Top Fall Festivals in the Mountains of Virginia

Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival
Editor’s note, this article contains time-sensitive information from our September/October 2022 issue.

Our readers, in voting this spring, have created a bounty of great suggestions and ideas for the best fall festivals in Virginia.


September

#1 Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival

9/17-9/18; Huddleston. Great music, great wine. Learn more  

#2 Olde Salem Days

9/10 Salem oldesalemdays.comMore than 300 artisans and crafters. – Learn more 

#3 (tie) Grayson Highlands Fall Festival

9/24-9/25; Grayson Highlands SP, Mouth of Wilson. Since 1976 the Rugby Volunteer Rescue Squad and Fire Department has offered live exhibits of Appalachian culture. Learn more 

#3 (tie) Shenandoah Valley Apple Harvest Festival

 9/17-9/18; Clear Brook – Learn more 

#5 Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival

9/23-10/30; Christiansburg – Learn more

#6 Beaver Dam Sunflower Festival

9/10-9/18; Buchanan – Learn more

#7 Shenandoah Valley Music Festival

9/3-9/4; Orkney Springs – Learn more

#8 Layman Farms Fall Festival

Sept-Nov; Blue Ridge – Learn more

#9 Patsy Cline Music Festival

9/3, Labor Day Weekend; Winchester – Learn more

#10 Pulaski County Fall Flea Market

9/17-9/18; Dublin – Learn more


October/November

Blue Ridge Folklife Festival
Blue Ridge Folklife Festival
#1 Blue Ridge Folklife Festival

10/22; Ferrum. For almost 50 years, welcoming musicians, moonshiners, craftspeople, cooks, horse pullers, antique tractor buffs and more to celebrate the traditions of the region. Learn more

#2 Shenandoah Autumn Fest

10/1; Woodstock. BBQ, beers and bands, along with chicken flippin and whole-hog roast. Learn more

#3 Boones Mill Apple Festival

10/1; Boones Mill. The 44th annual will feature the usual array of music, food, pageant and fun. Learn more

#4 Layman Farms Fall Festival

Sept-Nov; Blue Ridge – Learn more

#5 Illuminights

11/19-12/30; Explore Park, Roanoke – Learn more

#6 Crozet Fall Arts and Crafts Fest

10/8; Crozet – Learn more

#7 Radford Highlanders Festival

10/8; Radford – Learn more

#8 (tie) Big Stone Gap Home Craft Days

10/21-10/23; Big Stone Gap – Learn more

#8 (tie) Graves Mountain Harvest Festival

First three weekends in Oct; Syria – Learn more

#10 Front Royal Festival of Leaves

10/15; Front Royal – Learn more


>>> Go Back to the Full List of the top 140 Fall Festivals in the Mountains 


The story above first appeared in our September/ October 2022 issue.

You Might Also Like:

Built in Roanoke, Virginia, in the 1950s, the “Queen of Steam” remains one of the nation’s most celebrated steam locomotives.

The Queen Still Reigns

More than 70 years after she first took to the rails, the legendary Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 continues to inspire both passengers and the volunteers who keep her running.
In West Virginia, the rugged trails of Dolly Sods Wilderness lead to sweeping overlooks and untamed mountain scenery.

Blue Ridge Base Camp Towns

More than outposts for gearing up, these seven mountain communities are destinations in their own right, pairing easy access to some of the region’s best outdoor adventures with walkable downtowns, local flavor, and much more.
Interior designer Maisie Leach and her pup Stella Bea traded Roanoke’s bustling Grandin Village for a slower pace of life in Eagle Rock

Refuge in the Woods

A log cabin in Eagle Rock, Virginia, is the latest project for Maisie Leach of Hermione Interiors—and her most personal.
Author Tim Carmichael’s grandmother, Granny Woman Stella Gosnell Norton, served her Madison County, North Carolina, community as a trusted healer and caregiver.

The Heart of the Hills

Long before modern healthcare reached many Appalachian communities, Granny Women became trusted healers and caregivers, delivering babies, treating illness and injury, and preserving generations of healing knowledge.
Sherwood Anderson and printer Howard White outside the Marion news office, in one of the last photos taken of Anderson.

Finding Home in the Mountains

In 1926, renowned writer Sherwood Anderson moved from center stage in Chicago to the mountains of far Southwest Virginia. Why?
Carly Pearson smiles at the summit of McAfee Knob in Virginia

Trailblazer

Former wildland firefighter Carly Pearson became an accidental advocate for people with disabilities.
The hotel’s rooftop terrace, affectionately known as The Perch, offers exceptional mountain views.

Walking in the Footsteps of an American First Lady

The owners of Wytheville’s Bolling Wilson Hotel and Graze on Main make sure the town never forgets her legacy.
Roanoke, Virginia, USA downtown skyline at dawn

2026 Happiest Mountain Towns

Ten years after this poll’s inaugural launch, we once again turned to our knowledgeable readers for their picks. The results? A brand-new collection of 71 exceptional Blue Ridge communities that excel at bringing big smiles to the faces of both residents and visitors.
Kayaks on Toccoa River Below the Falls

7 Fabulous Float-to-Stays

Paddling trips on scenic rivers to great mountain towns make for perfect summer getaways.
Blooming rosebay rhododendrons frame a lovely, fast-moving cascade along the Oconaluftee River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina. Photo by Robert Stephens

Currents & Cascades: A Photo Essay

Our contributing photographers followed the flow of summer.