The crisp air, vibrant leaves, seasonal foods and beverages…there is something about a fall festival in Virginia that is irresistible. And while there are dozens happening during the upcoming autumn months, these sixteen festivals highlight the best of the season, combining the fall flavors, sounds, and activities that you look forward to each year.
Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion—Bristol
Save the Date: September 9-11, 2022
Purchase Your Tickets
photo credit: Loch and Key
Head to Bristol, known as the Birthplace of Country Music, for three days of Southwest Virginia music, culture, and history at the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion. During the festival, State Street transforms from a roadway to a country music extravaganza, with 22 stages both indoors and outdoors playing continuous live music. This year’s lineup includes Dr.Dog, Blackberry Smoke, The SteelDrivers, Rhonda Vincent, Hayes Carl and more.
Bring the kids along on Saturday for some family-friendly performances at the children’s stage. In addition to live music performances and cultural events, the festival has a chili cook-off contest, a 5k race, free guided yoga classes in Anderson Park, and a youth music competition. To get the full Appalachian experience, pitch your tents at Thunder Mountain Campground, where you can catch a shuttle to and from State Street each day.
Stratford Hall Wine & Oyster Festival—Stratford
Save the Dates: September 17-18, 2022
Two of the most “Virginia” products, wine and oysters, come together at the Stratford Hall Wine & Oyster Festival. Oysters from the Chesapeake Bay and Tidewater area are served in a variety of styles, along with many other popular seafood dishes. In addition to tasting the oysters, watermen will teach you everything you need to know about the shellfish, with live shucking demonstrations, cooking classes that show the best way to prepare oysters, and the environmental impact that they have on Virginia’s waterways.
The festival also features live music, a car show, beverages from Virginia distilleries, arts and crafts booths, and living-history presentations. Smaller children will love hopping aboard the barrel train ride and meeting miniature farm animals at the festival.
Annual Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival—Moneta
Save the Dates: September 17-18, 2022
photo credit: Kelsey Johnson IG account: @heykelseyj
The Annual Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival in Moneta brings together 25+ Virginia wineries and 85+ food and craft goods vendors on the stunning banks of Smith Mountain Lake. Three live bands perform over the two-day festival, and if you aren’t especially fond of wine, the beer garden will be pouring plenty of local Virginia beers.
Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend—Virginia Beach
Save the Dates: September 30 – October 2, 2022
This year marks the 48th anniversary of the Neptune Festival, and while the entire festival goes from early in September to the beginning of October, the Boardwalk Weekend draws the biggest crowd. Hundreds of thousands of people come to the festival, which is spans over 32 blocks of Virginia Beach’s iconic Boardwalk.
The long weekend is filled with endless entertainment, including live music and performances on multiple stages, outdoor shopping and dining experiences, a grand parade, 5k and 8k competitive running events, a beach volleyball tournament, and when the sun goes down, impressive fireworks lighting up the night sky over the ocean. Watch sailboats compete in the Atlantic Regatta, an exciting boat race that finishes at Rudee Inlet.
South Boston Harvest Festival—South Boston
Save the Dates: September 24, 2022
photo credit: David Hungate
The South Boston Harvest Festival is a family-friendly festival filled with attractions, entertainment, fall food, and activities that kids and adults of all ages can enjoy. Let the kids decorate their own pumpkins, try their hand at outdoor activities like scaling the rock climbing wall, or make their own scarecrows. Two stages keep live music acts going throughout the day, and crafters with handmade goods line either side of the South Boston’s Main Street.
Burkes Garden Fall Festival—Tazewell
Save the Dates: September 24, 2022
photo credit: Randall Rose
Celebrate Southwest Virginia’s agricultural heritage during the Burkes Garden Fall Festival. The highest valley in Virginia, the region is well known for the rolling terrain, fertile farmland soil, leading to some of the freshest produce in the Commonwealth. Homemade dishes, homegrown produce, and hands-on farm demonstrations are just a few ways you’ll experience the agricultural magic of Burkes Garden during their fall festival. In addition to food, the festival offers outdoor experiences, music that pays tribute to the historic mountain sounds, and the notable history of Southwest Virginia.
Annual Chincoteague Island Oyster Festival—Chincoteague Island
Save the Dates: October 8, 2022
Mark the arrival of oyster season on Virginia’s Eastern Shore at the 49th Annual Chincoteague Island Oyster Festival. Spend the day dining on fresh oysters in every form–raw, steamed, fried, and frittered–as well as clams, shrimp, and other local seafood favorites. Held in Tom’s Cove Park, this all-you-can-eat festival includes the price of the food and non-alcoholic beverages in your ticket, and beers are available for purchase separately. In addition to an abundance of fresh seafood, the festival features live entertainment, raffles, and a bevy of booths carrying local wares.
Graves’ Mountain Apple Harvest Festival—Syria
Save the Dates: October 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16, 2022
photo credit: Christopher Hunter Photography
The Graves’ Mountain Apple Harvest Festival is the epitome of fall in Virginia, with everything from hayrides and hay mazes to kettles of fragrant apple butter cooking over an open fire. Hear the traditional sounds of the Virginia Mountains from local Bluegrass bands, and don’t miss out on a real Virginia classic: a steaming bowl of homemade Brunswick Stew.
Browse the craft area to pick up locally made jewelry, clothing, artwork, and handcrafted woodwork, and bring the kids along for a visit with some adorable animals as you tour a working educational farm. They can even get a closer look with guided horseback rides. To finish off your fall festival experience, pick your own apples and pumpkins from the on-site orchards and fields. The festival is $5 admission per person 16 and over, free for 15 and under. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome.
Richmond Folk Festival—Richmond
Save the Dates: October 7-9, 2022
photo credit: Dave Parrish, IG account: @rvaphotog
One of the most popular festivals throughout the entire year, the Richmond Folk Festival attracted over 125,000 people last year to the banks of the James River and is expected to surpass that number this year. This free three-day festival is designed to expand your cultural horizons, with live music, dance performances, and artistic displays from all over the world.
Seven stages set up adjacent to Brown’s Island offer nonstop performances during the festival, with more than 30 different acts lined up over the weekend. Walk through the Virginia Folklife demonstration area, where you can learn about traditional Virginia culture and history. Sample authentic regional and ethnic foods from vendors to get a real taste of the cultures represented at the festival, and check out the folk arts marketplace if you’re interested in taking a piece of these unique cultures home with you.
Anthem Go Outside Festival—Roanoke
Save the Dates: October 14-16, 2022
photo credit: Holly Hagan
The Go Outside Festival, presented by Anthem, is a free annual event that promotes outdoor recreation and healthy living in one of the most scenic mountain areas of Virginia. Many outdoor enthusiasts feel limited in their hobbies due to expensive equipment, but the Go Outside Festival encourages people to come test out a range of outdoor gear absolutely free of charge. Try out paddle boards, fishing gear, kayaks, bicycles, and athletic shoes…the list of available trial equipment goes on and on.
Want to learn more about an outdoor hobby? There are over 175 workshops and clinics spanning a wide range of interests at the festival, and pro athletes show off their skills with BMX stunts, bike trials, slacklining, lumberjack sports, and more. For those attendees already skilled at their sport, sign up for the 5k race, half marathon, or bike races to compete against other active festivalgoers. Pitch a tent and stay overnight during the festival to experience the Virginia outdoors firsthand.
Annual Fall Town Point Virginia Wine Festival—Norfolk
Save the Dates: October 15-16, 2022
Wine lovers flock to the Downtown Norfolk Waterfront for the Annual Fall Town Point Virginia Wine Festival. The event showcases over 200 wines from 35 Virginia wineries, highlighting the best varietals from each region. Sample and learn about the wines while you enjoy live music, taste gourmet foods from Virginia chefs, and peruse a selection of locally made wares. At the end of the day, bring home a few (or many) of your favorite Virginia wines, which are available to purchase by the bottle or by the case.
Blue Ridge Folklife Festival—Ferrum
Save the Date: October 22, 2022
photo credit: Cameron Davidson
Get a taste of mountain living at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival, which celebrates the folk ways and rural heritage of Virginia’s mountains. Now in its 48th year, the festival gives visitors a glimpse at the real roots of the Virginia region, with three music stages featuring traditional mountain music genres, from bluegrass and blues to gospel and old-time string tunes.
Watch local craftspeople demonstrate Blue Ridge rural hand skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, including retired bootleggers that share their stories of distilling moonshine as they evaded local law enforcement. Kids are welcome, and will particularly enjoy the vintage farm tractors on display, custom car showcase, mule jumping contest, and sheep herding demonstrations. Tickets can be purchased at the event or by calling 540-365-4412.
Urbanna Oyster Festival—Urbanna
Save the Dates: November 4-5, 2022
photo credit: Christopher Hunter Photography
The Urbanna Oyster Festival, celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, is the “Official Oyster Festival of the Commonwealth”, and for good reason. Everything oyster is represented here, with more than 50 vendors serving up every type of oyster you can imagine: raw, steamed, fried, roasted, Rockefeller, stewed, oyster pot pie, oyster chowder…even oyster tacos!
The streets of Urbanna close down to host this expansive festival, and local watermen and oyster industry experts gather to share their knowledge on the oyster, recounting the history and conservation efforts behind the product and the more recent resurgence of the Chesapeake Bay oyster. The festival’s oyster shucking contest is extremely competitive, with the audience given the chore of eating all the oysters as they are opened by the contestants. Pair your oyster dishes with local Virginia wine tastings, or head to the micro-brewery garden for some local craft beers. While the festival is free to attend, be sure to bring plenty of cash for the delicious food and drink tastings.
More Noteworthy Festivals for Your Fall:
- Tomtoberfest—Charlottesville
- State Fair of Virginia—Doswell
- Hoopla at Devils Backbone Brewing Company Basecamp—Roseland
- Busch Gardens Bier Fest—Williamsburg
- Highlanders Festival—Radford
- Suffolk Peanut Festival—Suffolk
- Big Buggs Island Blues Bash—Clarksville
- Fall Festival of Folklife—Newport News
Check out the full list of Virginia’s upcoming Fall Festivals.
One of the finest small music festivals I’ve attended is Dbhoopla, mentioned in your Noteworthy footnote, however the link is dead. It occurs in early October at the most beautiful Devils Backbone Brewing Company in Roseland VA. If interested photos can be found here https://jcarbonephotos.com/festivals/
Thank you for the photo credit above (The Festy)!
Devils Backbone Hoopla information on venue, artists and camping is here: https://dbbrewingcompany.com/event/hoopla2019/
Bedford Centerfest’s 38th street festival is this weekend, September 22nd. With over 140 vendors, a Pet Zone, a Kids Zone, an artisan village, a food court with almost 24 food vendors, a beer and wine garden that will feature some of the best of Bedford’s wineries (Peaks of Otter Winery, LeoGrande Winery) and Beale’s Brewery and all of our Downtown Businesses will be open. This is a large festival that highlights what makes Bedford unique and wonderful! 10am – 6pm
Highland County’s Hands and Harvest Festival!!! October 12-14!!! Farm tours, arts and crafts, a farm-themed 5K and obstacle course, live entertainment, apple butter, maple syrup, and some beautiful fall color and hikes!!
Beaver Dam Farm Sunflower Festival!
Sept 1-2
Sept 8-9
10-5
Don’t forget Blacksburg Brew Do, Craft Beer Festival October 7. Such a great time!
I would probably have to say that two of the festivals that catch my attention right away are; Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach Virginia and Annual Fall Town Point Virginia Wine Festival in Norfolk Virginia
Wow what a loud! How many interesting things happen there. Not for nothing America is the land of all possibilities.