Ready for sweater weather, Asheville? From pumpkin patches and corn mazes to apple picking and German beer celebrations, fall is one of our favorite seasons in the 828.
Get ready to come alive — or play dead at a haunted house — with this guide to 20+ fall events happening through November.
Oktoberfest celebrations
Appalachian Mountain Brewery Oktoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 11 a.m.-9 p.m. | Appalachian Mountain Brewery Taproom & Kitchen, 46 N. Mills River Rd., Mills River | Free | Get down to music from Andy Ferrell and Kevin Daniel while playing games with the family, filling up on German eats, and sipping from steins.
Clawtoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 12-10 p.m. | Highland Brewing Co., 12 Old Charlotte Hwy., Ste. 200 | Free | Enjoy German beer releases, live music, and food vendors — plus, see if you can go the distance in the keg roll or hold your weight in the stein hoist.
RAD Brewing Co. Oktoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 12-11 p.m. | River Arts District Brewing Co., 13 Mystery St. | Free | Hasselhoffbrau Festbier will be flowing, games will be played, and Blue Collar Diner + Blunt Pretzels will be slinging sausages and pretzels.
Shrektoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 3 p.m.-1 a.m. | DSSOLVR, 63 N. Lexington Ave. | Free | Be transported to a swamp far, far away with an onion toss, ogre steinhold competition, and Shrek roar competition.
Oktoberfest at Hillman Beer | Saturday, Sept. 28 | 11 a.m.-11 p.m. | Hillman Beer, 25 Sweeten Creek Rd. | Free | Don your dirndls and lederhosen for a new stein and beer release, live music, and food specials.
Pridetoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 28 | 12-10 p.m. | Various locations | Free | The celebration starts at the Wicked Weed Brewpub with polka music and ends at Funkatorium with DJ RexxStep — but the Pride party goes all day long.
Hi-Wire Oktoberfest | Saturday, Sept. 28 | 1-5 p.m. | Hi-Wire RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St. | Free | This extravaganza has it all: German eats, a costume contest, photo booth, polka band, and even a wiener dog race.
Asheville Oktoberfest | Saturday, Oct. 5 | 2-6 p.m. | Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza | $55+ | Fill up your stein with bevs from 20+ local purveyors, snack on German foods, and dance to the beat of the polka band.
While not every brewery will host its own Oktoberfest event, there will be plenty of festbiers on tap at other local spots, like Outsider Brewing Co., Diatribe Brewing Co., and Wedge Brewing Co. Take your pick of Asheville breweries to visit.
Festivals
Blue Ridge Pride | Saturday, Sept. 21 | 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. | Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza | Free | LGBTQ+ people and allies can join the procession into the park before a day of celebration and advocacy.
Goombay Festival | Postponed due to weather, date TBA | Time TBA | Downtown Asheville | Free | After taking a pause last year, the YMI Cultural Center is planning to bring back the annual celebration of the culture, art, food, and entertainment of Asheville’s African American community.
Asheville Greek Fest | Friday, Sept. 27-Saturday, Sept. 28 | 11 a.m.-9 p.m. | Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 277 Cumberland Ave. | $3-$5 | The festival has been in swing since 1986, celebrating Greek food, music, dancing, and culture.
Asheville VeganFest | Sunday, Oct. 6 | 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza | $0-$54 | Dine on delicious plant-based eats, shop vegan products from local vendors, and stir up some fun in the kids zone.
Burnpile | Saturday, Oct. 12 | 1 p.m. | Burial Beer Co. Forestry Camp Taproom, 10 Shady Oak Dr. | $50-$150 | Sip on suds from 60+ guest breweries while jamming to live music from John Moreland, Woods, and Rosali with H.C. McEntire.
Hola Asheville | Sunday, Oct. 13 | Time TBA | Pack Square Park, 80 Court Plaza | Free | More than 20 countries will be represented through performances, food, art, and culture at this annual festival from Hola Carolina.
LEAF Global Arts Festival | Thursday, Oct. 17-Sunday, Oct. 20 | Times vary | Lake Eden, Black Mountain | $53-$249 | This year’s theme, “World Changers,” combines art and activism — see how the family-friendly gathering answers the call to action through music, dance, workshops, and healing arts.
WNC Fermenting Festival | Sunday, Nov. 3 | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | Olivette Farm, 172 Old Macedonia Rd., Alexander | Free | Culture a little community with wares from local and regional fermenters + food and craft vendors celebrating fermentation, preservation, and food resiliency.
Orchards, pumpkin patches + mazes
Eliada Fall Festival and Corn Maze | Weekends, Friday, Sept. 20-Sunday, Oct. 27 | Times vary | Eliada Home, 2 Compton Dr., Asheville | $15 | Make your way through the maze, hop on a hayride, and pick up a pumpkin for some seasonal, family-friendly fun.
Grandad’s Apples | Daily | 8 a.m.-6 p.m. | 2951 Chimney Rock Rd., Hendersonville | Prices vary | This well-known spot is home to a market, store, pumpkin patch, and lots of family activities (the apple cannon, corn maze, and cow train open Labor Day weekend) — but pick-your-own is offered only on selected weekends, so keep an eye on social media for updates.
Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard | Hours vary | 170 Stepp Orchard Dr., Hendersonville | Prices vary | The orchard plants 15 varieties of pumpkins each year, so you can pick your own gorgeous gourd off the vine from late September to October.
Psst... we have a guide to apple picking with more spots to get gathering.
Haunted happenings
Haunted Trail | Friday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 27 | 6-9 p.m. | Adventure Center of Asheville, 85 Expo Dr., Asheville | $18-$44 | Walk the family-friendly haunted trail (geared towards ages 3-13) with live actors, spooky sounds + a little comedy, then stop by the aerial Glow Trail or visit Pirates Cove.
The Haunted Farm | Saturday, Sept. 28-Saturday, Nov. 2 | Times vary | 624 Townsend Rd., Hendersonville | $35-$55 | This year marks the 14th season of scares from the thrilling, terrifying attraction.
Pinhead’s Graveyard | 2024 dates coming soon | 562 Main St., Canton | $20-$35 | Meet horror movie characters like the eponymous Pinhead, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Art the Clown as you wander the 100+ year-old building.
The Halloween scene
HalloWolfBat | Saturday, Oct. 12 | 8 p.m. | The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. | $20 | See Dennis McNett’s larger-than-life puppets join the crowd as three metal bands take the stage for this annual fundraiser benefiting Foundation Skatepark.
Pumpkin Pedaller | Saturday, Oct. 26 | 1:30-7 p.m. | Location TBD | Free | Put on your best costume for this community ride presented by Asheville on Bikes.
Wicked Spooky 5K | Saturday, Oct. 26 | 9 a.m. | The Funkatorium, 147 Coxe Ave. | $45-$55 | See if you can run scary fast and smoke the competition — in costume, of course.
