When late summer rolls into early fall, Philadelphia is filled with plenty of events to attend, especially in the way of autumn festivals. The next few weeks are particularly chock full of autumnal-themed festivals—here are our top four picks for fall fests in Philly in the next few weeks:
Spruce Street Harbor Park’s Fall Festival (Sept. 14–24)
Your first Philly festival option spans more than a week at Spruce Street Harbor Park with a kickoff happy hour on Thursday, September 14, featuring $5 summer seasonals and live entertainment by Louie Louie with The Whips, with music starting at 7 p.m. The party continues on for the following two weekends with tons of live music and free family-friendly activities including apple cider pressing with Greensgrow Farms, a small petting zoo, pumpkin carving presented by the Pumpkin Genie, flower crown-making with 7textures and other wonderful options for the entire family to enjoy.
Festival food will be a large part of the Fall Festival and visitors will be able to snack on options such as pumpkin funnel cake, pumpkin filled pretzels, sea salt caramel filled pretzels, apple pie, s’mores pie, apple filled churros, pumpkin caramel zeppolis, double kielbasa burgers and carnitas calavasa.
The beer garden will be open for these two weekends with a “Beers of Philadelphia” theme for Friday, September 15 and 22, and “The Beers of Eastern PA” theme on Saturday, September 16 and 23. Other special beer themes will be presented on the additional days, too! Columbus Blvd. and Spruce St.
Philly AIDS Thrift Block Party (Sept. 16)
Philly AIDS Thrift is celebrating its 12th anniversary by hosting a block party outside of its store from noon–6 p.m. on Saturday, September 16. DJ Robert Drake will supply the tunes while guests enjoy beer and wine (21+ with ID) offered by Whetstone Tavern on a pay-as-you-go-basis. Other unique and fun activities taking place throughout the day include performances by a sword swallowing clown, MacKenzie Moltov, a special appearance by the West Philadelphia Orchestra, celebrity dunk tank featuring Brian Kendall Sims and Stefanie Jolles, kid’s moon bounce, carnival games, dancing in the streets and much more!
To keep your hunger in check, food trucks including Chewy’s Philly Food Truck, Kung Fu Hoagies and Franklin Fountain will be onsite at this year’s Philly AIDS Thrift Block Party. 710 S. 5th St.
Chinatown’s Annual Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept. 23)
Head to Chinatown on Saturday, September 23, to enjoy a cultural feast for the senses when the Annual Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival unfolds at the China Friendship Gate, located at 10th and Arch Streets. The day’s events will take place from 12:45–6 p.m. Throughout the day, visitors will enjoy performances, music, dance, Kung Fu demos, a Mooncake-eating contest, pay-as-you-play carnival games and free art activities. Then, at 6 p.m., be treated to the awe-inspiring visuals of a dragon dance, lion dance and lantern parade through Chinatown! 117 N. 10th St.
Midtown Village Fall Fest (Oct. 7)
Midtown Village is inviting guests to come into the area from near and far on October 7 from noon–8 p.m. to explore the vast array of unique and independent boutiques, restaurants and more during the Midtown Village Fall Festival. The day’s events will feature multiple stages of live entertainment, delicious food and beverage sampling, creative merchant and vendor displays, crafters selling their one-of-a-kind goods, children’s activities and many other activities to entertain the crowds throughout the day. There is no admission fee to attend and this is a family-friendly event. Broad St. to 11th St. and Market St. to Spruce St.
- Chinatown Chinese Friendship Gate photo: G. Widman for Visit Philadelphia™
- Spruce Street Harbor Park photo: M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia
- Dunk tank photo: Philly AIDS Thrift
- Street food photo: Pixabay
