14 Wisconsin fall festivals to look forward to in 2024
From fall foods to famous authors and films, some of the best festivals taking place this autumn are in Wisconsin.
There are certain traditions that happen each year when the weather starts to cool down and the leaves change their colors, like apple picking, eating anything pumpkin spice-flavored, and hitting up some of the best local fall festivals. Conveniently, there are plenty to choose from throughout Wisconsin.
From the traditional fall festival — where attendees can snack on autumnal treats and listen to live music — to specially-themed or unique events, here are some of the most fun festivals held throughout Wisconsin in the fall.
1. Chilimania (Sept. 6-7)
99 N. Henry St., Edgerton
The weather may cool down as fall begins, but in Edgerton, things stay hot and spicy as the city hosts its annual festival: Chilimania.
The festival is home to the Wisconsin State Championship Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI)-sanctioned chili cook-off. Anyone confident in their chili recipe can enter the cookoff, for a $20 fee, with the first-place winner awarded $350 and a trophy. Despite its name, the event isn’t all about chili. There’s also a hot pepper eating contest, an auction, and live music all weekend long.
Originally started as a fundraiser, the goal of the festival is to promote the city’s small businesses, and it also uses some of its proceeds to provide scholarships to local high school students.
2. Fondue Fest (Sept. 7)
Main St., Fond du Lac
Every fall, people consume more apples, soups, and pumpkin-flavored treats, but the city of Fond du Lac celebrates a different beloved fall food: fondue.
For the past 17 years, Fond du Lac has been home to Fondue Fest, a one-day festival that regularly brings in more than 20,000 people. The festival, which runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., is the city’s largest one-day festival.
In addition to cheese and chocolate fondues, and a wide assortment of food to eat with them, the free festival has plenty of live music and activities, like a car show, a dedicated kid’s zone, and arts and crafts vendors.
3. Laura Ingalls Wilder Days (Sept. 14-15)
806 3rd St., Pepin
While Laura Ingalls Wilder may be best known for “Little House on the Prairie,” the book she wrote about her months living on a Kansas prairie, the author got her start in Wisconsin. Wilder was born in Pepin, Wisc., and her first book in the “Little House” series, “Little House in the Big Woods,” chronicles the author’s childhood living in a Wisconsin log cabin.
Pepin celebrates its most famous native at Laura Ingalls Wilder Days, a two-day festival that celebrates the author and her books and takes attendees back to what life was like in the 19th century. The event is held in Pepin’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Park, which is located just seven miles away from the Wayside Cabin, where the author was born.
Just like in the book series, there’s a spelling bee held on stage, and there’s also a flint and steel fire-starting contest and square dancing. But there’s also some modern fun thrown into the festival as well, with a 5k run and walk, a grand parade, and plenty of food vendors.
4. Cedarburg Wine & Harvest Festival (Sept. 21-22)
Washington Ave., Cedarburg
For half a century, Cedarburg has been celebrating the changing of the seasons with its annual Wine & Harvest Festival. The event, which is free to attend, spans two days in downtown Cedarburg and celebrates the area’s locally-produced wine.
Attendees can sample wine by the glass, or purchase a case from Cedar Creek Winery. They can also help to create future wine by taking a turn stomping on grapes — each day has a kid’s stomp, as well as one for adults.
While the wine is a major part of the festival, so is the harvest. Attendees make the most out of seasonal produce, especially the pumpkins. A highlight of the annual festival is a pumpkin regatta, where participants make boats out of massive pumpkins and attempt to paddle them through a body of water.
5. River Falls Bacon Bash (Sept. 27-28)
232 W. Maple St., River Falls
Bacon lovers can feel secure knowing that their favorite food is well-represented at the River Falls Bacon Bash, a bacon-focused festival that happens annually in the city of River Falls. Of course, attendees can snack on strips of bacon, but there are so many more creative dishes to try as well, from maple bacon donuts to bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers, to a wide array of pork dishes.
Pork connoisseurs can put their skills to the test at one of the festival’s bacon-eating contests, and then digest while enjoying a full live music lineup. The festival, which is free to attend, runs from Friday, Sept. 27 through Sept. 28.
6. Oktoberfest (Sept. 26-29)
1 Oktoberfest Strasse, La Crosse
The Oktoberfest in La Crosse isn’t the only Oktoberfest throughout the state of Wisconsin — but it’s one that certainly can’t be missed. The original Oktoberfest started in Munich in the 19th century, and while the La Crosse version of the German festival hasn’t been running as long, it’s still a long-standing tradition, being held annually for more than six decades.
Oktoberfest attendees can take part in events like the lederhosen games, a lengthy parade, carnival rides, and of course, sampling the German-inspired food and drinks, including locally brewed beers.
The annual festival kicks off Thursday, Sept. 26, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 29. Tickets can be purchased online. General admission tickets to the festival cost $24.95, and come with a souvenir button, while VIP tickets cost $107.95, and come with access to VIP areas, early entrance, a souvenir button, a souvenir stein, and three beverage credits.
7. Cornish Festival (Sept. 27-29)
11 Commerce St., Mineral Point
Immigrants from all over the world have made Wisconsin their home, including some from Cornwall, a county in southwestern England that’s known for its rugged views of the Atlantic Ocean and wild moorland. People of Cornish descent celebrate their heritage at Mineral Point’s Cornish Festival — a three-day festival that celebrates Cornish and Celtic culture with food; live music from The Countryment, a folk rock band from Cornwall; and a jam-packed itinerary of events.
While the festival is held at different locations throughout the entire city of Mineral Point, one of Cornish Festival’s main bases is the Mineral Point Railroad Museum, which was built by Cornish stonemasons in 1856, and is one of the oldest train depots in the country.
The event doesn’t shy away from celebrating the history of Mineral Point and its Cornish residents, as there are historic site tours, historic bus tours, and pottery demonstrations, where potter Frank Polizzi showcases how to create ceramic pieces, using clay that’s been mined in Cornwall since 1746.
8. Christmas Tree Festival (Sept. 28)
N1844 W. School House Road, Ogema
Most Christmas-themed festivals understandably take place in December. But that’s not the case for Ogema’s Christmas Tree Festival.
The annual festival, which is free to attend and has been taking place since 1960, celebrates the start of the Christmas tree harvest. While it may not be Christmas (yet) when the festival’s held, Santa and Mrs. Claus make an appearance at the festival, and there are Christmas tree and wreath decorating contests.
As the festival takes place in September, there’s still some warm (or warmer) weather fun to be had, like the Christmas Tree Festival’s annual bean bag tournament, which costs $20 per team to enter, and a kickball tournament. There are also plenty of food trucks, a bake sale, an antique car show, and live music throughout the day.
9. Bayfield Apple Festival (Oct. 4-6)
42 S. Broad St., Bayfield
Is it really fall if you haven’t eaten a slice of apple pie? Or an apple cider donut? Conveniently, apples are pretty versatile, so there’s an abundance of apple items to snack on, and a vast majority of them are available at the Bayfield Apple Festival, an annual festival that’s been operating for 62 years.
The festival, which runs from Friday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 6, has a ton of apple treats to snack on, but is also jam-packed with entertainment and fun activities. Typically drawing between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors a year, the festival houses a farmers market, where attendees can stock up on fresh apples and other produce. There’s also an apple peeling contest and the highly anticipated Grand Parade, which winds through the city’s main downtown area.
The large festival takes up more than two blocks in Bayfield’s downtown area. While the event is free to attend, it has previously cost $10 to park in parking lots managed by Bayfield School District students. There are also two different shuttles that attendees can take to and from the popular festival — one from Legendary Waters Resort and Casino, and another from Hauser’s Superior View Farm.
10. Cranberry Fest (Oct. 5-6)
201 N. Railroad St., Eagle River
You can’t have a festival called Cranberry Fest without serving up plenty of the tart fruit, and Eagle River’s Cranberry Fest does just that.
Each year, the annual festival sells approximately 8,000 pounds of cranberries during the two-day festival. It’s not all through cranberry juice or cranberry sauce, either — the festival offers unique recipes incorporating the fruit, like cranberry brats, cranberry soup, and of course, plenty of cranberry baked goods. The event also features a bake sale, an arts and crafts fair, and a pancake breakfast each day.
One of the highlights of the annual festival is the marsh tours, which are available every day of Cranberry Fest as well the two days leading up to the festival. The tours take place at Lake Nokomis, and attendees over the age of 21 can sample a glass of cranberry wine. The marsh tour costs $10 for adults, and $5 for children ages 6 to 12, while children under the age of 5 can attend for free.
11. Sister Bay Fall Festival (Oct. 18-20)
10693 N. Bay Shore Drive, Sister Bay
Door County is an ideal place to leaf peep at the fall colors, go apple picking, and visit some fall festivals, like the Sister Bay Fall Festival, held from Friday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 20. Like any good Door County event, the festival kicks off with a fish boil, and serves up other local delicacies as well.
One of the most fun parts of the festival is the Fall Festival Derby, which is open to kids ages 7 to 13. Derby participants have to register in advance, and race in gravity-powered cars that they (along with the help of some adults) built themselves.
12. Dells on Tap (Oct. 19)
701 Superior St., Wisconsin Dells
The Wisconsin Dells is one of the most popular tourist destinations throughout the state, and they’ll be seeing even more visitors on Oct. 19, but not for any of the city’s water parks or amusement parks. Instead, the influx of visitors will be attending the city’s Dells on Tap festival, an annual festival that celebrates Wisconsin’s long-standing brewing heritage. In 2023, the festival featured more than 60 Wisconsin-based brewers showcasing their products and serving up samples, and it also had several food trucks offering up something to eat.
General admission tickets to the event cost $60 if purchased in advance, and $75 if purchased any time after Oct. 14. General admission tickets include entrance into the event and a tasting mug. VIP tickets cost $85, and are unavailable to buy after Oct. 14. The VIP tickets include early entry into the event, a tasting mug, a pretzel necklace, and light snacks. Tickets can be purchased online.
13. Madeline Island Family Fall Fest (Oct. 19)
Downtown La Pointe, Madeline Island
Some places are at their best in the fall. That’s the case with Madeline Island, an island in Lake Superior located off of the northern tip of Wisconsin.
Madeline Island celebrates everything about the season at its annual Madeline Island Family Fall Fest. The festival, which takes place on Oct. 19, is free to attend. It’s located in downtown La Pointe, on the western shore of the island.
The family-friendly festival offers activities like pumpkin decorating, birdhouse building, face painting, and live music. You can also expect a wide array of food and drinks, including wapples – which are waffles, filled with apple cheesecake and caramel sauce.
14. Driftless Film Festival (Nov. 2-9)
139 High St., Mineral Point
Just because a festival is held in the fall, it doesn’t mean that it has to serve up apple cider and slices of pumpkin pie. The Driftless Film Festival in Mineral Point, instead offers up an opportunity to check out independent cinema and hear from filmmakers.
The film festival was first started in 2009 by filmmakers Darren Burrows and Madison native Nicholas Langholff, and all of the festival’s films are screened in the Mineral Point Opera House, which was first opened in 1915 as a vaudeville theater, and was restored in 2009.
Attendees can purchase an All-Festival pass, which will grant them entry into every screening at the Driftless Film Festival, as well as admission to the festival’s opening and closing night parties. Tickets to individual screenings can be purchased as well.
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