10 Quirky Fall Festivals in the West

There’s more to fall than pumpkin carving, corn mazes, and haunted houses. Spice up your autumn with these offbeat events, including outhouse racing, grape stomping, and more.

California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria, California

Oct. 3-5

The seaside town of Carpinteria isn’t famous for classic fall activities like leaf peeping. So the founders of this festival decided to play to the area’s strengths. Santa Barbara County is one of North America’s largest avocado producers, and its autumn weather is reminiscent of the Mediterranean Riviera. Thanks to this winning combination, “Avofest” attracts around 100,000 people of all ages to celebrate peace, love, and guacamole. The free event features over 60 musical acts, a guacamole-making contest, more than a dozen food vendors, and a standoff in which participants pit against each other to hold a 10-pound bag of avocados with one arm. 

World Championship Outhouse Races in Virginia City, Nevada

Oct. 4-5

Billing itself as “America’s looniest loo race,” this competition began as a political protest after Virginia City banned outdoor latrines in favor of a sewer system decades ago. Angry residents who couldn’t afford to retrofit their homes dragged their outhouses to the town hall and clogged the entrance to the courthouse. Today, visitors celebrate the protestors’ chutzpah and enjoy the hilarity as costumed contestants push outrageously decorated, wheeled outhouses down the historic main drag toward a toilet paper finish line. Free for spectators, the event is flush with additional activities, including games, food trucks, artisan stands, music, and family-friendly entertainment.

Lumberjack Day, Grape Stomp, and Gold Rush Street Faire in Calaveras County, California

Oct. 4

The first Saturday in October, two towns in this scenic swath of north-central California honor their economic heritage with a triple-hitter of free events. At Lumberjack Day in West Point, talented loggers come out of the woodwork for competitions in ax throwing, speed axing, and chain sawing. The festivities also include a parade, a Soap Box Derby, a car and motorcycle show, and entertainment for the kiddos, including a climbing wall, a bouncy house, and a petting zoo. 

About an hour’s drive away, Murphys hosts the Calaveras Grape Stomp and the Gold Rush Street Faire. Watch up to 120 teams of stompers and swabbers compete to squish juice out of a barrel of grapes. Then, sample award-winning wines, savor local culinary specialties, and shop for antiques and crafts at the fair on Main Street.

​​Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Hailey and Ketchum, Idaho

Oct. 8-12

Since the 1860s, Idaho sheep ranchers have engaged in the tradition of “trailing”—moving their herds from mountain pastures to warmer winter grazing and lambing grounds in the south. Every year, the Big Sheep Parade honors this heritage as about 1,200 sheep hoof down Ketchum’s Main Street. Festivalgoers also flock to watch 80 of the West’s most talented border collies compete in the National Point Qualifying Sheepdog Trials, and to see traditional Basque, Scottish, and Peruvian dancers perform in the Sheep Folklife Fair. In addition, this family-friendly bash features sheep shearing demonstrations, wool vendors, weaving workshops, lamb tastings, and cooking classes. The Sheep Folklife Fair on Saturday and the Big Sheep Parade on Sunday are both free, but some other events require tickets. 

Alaska Day in Sitka, Alaska

Oct. 18

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for a cool $7.2 million. On Oct. 18 of that year, commissioners gathered in Sitka to formally mark the transfer by lowering the Russian flag and raising the Stars and Stripes. The annual Alaska Day Festival commemorates that day with a reenactment ceremony, parade, period costume ball, races, and more. This year’s theme, “Mushers and Medicine,” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the time when a dog sled relay transported diphtheria antitoxin across the territory to save the residents of Nome from a bacterial outbreak.

Bisbee 1000 the Great Stair Climb in Bisbee, Arizona

Oct. 18

Amid the 1980s craze for step aerobics and Stairmasters, Bisbee resident Cynthia Conroy had an epiphany. Her mountainous hometown was crisscrossed with thousands of stairs, which were mainly constructed during the Great Depression to replace worn-out mule paths. These steps provide an intense quad workout alongside delightful views of Bisbee’s colorful architecture. In 1990, Conroy’s idea became the Bisbee 1000, and it remains one of the world’s most unique outdoor fitness events. People from 7 years old to 80-something run or mosey the 4.5-mile course, with its thousand-plus stairs. The event is limited to 1,500 registered participants ($130 for adults, $30 for youth). But spectators are welcome to soak up the conviviality and music for free while exploring this historic mining town. 

West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, Oregon

Oct. 19

At this zany event, racers wearing superhero, pirate, or animal costumes climb into enormous hollowed-out pumpkin “boats” supplied by farmers who grow gigantic vegetables. Then, they paddle their tipsy orange vessels through Tualatin Lake at the Commons, attempting to squash the competition as festivalgoers cheer them on. To compete, you have to be a pumpkin grower, a special guest, or a winner of the event’s lottery for the public. But this free, family-friendly fete offers plenty of other chances to go off your gourd. Try your hand at pumpkin bowling, pumpkin golf, pumpkin checkers, and more.

Hunters Feed in Ennis, Montana

Oct. 24

Every fall, families in Montana clear out their stashes of frozen wild game to make room for their new catches when hunting season opens. The Ennis Hunters Feed honors this tradition with a wild game feast. Cooks of all levels gather on Main Street to serve up dishes like mule deer chili, moose meatloaf, elk poppers, duck stew, and venison stroganoff. You can sample this smorgasbord for free while voting for your favorites. In the Critter Call Competition at Willie’s Distillery, watch skilled hunters mimic the sounds of birds, big game, and barnyard animals. Then, browse for festival-day deals on Western home goods, art, and more in the local shops before ending the day jiving to live music at many of the bars on Main Street.