Pack Your Calendars with Fall Festivals and More in Western Massachusetts
Are you ready for fall? Well it’s here as the chilled temps have clearly proven recently. If you’re anything like us here in western Massachusetts though, fall is your favorite time of year. While fall can be all about celebrating the harvest and Halloween, there’s also a lot going on in the arts, nature, and on a bike here. (Though we’ve certainly got the harvest festivals and haunted happenings down this year!). We have to admit, even as we were compiling this list we were overwhelmed by the number of things to do in western Massachusetts this fall. But after we took a deep breath, we grabbed our calendars and started planning fall adventures galore. We hope you’ll find something you’d like to do, too!
Happening In the Arts in Western Massachusetts
Poetry comes off the shelf this weekend, September 19 through 21 with the Amherst Poetry Festival and annual Emily Dickinson Poetry Reading Marathon. Poets from near and far will share their work in public spaces all weekend.
We know fall is here in western Massachusetts when the Paradise City Arts Festival comes to town Columbus Day Weekend. A winner of national awards for its selection of fine and functional art, Paradise City features work by 275 artists from every corner of the country.
The Northampton International Film Festival also returns for its 18th annual installation Columbus Day Weekend to showcase features, documentaries and short films from around the world. The festival is based at the legendary Academy of Music Theatre in downtown Northampton which just went through major renovations over the summer.
Happening In Nature in Western Massachusetts
Did you know that Mount Tom in Easthampton and Holyoke is one of the premier hawk-watching spots in New England? On Sunday, September 21, celebrate the annual hawk migration over Mount Tom at Heritage State Park in Holyoke.
The Trustees of Reservations, the nation’s first statewide land trust and one of Massachusetts’ largest conservation and preservation organizations, will open its newest property, Mount Warner Reservation, with a dedication on Saturday, October 18 followed by a 2-mile guided hike of the reservation’s newly constructed loop trail. The dedication kicks off a weekend of celebrating the land in our region with Kestrel Trust's signature 5K for Farmland & Farmer’s Market Festival on Sunday, October 19.
Throughout the year, the Mill River Greenway Initiative presents a series of walks exploring the path of the Mill River and its history that carries along in its currents the memories of disastrous floods and blissful childhood days at a swimming hole. There are four more walks scheduled through 2014.
Happenings On a Bike in Western Massachusetts
The most fun you can have on or off a bike is at the 7th annual Northampton BikeFest Saturday, September 20 at Look Park. Hop on your bike and enjoy the stunning fall foliage, dairy farms, and quaint villages of western Massachusetts on one of four group rides. After your ride, stay for gourmet food catered by the Lone Wolf in Amherst, beer, live music and entertainment like the Team East BMX show.
Due to the popularity of the original Pedal 2 Pints in June, there’s now a fall foliage edition Saturday, October 11. Choose from four bike rides ranging from 35 to 100 miles that tour and sample the breweries of western Massachusetts, riding along with the brewers in some cases.
On Sunday, October 12, try your hand at playing cards on the Valley CDC’s Pedal Poker Run. Pick up cards as you ride your bike around western Massachusetts on either a 50-mile or 10-mile route and win prizes based on your hand.
Northampton’s bicycle touring company offers its Autumn Adventure weekend package, October 12-15, where you’ll get to sample some of the best cycling that western Massachusetts has to offer on four unique rides, including an optional climb up the highest peak in Southern New England, Mt. Greylock where the foliage views are top-rated.
Harvest Festivals and Corn Mazes in Western Massachusetts
If harvest makes you think about beer, don’t miss Valley Malt’s Barley Fest on Sunday, October 5. Valley Malt is the only malt house in Massachusetts and offers base malts for local breweries from the People’s Pint here in western Massachusetts to Trillium in Boston and Brooklyn Brewery in New York.
For a more traditional New England harvest festival, look no further than the Annual Amherst Apple Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If getting lost in a maze is your thing, in addition to the well-known Mike’s Maze in Sunderland, there’s also the Austin Brothers Valley Farm Corn Maze in Belchertown (opens September 27) and Rolling Acres Corn Maze in Southampton (open now).
Spooks and Haunted Houses in Western Massachusetts
Do you enjoy a good story? How about a ghost story? On Valley Ghost Tours, your guide will take you through years of history on a walking tour through downtown Northampton (through October 31). You'll learn about Northampton's "devil in the woods," why former Governor Michael Dukakis is the "greatest ghost killer of all time," and what stood where St. Mary's Church is now.
If you’re all about the screams, chills and thrills, there’s a few ways to scare your socks off this year. September 27 through November 2, the Button Building on Union Street in Easthampton will become home to BioMedCorp, a haunted house based on a fictitious human cloning research laboratory brought to you by Demented FX.
September 19 through November 1, check out Zombies of Bedlam Village at Rolling Acres in Southampton, another new haunted attraction where you’ll take a hayride to the abandoned village equipped with a paintball gun to fight the zombies—don’t worry they don’t shoot back! And there’s also McCray's Famous Haunted Hayrides in South Hadley which celebrates its 24nd AnniverSCARY this year with opening night October 3.
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