Soon leaves will be changing and fall will be in the air! This is a great season to get out there and explore all that Kansas has to offer. From sunflower fields and fall festivals to Ocktoberfest and the Renaissance Festival, Kansas has something for everyone!
Kansas City
Apple season at Cider Hill begins in late July and lasts through October. Cider Hill features 38-acres covered with 1,500 apple trees and 18 different kinds of apples grown in the orchard. Bring the whole family and enjoy a day out at Cider Hill Family Orchard. Pick your own apples and pumpkin, enjoy cider donuts & slushes, kettle corn, hayrides, train rides and more. Learn more at ciderhillfamilyorchard.com. Located at 3341 N. 139th Street, Kansas City, KS.
Shawnee
Locally owned Family Tree Nursery doesn’t just offer shrubs and garden supplies…it also houses a full craft coffee shop! Each Fall season they enclose their greenhouse, add in garden style seating, and transform their space to become a full “coffee and chlorophyll” experience. You can purchase a coffee style drink or something extra special from their rotating menu and then peruse the aisles of their greenhouse that makes for its own micro-jungle experience. Come Halloween season they put out their pumpkins and themed offerings too!
Leavenworth
The second annual Camp Leavenworth is September 24th & 25th. This free festival invites everyone to discover the wonders of Leavenworth. Headlining the festival will be hometown hero Melissa Etheridge, joined by several local and regional acts. Camp Leavenworth will feature Friday night fireworks, family activities, Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair and unique experiences around our historic downtown — people will see how much fun it is to break out from the ordinary and live life free. Leave it to Kansas to throw a shindig as adventurous as this. Admission is free to the public.
Bonner Springs
Huzzah and Cheers! The Kansas City Renaissance Festival, a Kansas City Fall tradition, opens September 4th and runs weekends through October 17th 2021, rain or shine in beautiful Bonner Springs, Kansas. The Kansas City Renaissance Festival is like walking through the gates of time to another age where guests from around the metro, the Midwest, the country and sometimes the world get a taste of 16th century life. Travel back in time and partake in this one-of-a-kind experience. Thrill to the exploits of jousting knights on thundering steeds, roam the village shops for unique crafts, delight in comedy, music, magic and more on our 20 stages of non-stop entertainments, and feast on delicious food and drinks from the far reaches of the globe! There’s something for the whole family in the enchanted 16-acre village! There are discount specials listed at www.kcrenfest.com or guests can call 800-373-0357 for group ticket prices and information on parties, children birthday parties, and weddings at the Festival.
Lawrence
If swimming in a sea of sunflowers sounds dreamy to you, then you must join the thousands of people who swarm to Grinter’s Sunflower Farm. The flowers typically bloom in late August or early September, and the season is short! There are only about two weeks to view the sunflowers in their most beautiful state. Follow the Grinter Farms Facebook Page for the most up-to-date information about how the flowers are growing.
Have breakfast on a farm, discover unique artisans, nurseries and greenhouses, pumpkin patches, and wines produced at local vineyards during the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, October 2-3. Explore 30 area farms on this self-guided tour.
Lecompton
Enjoy the beautiful fall foliage while on the Historic Walking Tour through Lecompton. The trail is about one mile in length and passes by historic sites and buildings.
Manhattan
Fall in Manhattan brings tons of fun starting with sunflower fields and ending with pumpkin patches. Sunflower season in Manhattan is typically from mid-August through mid-September. Manhattan has two spots where you can visit beautiful sunflower fields. Check out A & H Farm or Britt’s Farm. A&H Farm kicks off their fall season with a sunflower field and then several weeks of fall festivities including a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, hayrides and more. Britt’s Farm features 30 acres of sunflowers and fall festivities like a pumpkin patch, corn mazes, super slides, corn pit, 3 jumping pillows and more. Find more fall festivities at Lazy T Ranch like corn mazes, hay bale maze as well as special days featuring pony rides and hayrack rides. Be sure to check our calendar for the exact dates of all the festivities happening in Manhattan.
Abilene
Abilene Oktoberfest is celebrating its 4th Annual event! Come and experience some German entertainment including authentic dancers, tasty food, German-themed music by DJ’s DeeJays, crafts, and, of course, bier from KC BIER Company. They will also have bouncy houses and games for the kids! This event will be held in Abilene, KS, so please come early and visit our downtown shops and take in all our wonderful small town has to offer.
Salina
Celebrate the fall season at Rolling Hills Zoo with Pumpkin PaZOOla on Saturday, October 9, 9am-4pm. It’s a fun-filled day for the whole family! Kids 12 and under receive a FREE pumpkin (while supplies last). Keeper Encounters throughout the zoo provide fun insight into our animal friends. There will be a Hay Bale Maze, a Special Story at Twig-The Curiosity Tree, Fall Festival Games and more. Of course we’ll have Food Vendors on hand to keep your energy level up! What could be better? Oh yes…Kids 12 and under receive HALF PRICE ADMISSION, with a paid adult!
The Zoo is located at 625 N. Hedville Road, 8 miles west of Salina, at I-70 Exit 244.
Russell
Check out Granny Mae’s Pumpkin Patch in Dorrance for the best family fun! Enjoy trolley rides, hot cider, smores, a candy store and some of the biggest pumpkins around. Enough activities to keep all ages happy and entertained.
Hays
The Volga German Society Oktoberfest is an annual celebration of the Russian Germans of Ellis County. It is held at Municipal Park on the Friday and Saturday of Fort Hays State University’s Homecoming weekend. The festival includes various activities and booths that provide food, crafts, beer, games, Masskrugstemmen (stein holding competition), and musical entertainment. Oct 1-2, 2021.
WaKeeney
The Shiloh Vineyard Fall Festival is October 2nd from noon to 9:00 pm. Tour the farm and the vineyard while enjoying food, music, games for kids, pumpkin patch and of course wine. See the barn and farm animals with your family and friends.
Oakley
Oakley Shucks! Hand Husking is the oldest method of harvesting corn…….
Shuckin’ back …. Did you know?
- Competitive cornhusking in the 1920’s and 30’s was a spectator sport drawing crowds of up to 100,000.
- The sport, often call the “Battle of the Bangboards” was dubbed the “fastest growing spectator sport in the world” by Time Magazine.
- Kansas joined Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota in this Midwestern sport in 1927 and held its first contest in Bern, Nemaha County.
- The first National contest in Kansas, held in Norton on November 11, 1930, drew a crowd of 25,000 and was broadcast coast-to-coast on the radio.
Oakley, Kansas was the first to revive the old-time husking contests of the past and has been the home of the Kansas State Cornhusking contest since 1971. The contest is now part of the annual Corn Festival which will take place in Oakley on Saturday, October 16th. A great family, fun-filled day with activities for kids of all ages. Enter the corn toss or the corn art contest, dig in the corn money pile, take a horse drawn wagon ride. Watch the huskers in the field or register and participate in the contest. Never husked? No problem, novice huskers are welcome and old timers are happy to teach the basics. Follow their Facebook page for updates and check the website for festival schedule details.
Colby
Fall into Art on Saturday, September 18th at the Prairie Museum of Art & History A day of hands-on arts demonstrations and activities. Free and open to the public! Pottery, Blacksmithing, Printmaking, Collage, Encaustic, Cell phone photography, and more! Cosponsored by Fort Hays State University Art Department. Made possible by a grant from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Goodland
The Flatlander Festival is a 36-year Western Kansas event based on community hospitality, hometown pride and spirit which has become an annual event attracting thousands of people.
The festival joins together different community groups, each holding separate events, over a three-day period in Goodland, KS. The Flatlander Festival Committee Coordinates the weekend into the premiere event of Northwestern Kansas and the Tri-State Area.
Goodland, KS is located on interstate 70, 17 miles from the Colorado border and 50 miles from the Nebraska border. Participants come from many states and involve themselves in activities as the festival takes over downtown main street.
