music, food trucks, and 50+ vendors selling oddities, curiosities, and other enchanting goods.

Haunted Guyasuta

Oct. 18

For one day only, this Sharpsburg scouting camp becomes a fright fest. Come early for family-friendly fun like hayrides, climbing, and a 600-foot zipline, and stay late for scares along a haunted trail. 

Monster Pumpkins Festival

Oct. 18-19

Take a gander at truly gigantic pumpkins (they need a small crane to lift them!), enjoy activities for the kiddos, and take cover during the annual colossal pumpkin drop at 3 Crossings in the Strip District.

Clarion Autumn Leaf Festival

Oct. 18-26

Pack a coat and “Meet Me on Main” with Clairion’s annual Tournament of Leaves parade, plus food, carnival rides, and a craft fair.

Pine Township’s Halloween Spooktacular

Oct. 19

Dress your littles in their favorite costumes to march in the Halloween parade, enjoy spooky puppet and magic shows, decorate pumpkins, and more.

Hampton Township Halloween Event & Parade

Oct. 25

Look for costume contests for children 10 and under, a parade, haunted hayride, trick-or-treating, Build-a-Bear raffle, and photo booth. Pre-registration is required.

Sewickley Halloween Parade

Oct. 25

The free annual parade draws hundreds to Sewickley’s main drag, where kids and caretakers can dress up and taste sweet treats among old trees and Victorian homes.

Haunt on the Highline

Oct. 25

This spooky South Side party is more than just a chance to dance in your best costume. Step inside the gates and be ravished by the rave filled with dark DJ beats; tarot readings; immersive magic; and vendors selling goth, glam, and mystical wares.

Hocus Pocus Drag Brunch

Oct. 26

Get in the spirit with Flip Phone Events’ weekly Sunday show, featuring a spooky edge and plenty of immersive experiences.

Harvest Festival Homestead Borough

Oct. 28

Meet in front of the 9th Avenue fire station for a costume contest, food trucks, music, games, and a kids zone, plus lots of live music all evening long.

Taffy Pull & Fall Celebration

Nov. 22

Join Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village in Avella for a festive farewell to the season with fall-themed activities and historic candy-making demonstrations.