Easton Garlic Fest takes over Centre Square on Saturday and Sunday after a Friday night preview. ArtsQuest’s Oktoberfest opened Friday at SteelStacks and runs through Sunday, then returns for a second weekend.

Next weekend is busier. Eleven of the 14 festivals in this guide are open Oct. 10-11, compared with nine this weekend, based on dates posted by organizers and tourism bureaus. The 11 include all eight festivals outside the Lehigh Valley.

In the Lehigh Valley

Easton Garlic Fest, Centre Square, Easton. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. A preview night was held Friday on South Third Street. Admission is free. Organizers list more than 100 vendors, two free music stages, and chef competitions. Two tasting contests are ticketed separately: Gastric Garlic on Saturday and Dangerous Desserts on Sunday. City garages charge $20 for all-day parking.

Oktoberfest, SteelStacks, Bethlehem. Opened Friday and runs through Sunday, then returns Oct. 9-11. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. The 16th annual festival includes wiener dog races and the Pennsylvania State Steinholding Championship. ArtsQuest said about 48,500 people attended in 2025.

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ArtsQuest’s preview of Oktoberfest at SteelStacks. (Video: Countess Communications for ArtsQuest)

Bethlehem Harvest Fest, Main and Broad streets, Bethlehem. Oct. 10, noon to 5 p.m. The street fair is free. Tasting passports cost $40 and come in two versions. One is a food-and-craft-beer trail for those 21 and older. The other is a fall snacks trail open to all ages. The Downtown Bethlehem Association runs the event.

ChiliFest, Third and Fourth Streets, South Bethlehem. Oct. 17, noon to 5 p.m. A $35 passport buys a 2-ounce sample from each of 22 participating venues, plus a commemorative spoon. Winners are announced at 5:30 p.m. on the South Bethlehem Greenway. The SouthSide Arts District is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The passport cost $30 in 2023.

Boo at the Zoo, Lehigh Valley Zoo, Trexler Nature Preserve near Schnecksville. Oct. 17-18, Oct. 24-25 and Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Grim’s Orchard & Family Farms Fall Festival, Upper Macungie Township. Through Nov. 1. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on October Fridays and Columbus Day, Oct. 12. The farm offers a corn maze, hayrides, and pick-your-own apples. It no longer accepts cash.

Just north, in Carbon County

Jim Thorpe Fall Foliage Festival, downtown Jim Thorpe. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10-11 and Oct. 17-18. Admission is free. Craft and food vendors line the streets, and free music plays at four downtown locations. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, which runs the town’s tourism site, advises arriving early. It adds that extra lots, shuttles, and reserved parking are available on October weekends.

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Great Pocono Pumpkin Festival, Country Junction near Lehighton. Open daily through Oct. 25. The full festival runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and on Columbus Day, Oct. 12. Weekend admission is $15, and children 2 and under get in free. New this year is a “Wizard of Oz”-themed hayride, and a drone show is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Around the state

Autumn Leaf Festival, Clarion. Saturday through Oct. 11. The Clarion Area Chamber of Business & Industry runs the festival, which dates to 1953. This year is its 73rd. The Tournament of Leaves Parade steps off at noon Oct. 10, and chair tickets cost $5. The festival draws more than 500,000 people a year, according to Discover Clarion County, the county tourism site. That works out to about 127 visitors per Clarion borough resident in the 2020 census.

Covered Bridge & Arts Festival, Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. Oct. 8-11. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free. The Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau runs the 44th annual craft show. The bureau says it typically draws 100,000 to 120,000 visitors over four days, averaging 25,000 to 30,000 a day. The Bloomsburg Fair, on the same grounds, ends its nine-day run Saturday.

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, Mount Hope Estate & Winery, Lancaster County. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are sold only online. They cost $42.95 for ages 12 and older and $23.95 for ages 5 to 11, and children 4 and under get in free. Halloween-themed programming runs the last three weekends. The faire draws about 200,000 guests a season, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bedford Fall Foliage Festival, downtown Bedford. Saturday and Sunday, plus Oct. 10-11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The 62nd festival lists more than 400 vendors, and pets are not allowed. Visit PA, the state tourism office, says it attracts more than 70,000 people a year. That is roughly 24 visitors for each of Bedford borough’s 2,870 residents in 2020.

National Apple Harvest Festival, South Mountain Fairgrounds, Adams County, about 9 miles northwest of Gettysburg. Saturday and Sunday, plus Oct. 10-11. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $15 for ages 12 and older, $13 for seniors 60 and older, and $13 for military with ID. Children under 12 get in free. Tickets include parking, a shuttle to the grounds, and orchard bus tours. Organizers list more than 300 arts-and-crafts vendors.

Fort Ligonier Days, Ligonier, Westmoreland County. Oct. 9-11. The festival marks the 1758 Battle of Fort Ligonier. The parade steps off on Main Street at 11 a.m. Oct. 10. Organizers say it draws 50,000 to 60,000 spectators. Fireworks follow at 7:30 p.m. that day. Visit PA lists the town festival as free. At the fort, regular admission applies, but youth 17 and under get in free Oct. 10-11.

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