CTAgFairs.Org calls Fair Season (the period between June and October) Connecticut’s best season, and I just might agree. There is something special about seeing animals, admiring crafts, riding on rides, and eating tons of delicious fair food.
No matter where in CT you are, there’s probably a Fair, Festival, or Carnival coming to your neck of the woods. We have over 50 fairs on this list- and we’ll be adding more as the season goes on!
Photo Credit: The Connecticut Renaissance Faire
Middlesex and New London Counties:
July 13-16: North Stonington Fair
Kicking off the Ag Fair Season, North Stonington Fair features: Arts and Crafts, food, rides, livestock, family fun entertainment, pig racing, carriage driving, blacksmithing, and more!
July 28-29, 2023: Old Lyme Midsummer Festival 2023
Our celebration of art, music, food and family fun is back!
Friday Night Concert: July 28, 2023
Saturday Festival: July 29, 2023
July 28-30: Lebanon County Fair
You’ll be sure to find all of the things you have come to love about the Lebanon Country Fair – friends, food and fun! Fireworks, rides, animals, games, and all kinds of family fun!
August 5-6: Middlesex & New Haven County 4H Fair:
August 11-13: New London County 4H Fair
4H Fairs are fun for people of all ages! They have games, entertainment and educational exhibits. Many fairs have some of the following special events: Tractor and horse draws, magicians, contests, clowns, livestock shows, dances and horse shows.
August 24-27: Chester Fair:
Join us for a traditional town fair- rides, game, food, animals- and more.
September 3-October 16: The Connecticut Renaissance Faire, Lebanon:
Step back in time to a 16th-century harvest festival at Connecticut Renaissance Faire’s 25th anniversary celebration! Shop in New England’s largest Medieval Marketplace, feast on juicy turkey legs and craft beers, and enjoy hilarious comedy and thrilling acrobatics on ten stages. For all ages. Costumes encouraged but not required.
September 1-4: Haddam Neck Fair:
Labor Day Weekend fun for the whole family! This top rated CT Agricultural Fair has rides, games, a carnival, livestock and more.
September 23-24: Connecticut Barkfest:
Amazing day for the entire family including man’s best friend!! Kids activities, music photo ops, and more. Free Dog contests and activities throughout they day along with prizes for all our winners.
October 6-8: Portland Fair
Fun small town fair on the river. Lots of activities for people of all ages!
October 8: Oktoberfest celebration at Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue:
Bring your family, friends, and your appetite, to the 12th annual Open Barn Oktoberfest celebration at Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue’s farm, Autumn Ridge. There will be hay rides, food, farm tours, raffle items, CDHR merch, vendors, kid’s activities, and more. Admission is free.
October 21: Mystic Apple Festival:
Crisp days and crisp apples! Join us this October for the return of our annual Mystic Apple Festival, a fall food festival celebrating everything from Fall… Apples, Maple Syrup, Pumpkins and much more!!
October 21-22: Best of October Festival:
At Priam Vineyards- OktoberFEST, Trick or Treating- Plus 70+ vendors and 10+ awesome food trucks!
Photo Credit: Bethlehem Fair
Litchfield and Fairfield Counties:
August 4-6: Litchfield County 4H Fair:
The 2023 90th Litchfield County 4-H Fair will be held on Friday August 4th through Sunday, August 6th, 2023, at the Goshen Fairgrounds.
August 18-20: Bridgewater County Fair:
This small town fair supports the local fire department, and features a parade with Volunteer Fire Companies from Connecticut and New York. It also features food, rides, tractor pulls and more!
August 19: Milford Oyster Festival:
The Milford Oyster Festival will have 30,000 oysters! All oysters harvested in Milford waters by Briarpatch Enterprises, Inc. Try the sweet taste of Milford oysters and enjoy them with a craft beer or premium wine. Plus, entertainment, children’s programs and more.
National Geographic voted The Milford Oyster Festival the BEST Food Festival in Connecticut.
August 25-27: Terryville Lions Country Fair:
Motorsports, contests, rides, food and more make this a fun fair for people of all ages!
August 27: Cannon Grange Agricultural Fair:
On the grounds of, and inside, the historic Grange Hall there are displays of horticulture, hand-crafts, small farm animals, photography, eggs, selected concessions and much more!
September 1-4: Goshen Fair:
Head to the Goshen Fairgrounds for these Labor Day weekend festivities. Fun for the whole family, including ag events, games, contests, animals and more!
September 8-10: Bethlehem Fair:
Small town fair with tons of heart- exhibits, live entertainment, rides, food, animals and more!
September 25, October 2 & 9: Fall Family Fest Sundays:
We’re celebrating the season by bundling all the fun and games of a mini-festival into a single admission price, three Sundays this Fall! Each Sunday we’ll open our site at 10 am with added attractions, enhanced programming, and fun offerings to delight the whole family until 2 pm
September 29-30: New Canaan Nature Center Fall Fair:
53rd Annual Fall Fair! Come and enjoy:
- Carnival Rides
Crazy Maze
Zip Line
Apple Slingshots
Pumpkin Decorating
Spooky Stroll
And so much more!
October 6-8: Orange Country Fair:
Tractor & Truck Pulls, a Midway, Entertainment & Music, Classic Car Show, and more!
October 6-8: Harwington Fair:
The 166th annual Harwington Fair features vendors, food and tons of fun contests- like decorated pumpkin contests, scarecrow, woodchopping and more!
October 7-8: Connecticut Garlic Harvest Festival:
We would like to invite you to join us for the 18th Annual Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival. Visit our garlic cooking demonstrations, stay for a live band performance, and learn how to grow garlic at our informative lectures. Bring the kids for some fun with our rides and games!
October 14: New Canaan Harvest Festival:
The New Canaan Nature Center is hosting our 11th Annual Harvest Festival!
October 13-15: Riverton Fair
Something for everyone- lumberjack competitions, oxen, pie eating contests, live entertainment and more!
October 28: Fairfield County 4H Fair:
The annual Fairfield County 4H Fair held at the Beardsley Zoo.
November 4: Stamford Harvest Festival Weekend:
Photo Credit: Potato and Corn Fest, North Branford
New Haven County:
July 19-22: Quaker Farms Vol. Fire Co. Annual Carnival – Oxford CT
Head to Oxford for a fun family carnival with games, rides, fireworks, and more!
August 4-6: Potato and Corn Fest, North Branford
Usually corn and potatoes are considered common, some might even say lowly, but on the first weekend of August the residents of North Branford elevate the two starchy staples to extraordinary heights. The Potato and Corn Festival now brings tens of thousands of visitors to the typically sleepy farm town.
August 5-6: Middlesex & New Haven County 4H Fair:
September 7-10: North Haven Fair:
A family tradition since 1942! Come see the Exhibits entered by your neighbors and friends, listen to the music, see the exciting entertainment around the grounds, take in a tractor pull and eat great fair food! See you at the Fair!
September 17: Seymour Pumpkin Festival:
Celebrate Fall with a large variety of home-made craft vendors, food vendors, music, entertainment and kid-friendly activities.
September 22-24: Wolcott Lions County Fair:
Tons of live shows and contests, animals, family fun entertainment, vendors and more make this a major fair for the state of CT!
October 1: Bethany Harvest Festival:
Bethany Family Harvest Festival: vendors, food trucks, inflatables, a Photo Booth, kids entertainment (magician, balloon artist), pony rides and more!
October 21: Ansonia’s Autumnfest:
Ride through our park in our horse-drawn story wagon, where you’ll hear some Halloween tales! Walk our haunted trail. Enjoy lunch from one of our food vendors. Our Friends table will be selling cider and pumpkin donuts. Learn about bats, spiders, and owls from one of the nature center’s naturalists! Visit the Nature Shop table to buy some creepy and crawly nature-related items. Enjoy nature-related exhibitors and vendors. Free: No Park Admission fee.
Photo Credit: 4Town Fair
Tolland and Windham Counties:
July 26-29: Vernon’s Annual Summer Days Carnival
Vernon’s Annual Summer Carnival features rides, games, food, and more- all proceeds go towards helping community kids!
July 28-30: Windham County 4H Fair:
4H Fairs participants the chance to share their projects with the community. Fairs are fun for people of all ages! They have games, entertainment and educational exhibits. Many fairs have some of the following special events: Tractor and horse draws, magicians, contests, clowns, livestock shows, dances and horse shows.
August 11-13: Tolland County 4H Fair:
4H Fairs are fun for people of all ages! They have games, entertainment and educational exhibits
August 24- 27: Brooklyn Fair:
A traditional agricultural fair – and the perfect end of summer activity!
September 1-4: Woodstock Fair:
Connecticut’s largest (and one of the oldest!) agricultural fairs is always Labor Day Weekend. Multiple stages, horse shows, contests, Midways and more make this a family fun festival to remember.
September 7-10: Hebron Harvest Fair:
See you at the fair for family fun for all ages!
September 14-17: Four Town Fair:
The Four Town Fair is considered the oldest continuous Agricultural Fair in Connecticut. The towns are Somers, East Windsor, Enfield and Ellington, and it has evolved into a weekend full of fun for everyone.
October 7: Ellington Family Fall Festival:
Third annual Fall Family Fest! Come and hang out with us and our friends at Maple Grove Club for a great afternoon of food, drinks, music, crafters and more!! FREE ADMISSION!!
October 15: Putnam Pumpkin Festival:
With an array of family-friendly activities, this event features The Official Great Pumpkin, 12th Annual Scarecrow Contest, craft and art vendors, fantastic live music, activities for the kids, special pumpkin themed menus and MUCH MORE!
October 21: Hebron Harvest Moon Festival
Show off your carving skills at our Jack o’ Lantern Tower and contest for all ages! Grab your favorite furry friend for our Dog Parade. Don’t forget your flashlight as you Trick or Treat along the sidewalk of Rte. 66! A Vintage Car Show… CT Ghost Investigations… a Haunted Library… a Spooky Seance… this event grows by the minute. Enjoy the best of local musicians, artisans, vendors, live entertainment and food trucks!
October 22: Harvest Festival at Strong Family Farm
The Strong Family Farm Harvest Festival is a family-friendly, annual event. Come on down to the farm and enjoy activities and games, a petting zoo, demonstrations, live music, book readings, food trucks, raffles and our “Crafters’ Row”, featuring 40 juried Connecticut artisans. Shop early for the holidays! Don’t miss the Chicken Parade!
Hartford County
August 18-20: Hartford County 4H Fair:
4H Fairs are fun for people of all ages! They have games, entertainment and educational exhibits. Many fairs have some of the following special events: Tractor and horse draws, magicians, contests, clowns, livestock shows, dances and horse shows.
August 25-26: Plainville Hot Air Balloon Festival:
The festival will open on Friday, August 25, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. An arts and craft show will be open on both Friday and Saturday. There will be a firework display on Friday evening at 9:30 p.m. Prior to the fireworks display, several hot air balloons will provide a balloon glow. Entertainment will be provided on both Friday and Saturday. A car show will be held during the day on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
September 7-10: Wapping Fair, South Windsor
The 131st Wapping Fair comes to South Windsor with food, rides, family friendly entertainment, and more!
September 14-17: Berlin Lions Fair
Since 1949, The Berlin Lions Club has operated the Berlin Fair and it has been the main event in town!
September 23: South Windsor Apple Harvest Festival
Enjoy apple pie, 100+ vendors & food trucks, hot air balloon & train rides, dunk tank, live music/dancers & more! FREE parking & admission!
September 29-October 8: Southington Apple Harvest Festival:
The Southington Apple Harvest Festival is a six-day event that takes place over the course of two weekends each Fall. This annual event is one of the largest and longest running festivals in the Northeast and typically draws a crowd of over 100,000 people. The 2023 Festival is scheduled for the weekends (Friday-Sunday) of September 29-October 1 and October 6-8.
October 7: Connecticut Bookfest
More than 50 authors from Connecticut gathered under one roof to showcase their books to readers. There’s something for everyone, from children’s to literary fiction, to sci-fi and fantasy, to horror, and non-fiction–and everything in between. The admission is free, and parking is free.
October 13-15: Glastonbury Apple Harvest Festival:
The Glastonbury Apple Harvest & Music Festival features live music, amusement rides, foodtrucks/purveyors, a fully stocked Harvest Pub, and a 5K Road Race on the festival’s closing day.
October 28: Bristol’s Halloween Spooktacular:
Bring your friends and family to Memorial Booolevard for the best Halloween event in Central Connecticut! Costumes are HIGHLY encouraged for everyone! Our Witch’s Brew Tent will have an array of fall beverages, a Gourd-eously fun sip & paint, and a live DJ dishing out spooky music and trivia all day during this FREE event.
As always, a lot of time and effort goes into putting these together. However, things change and sleep deprivation happens, so it’s always better to be “safe than sorry” and confirm with the event organizer before you go. x
Keep me posted I will come .