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Linvilla Orchards
Photo courtesy of Linvilla Orchards
Cheers at an Oktoberfest Celebration or Fall Beer Fest
Just because the name says “Oktoberfest” doesn’t mean you have to wait for the new month to start the party. At sites around Philadelphia from bierhalles and open fields to harvesting farms and historic landmarks, September marks the kickoff of fall beer festival season and Oktoberfest celebrations (which traditionally begin the first Saturday after mid-September). Get your beer festival fix at volksfests typically held in September like the Delaware River Festival, Sly Fox Can Jam Tournament, Philadelphia Zoo’s OktoBEARfest, Fishtown Feastivale, Oktoberfest West Chester, Midtown Village Fall Festival, Fall for Ardmore and more.
Photo by R. Kennedy for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®
El Carnaval de Puebla en Filadelfia transports an authentic Cinco de Mayo celebration to Washington Avenue in Philadelphia. Modeled after the colorful parades and street fairs that mark Mexico’s military victory over invading foreign forces, Philadelphia’s festivities attract thousands of locals and participants from around the U.S. and Mexico. Many of the dancers don ornate costumes and oversized masks that were made in Mexico and represent historic figures and folk dramas.
The close of summer means the beginning of autumn harvest at family farms and sprawling orchards across the Philadelphia countryside. Not only does that mean fresh fall produce stands, but it also signals the start of fall farm and harvest festival season at over two dozen open-to-the-public farms throughout the region. From deep in Chester County to the tip of upper Bucks County, find a harvest celebration for you and your family with pick-your-own vegetables, wagon-pulled hayrides, pumpkin carving, farm games, corn mazes, bonfires, baked goods, fresh food and lots of fun.
Pumpkinland at Linvilla Orchards
September 7 – November 2, 2024
The name says it all when Linvilla Orchards’ annual Pumpkinland opens for the season. The gourd gala features a slew of daytime ticketed activities like harvest hayrides around the farm, corn and (slightly harder) haybale mazes, apple blaster target shooting, pick-your-own crops, fishing in Orchard Lake, and pony and train rides. Things get spooky after dark with moonlight hayrides around the farm or to the nearby Witch’s House, ending at a campfire with cider and marshmallows. And don’t miss the annual Arts & Craft Festival season kickoff on September 14 and 15, 2024.
Where: Linvilla Orchards, 137 W. Knowlton Road, Media
FallFest at Shady Brook Farm
September 13 – October 30, 2024 (select dates)
Known for its drive-thru holiday light display, Bucks County’s Shady Brook Farm gets into spooky season, too, with the family-friendly FallFest.
The annual event features hayrides, barnyard animals, kids’ games, pedal go-cars, the Barn of Horror, and a Peanuts-themed corn maze, plus pick-your-own pumpkins, sunflowers and apples (sold separately). When the sun goes down, head to FallFest Fun After Dark (which requires a separate ticket) with bonfires, the Moonlit Maze, the not-so-scary Eerie Illuminations Halloween Light Show Wagon Ride, and live music during FallFest unWINEd weekends.
Where: Shady Brook Farm, 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley
Shady Brook Farm
Photo by Daniel Knoll for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®
Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month starts in mid-September, and where better to celebrate than Philly? Nearly one in eight Philadelphians are of Latino or Hispanic heritage, including large populations originating from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, and Central America. With September comes two big fiestas: the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with 1,500 participants and thousands of spectators, and the Mexican Independence Day Festival at Penn’s Landing with crafts, music, food trucks, and more. And don’t forget Philly’s scores of amazing Latino-owned shops and restaurants.
Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Sunday, September 29, 2024 | Noon-6 p.m.
¡Wepa! Thousands of spectators line the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for this annual parade and celebration of Latino culture. More than 1,500 marchers make their way down the Parkway each year, featuring traditional Latino music, dance performances, floats and more.
Where: Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Root, Root, Root for the Eagles, Phillies & Union
September marks ends and beginnings in the Philly sports scene. First, it’s the last chance to catch Philadelphia Phillies regular season baseball at Citizens Bank Park on the eve of Red October. But across the street, passionate renditions of Fly Eagles Fly reemerge at Lincoln Financial Field as the Philadelphia Eagles literally kick off the new season. And the Philadelphia Union push toward the end of the MLS season at soccer-specific Subaru Park in Chester.
Whether you favor an urban park or secluded green space, a hidden trail or riverside path, there are countless ways get out and enjoy the waning days of summer and the kick off of fall in Philly. Hikers and bikers can find amazing trails through the woods at Wissahickon Valley Park.
Joggers and strollers can witness fantastic views from Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk. Aquaphiles can tool around in a personal watercraft at Penn’s Landing. And residents and visitors alike can relax with an amble through Longwood Gardens. For some fantastic ideas, check out our new Ultimate Guide to Philly’s Outdoor Experiences.
Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary
Photo: Eastern State Penitentiary
Get Spooked at a Haunted House
As soon as Labor Day weekend has passed, Spooky Season begins in Philly with scary sites and freaky fun across the city leading up to Halloween. Even before the calendar flips to October, fright fests and creepy celebrations get underway across the city. With over a dozen public haunted houses and terrifying tours to choose from each year, Philly has a ghoulish good time ready to go at a number of both indoor and outdoor eerie attractions that kick off their fall schedules during the last week of September.
Haunted Houses in Greater Philadelphia
Halloween is a scream in Philadelphia. Take spooky season to the next level at over a dozen terrifyingly creepy haunted houses throughout the region, set inside some of the most sinister places you can imagine, including these favorites:
The Valley of Fear in Feasterville-Trevose: Located at Phoenix Sport Club, The Valley of Fear offers three terrifying attractions including the Original Haunted Hayride through “America’s Most Horrifying Woods,” One Eye’d Willie’s lost treasure hunt at Escape Shipwreck Cove and the risen-from-the-ashes Miles Manor Haunted House (September 20 to November 2, 2024, select dates).
The Bates Motel in Glen Mills: Hollywood-level special effects ramp up the trilogy of terror at The Bates Motel — named one of the 10 best-haunted house attractions in America by CNN — scaring up screams at the Bates Motel Haunted House, the Haunted Hayride through the Arasapha Farm forest and the Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail (September 20 to November 3, 2024, select dates).
Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary: The cell blocks swing open after dark for Halloween Nights, transforming abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary (which once housed infamous criminals from Willie Sutton to Al Capone) into America’s largest haunted house with 15 different attractions of terror behind the walls, plus a popular beer garden (September 20 to November 9, 2024, select dates).
Lincoln Mill Haunted House in Manayunk: The ghastly history of Lincoln Mill Haunted House tells a spine-chilling story of bodies “discovered” in a secret basement chamber of the 160-year-old abandoned mill after flooding from Hurricane Ida in 2021, uncovering the mill’s dark and gruesome past (September 27 to November 2, 2024, select dates).
Fright Factory in South Philadelphia: The cavernous basement of a 120-year-old abandoned factory is the setting for Fright Factory, a high-scare 25,000-square-foot warehouse with three themed areas: dystopian factory Industrial Nightmare, abandoned asylum South Side Sanatorium and demonic Fright Factory Unholy (September 27 to November 2, 2024, select dates).
Where: Lincoln Mill Haunted House, 4100 Main Street
Scarecrows in the Village
Photo courtesy of Peddler’s Village
Scarecrows in the Village at Peddler’s Village
September 9 – October 27, 2024
While away the hours conferrin’ with the flowers and consultin’ with the rain as Bucks County play-shop-and-dine destination Peddler’s Village presents the 45th Scarecrows in the Village event. For eight weeks, more than 100 creative and colorful locally handmade scarecrows (ranging from silly to scary, and even some famous faces) line the grounds’ brick pathways, part of an annual competition where visitors can vote for their faves. The free display’s apex is the annual Scarecrow Festival (September 14 to 15, 2024), with scarecrow-making workshops, pumpkin painting, live music, and kids’ activities.
Where: Peddler’s Village, 100 Peddlers Village, Lahaska
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