Is fall your favorite season? Hamilton County is loaded with family-friendly events and festivals if so! Here are just a few possibilities to mark on your calendar.
Fall means apples – caramel apples, apple crisp, apple cider – and Conner Prairie’s Apple Store in Fishers is the place for all things apple. The Apple Store is open from September 1 through October 31, Tuesday – Sunday. Last year, store volunteers hand- dipped over 14,000 of their famous caramel apples! Be sure to grab some of their other tasty treats like apple cider slushies, apple donuts, apple pies and a variety of local fresh-from-the-orchard apples you can bag yourself.
Nothing says fall like pumpkins! Search for the perfect one at the 43rd annual Stonycreek Farm Pumpkin Harvest Festival in Noblesville, which runs daily September 26 through October 31. Jump on a wagon for a short hayride to the U-Pick Pumpkin Patch to find just the right pumpkin for each member of your family. Other activities include pony rides, candle making, a straw bale pyramid and maze, a pumpkin train, an underground cave slide, a giant slingshot, a zip line …the list goes on and on!
Still need some more festive fall fun? The Pumpkinfest at the Country Market in Zionsville is sure to deliver. Hay rides, a corn maze, pumpkin decorating, live entertainment and a 100 foot slide will keep everyone entertained. Some kettle corn and apple cinnamon donuts will hit the spot too. Pumpkinfest runs every weekend in October.
Sheridan’s Stuckey Farm celebrates their Harvest Festival on weekends from September 26 – October 31st. Pick apples directly from the farm’s trees Monday through Saturday. For more information about the festival and what apples are currently being picked, click here.
For a festival that will take your family back in time, check out the Fishers Renaissance Faire on the grounds of Klipsch Music Center October 3 – 4. Queen Elizabeth I will be there along with over 250 other costumed characters. Experience Shakespearean vignettes, period music, archery, sword fighting, jousting by the Knights of Valour, juggling, acrobats and knighting ceremonies. Merchants and food vendors will be on site as well as a free kids’ game area. Get discounted tickets (through September 26) on sale here.
Come see the work of over 130 juried artists at the 18th annual Carmel International Arts Festival on September 26 and 27 in the Carmel Arts and Design District. Enjoy performances and special exhibits throughout each day with food from festival vendors and local restaurants. Children’s activities include face painting, caricature drawings and sidewalk chalk. Admission is free and free shuttles are offered from Carmel High School.
Join family and friends in Noblesville on Saturday, September 12 for the White River Festival. The celebration focuses on how the choices we make impact the health of the White River and its fauna and wildlife. Activities include river debris clean up, live entertainment, education stations and art at the Logan Street Bridge Fair, plus the One Million Dollar Duck Race.
Take the day to enjoy the 36th annual New Earth Festival in Atlanta on September 26 and 27. Over 600 unique arts and crafts, collectibles and culinary vendors will tempt the interest and taste buds of the thousands of festival attendees. Live entertainment and a kids’ zone with games, inflatables and sweet treats will also be on hand. Admission is free.
Wrap up the season in a spooky way with the Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie on the evenings of October 9-11, 15-18 or 22-25. Go for a tour of Conner Prairie via a haunted hayride, but be on the lookout for the Horseman who can gallop past at any minute! Activities also include a magic show, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow marionettes and a costume runway show for kids. Be sure to stick around for campfires, music and ghost stories, too. Suitable for all ages.
