Harvest Time

Pick a pumpkin, press some apples, gawk at the foliage. Fall means the last chance to party outside before the gloom of winter drives everyone indoors. Scores of towns around the region offer October celebrations. Here¹s a list by date. For more information, visit the Washington State Tourism site.

September 18 - October 31
Spokane
Green Bluff Apple Festival
509.238.6970
The last weekends of September and every weekend of October features apples, fresh-pressed cider, fresh vegetables, live music, craft booths, antiques, farm mazes and animals.

September 24-26 and October 1-3
Leavenworth
36th Annual Autumn Leaf Festival
509 548-5807
Leavenworth¹s big fall festival, not to be confused with Oktoberfest which is the second weekend of October and charges admission. This one is a free celebration with entertainment, dancing, food and art in the park. It kicks off with a Grand Parade on September 25.

October 2-3
Cashmere
Apple Days
509.782.3230
Crafts and food booths, petting zoo, carriage rides, bake sale with apples in every goodie form, apple pie contest, entertainment, music, living history and an auction.

October 2-3
Issaquah
Salmon Days Festival
206.270.2532
Celebrate the return of the salmon with a parade, hatchery tours, and entertainment.

October 2-3
Shelton at the Mason County Fairgrounds
Oysterfest
800.576.2021
Washington State Seafood Festival and oyster shucking contest with seafood cooked oodles of ways, clam chowder, and live entertainment.

October 8-9
Leavenworth
Oktoberfest
509.548.5807
Entertainment, dancing, and German food and beverages.

October 9-10
Grayland
Cranberry Harvest Festival
800.473.6018
Bog tours, cranberry cook-off contest and cranberry marketplace.

October 14-16
Lynden
Harvest Festival
360.354-5995
Scarecrow contest, hayrides, hay maze and apple pie baking contest.

October 22-23
Yakima, Central Washington State Fairgrounds
Hoptoberfest
509.865.4677
German dinner, Northwest microbrews, silent auction and music.

October 28-31
Walla Walla
Fall Festival of Foliage & Feathers
509.529.8755
Celebrate birdwatching and fall foliage with driving and walking tours.

October 29-30
Tacoma-Fort Nisqually in Point Defiance Park
Bonfires, Beaver Pelts & Bogeyman
253-591-5339
Halloween festivities with ghost stories and a roaring bonfire. Story tellers and stories are in keeping with historical and cultural time period of Fort Nisqually.