Indigenous Peoples Day (or Columbus Day) Weekend Events – our favorite fall family opportunity means more time to play with CT kids — seasonal lots of weekend family events during peak foliage with apples, chowder, pumpkins, spooks…
Fairs and Festivals:
October 7-9: Connecticut Renaissance Faire: Back in time to a 16th-century harvest festival at Connecticut Renaissance Faire’s 25th anniversary celebration!
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 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 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 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.
Live Entertainment:
It’s Theater Season, and there are some FANTASTIC shows lined up for the weekend. Some of our favorites:
October 3-8: Mrs. Doubtfire Comes to the Bushnell: Based on the beloved film and directed by four-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Zaks, MRS. DOUBTFIRE tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids
October 5: ISIDORE QUARTET at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts: Free for children under 18. Winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, the New York City-based Isidore String Quartet (formed in 2019) carry a vision to revisit, rediscover, and reinvigorate the repertory.
Fun on the Farm:
Don’t forget to head out for apple picking in CT or a corn maze – use our posts as a resource! Some of our top picks for the weekend:
September 16- October 31: Corn Maze & Farm Play Area at Foster Family Farm
September-End of October: Fair Weather Growers Fall Festival and Corn Maze: Open the middle of September right thru the end of October you will now see the fields filled with families on Friday, Saturday and Sunday along with Columbus Day.
Connecticut History:
All weekend: Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Folkways at Mystic Seaport Museum: Celebrate and Honor the culture and traditions of Indigenous People around the world. Join us for an educational afternoon of drumming and singing with the Eastern Medicine Singers.
October 7-9: Pumpkin Patch at the Connecticut Trolley Museum: Pumpkin Patch Trolley is a family fun filled adventure where you ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field and each child can pick out a FREE sugar-sized Pumpkin. Additionally, when you return back to the museum campus you can decorate the pumpkins, play in the corn box, enjoy the outside harvest play area, and the museum exhibits and displays
Check the Kidtivity Events Calendar for more Columbus Day Weekend Events and every day of the year.
A lot of effort is made to give you accurate information but it’s always best to “be safe than sorry” by calling the organizations ahead of your visit!
