The Ultimate Guide to Door County Fall Festivals

Here is the 2019 Door County Fall Festivals Guide!

Summer is the ultimate vacation time in Door County, but those who sneak away after back-to-school has kicked into full gear know Fall is the season to visit Door County. The roads are not less crowded but they are beautiful to look at! Midwest Tourists understand very well the Door County Fall Festivals season is in full bloom and those crisp juicy apples are a-waitin’.

Below is the list of the best Door County fall festivals. Why choose just one? Make it a fall-to-remember and visit every weekend! Idyllic towns, breathtaking vistas, and harvest bounty is what makes this a perfect fall destination. I promise, there’s never too much Door County to be had!

Fall Harvest Fest | Lautenbach Orchard Country Winery

Fall Harvest Fest – Lautenbach Orchard Country Winery
Saturday, September 21, 2019 | Fish Creek

Kick off Fall with a bang at a fun, family-focused Door County fall festival. Head over to the west side of the peninsula for fall activities at Lautenbach’s Orchard located right of the highway between the epicenters of Egg Harbor and Fish Creek. Each year this orchard features three festivals (Summer, Fall & Winter). Don’t miss this family-friendly Door County fall festival!

• Complimentary Wine and Specialty Product Tasting
• Pick Your Own Apples
• Free Guided Winery Tours
• Live Music
• Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides
• Inflatable Bouncer, Face Painting, Pumpkin Bowling, and Balloon Animals
• Apple Cider Donut Eating Contest
• Apple Pie Eating Contest

AutumnFest & Classic Auto Show in Baileys Harbor

AutumnFest & Classic Auto Show
Saturday, September 28, 2019 | Baileys Harbor

Official Site

Music, Beer and Ultra-Classic, Tricked-Out Cars!! This iconic Door County fall festival is not to be missed and provides plenty of Fall Fun no matter your ages. Maticulously restored cars, arts & crafts, music, craft beers, smoking hot food and lots of hometown fun.

AutumnFest fest opens Friday with Speakeasy Casino Night, a fundraising event at Maxwell Braes.

The main celebration is Saturday, starting with an 8 am Hey Hey 5K run sponsored by Door County Brewing Company – paying respects to Freddie Kodanka, the Polka King. Enjoy live polka music at the start and finish of the run.

Here’s the schedule for this year:

• Hey Hey 5k Run at Door County Brewing Co. 8 am
• Classic Auto & Motorcycle Show 9 am – 3 pm
• Pin-ups & Pistons photo shoot
• Baileys Harbor Fire Dept. Open House 9 am – 3 pm
• Arts & Crafts 9 am – 4 pm
• Food & Beverage Stand at Kendall Park 9 am – 4 pm
• Baileys Harbor Library Book Sale 10 am – 1 pm
• Live Music at Kendall Park by Hillbilly Casino 11 am – 3 pm
• Awards Ceremony 3 pm
• Live Music at Door County Brewing Co. by Lawrence 7 pm – 9 pm

For more information visit: AutumnFest

Door County Fall Lighthouse Festival

Photo Credit: Thomas Jordan

Door County Lighthouse Festival
October 12-13, 2019

Tours depart from: Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Baileys Harbor, Gills Rock, and Ellison Bay

See the lighthouses of Door County up close and personal! A few tours provide visitors exclusive access to several lighthouses not typically open to the public. That’s what makes this festival impressive and significant! The Door County Lighthouse Festival weekend includes land-based, boat, and adventure tours that together reach all eleven of the treasured lighthouses of Door County.

There are tours for all levels of activity and accessibility. Some tours involve hiking, while others ride in the comfort of the Door County Trolley (Note, there are no trolly tours scheduled for Fall 2019). Boat tours depart from a variety of locations around the Peninsula. Lunch is not provided, but a few tours request that you pack a lunch and enjoy a picnic on the tour. Most tours also highlight shipwreck sites along the cruise and you might be able to catch glimpse of a scattered vessel remnants which have run aground.

New this year are adventurous kayak excursions to view our historic Door County lighthouses!
Paddle your way to see historic lighthouses! Groups are led by experienced kayakers, and you’ll have a unique line of sight of shipwrecks along the way.

TOURS INCLUDE:

Lakeshore Lighthouse Cruise, Baileys Harbor

Lighthouses toured: Cana Island, Baileys Harbor Lighthouse, and Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Type of Tour: Boat

Schooner Cruise, Sister Bay

Lighthouse toured: Peninsula State Park’s Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
Type of Tour: Schooner Sail Boat

Chambers Island Cruise, Fish Creek

Lighthouse toured: Chambers Island Lighthouse
Type of Tour: Boat & Hike

Plum Island Tour, Gills Rock

Lighthouse toured: Plum Island Lighthouse
Type of Tour: Boat & Hike

Cana Island Kayak Expedition, Baileys Harbor

Lighthouse toured: Cana Island Lighthouse
Type of Tour: Kayak & Climb the Lighthouse

Cana Island Kayak Expedition, Baileys Harbor

Lighthouses toured: Cana Island, Baileys Harbor Lighthouse, and Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Type of Tour: Kayak

Death’s Door Adventure Rafting, Ellison Bay

Lighthouses toured: Plum & Pilot Island Lighthouses
Type of Tour: Hard-bottom Inflatable Boat

Most of these tours are not offered at any other time, so take this opportunity and book a reservation. All tours are detailed on the  Door County Maritime Museum website and you can buy tickets here.

Note: if you decide to take a tour, I’d love to hear more about it. Please share your thoughts or photos with me if you like! I can share them with others, with your permission.

Townline Art Fair in Ephraim

Townline Art Fair
Oct 12 – 14, 2018 | Fine Line Designs Gallery, Ephraim
10 am -5 pm

The 46th Annual Townline Art Fair at Fine Line Designs Gallery features over 80 professional juried artists from around the Midwest at their event in North Ephraim. Enjoy the crisp, fall air as you explore the outdoor juried art show and art demonstrations. Fine Line Gallery has beautiful grounds, an outdoor sculpture garden, and stunning galleries as well.

For more information, contact Fine Line Gallery.

Art in Ephraim

Also this year, visitors can spend the weekend perusing the various galleries throughout the village. The galleries will welcome visitors to view their stunning works of art, from paintings, pottery, jewelry, furniture, or printmaking and beyond. Celebrate Ephraims Artisan Community! See details.

Pumpkin Patch Festival in Egg Harbor

Pumpkin Patch Festival
October 12-13, 2019 | Egg Harbor

Pumpkin Patch Festival is the ultimate family-friendly Door County fall festival in any town this fall.

This festival spans two full fun-packed days in Egg Harbor, featuring live music by some of the best local bands that will have you rockin’ and kicking off your shoes. Enjoy carnival rides, face painting, a roaming magician, juried arts & crafts booths, food food and more food and lots of great beverages — all this with a view of the marina to boot. Dress warm and enjoy the fun.

You might just consider a trip to Door County for this Door County fall festival alone. It’s that fun!

Note: Last year every single ATM machine was out of cash (we tried 4-5 of them!). Plan ahead and bring cash! You’ll need it! 🙂 

Here’s the schedule for 2019:

Saturday, October 12

10 am-2 pm: Live Music from Modern Day Drifters, Harbor View Park
10 am-4 pm: Carnival Rides, Egg Harbor Marina; Inflatables at Nicolet Bank
10 am-4: 30 pm: Silent Auction, Harbor View Park
10 am-5 pm: Face Painting, Nicolet Bank & Harbor View Park
10 am-5 pm: Juried Arts & Crafts Vendors, Nicolet Bank
10 am-5:30 pm: Food and Beverage Tents, Harbor View Park
11 am-3 pm: Roaming Magician
12 pm-4 pm: Children’s Musician, Egg Harbor Marina
2 pm-5:30 pm: Live music from Mango Brothers, Harbor View Park

Sunday, October 13

10 am-1:15 pm: Live music from Big Mouth at Harbor View Park
10 am-4 pm: Carnival Rides, Egg Harbor Marina; inflatables at Nicolet Bank
10 am-5 pm: Face Painting  at Nicolet Bank and Harbor View Park
11 am-2 pm: Book Signing: Patricia Skalka at Cinnamon Windmill (Main Street Shops)
10 am-5 pm: Juried Arts & Crafts Vendors at Nicolet Bank
12 pm-4 pm: Kid’s Games & Activities at Egg Harbor Marina
1:30 pm-4:30 pm: Big Mouth & The Power Tool Horns |  Live Music  |  Harbor View Park

Fall Festival in Sister Bay

Photo Credit: CometoSisterBay.com

Fall Festival 
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, October 18-20, 2019 | Sister Bay

This is the GrandDaddy of all Door County Fall Festivals, with vendors from many restaurants serving up creamy mac-n-cheese, (hello? Did you catch that?) pumpkin pie in a cup, cherry sundaes, and tons of children’s activities. You can even learn how to sculpt with a chainsaw! Or observe how hand-carved wooden shoes are made. Or attempt to Pumpkin Bowl!

There are also over 100 vendors at the Arts & Crafts Fair on Mill Road. The vendors are hand-picked and sell unique items for every shopper.

There is also the Sister Bay Classic Car Show. Folks come from all over to display their car, truck, hotrod, muscle car, or classic car and help the Lions Club with their fundraiser.

Enjoy a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning. Dance to live music at several places — Starburr Beer Garten, Husby’s, Sister Bay Bowl, Grasses, and even a stage on the street. Enjoy a parade with marching bands, a bounty of hot food and savory sandwiches. This year there will be a fish boil on Friday night at the Fire Station. Fall Fest in Sister Bay is a Do-Not-Miss Door County Fall Festival.

Photo Credits: Left, RyanWiz on flickr.com; Right, Door County Pulse

It’s a Bird! It’s a plane! It’s the. . . Door County Ping Pong Ball Drop!

The Fest’s oldest tradition is the famed Ping-Pong Ball Shoot (cancelled in recent years) is BACK!!!!!

The time-honored tradition the Ping Pong Ball Drop is happens this year at 2 pm on Sunday, Oct. 20. The event begins with the new Kids Ping Pong Ball Drop in an area designated just for kids 10 years old and under. Families can watch as the little ones safely scramble for balls with kid friendly prizes.

Immediately afterwards, the rest of the crowd gets their chance to scoop up as many balls as possible and win prizes from many local businesses.

In the past, an astonishing 10,000 Ping-Pong balls were released on Sunday afternoon from a helicopter! There was a one-in-ten chance of winning a prize ranging from discounts and free gifts donated by Sister Bay shops, inns, and restaurants. Families would come prepared with a bag so the kiddos could scoop up ping pong balls. There was a little bit of mayhem, but it was all in good fun. Let’s see how this one turns out!

In downtown Sister Bay, get a bird’s eye view of the festival on the Ferris wheel and have fun at the bouncy houses, bungee rock wall, and goldfish game. Watch the crazy antics of Dr. Cletus Beacker, MD and the Hillbilly Science Spectacular Comedy Show at 3 shows on Saturday in Village Hall

Here’s the schedule for 2019. Check out this lineup!!

Friday, October 18 | 9 am-5 pm:

Classic Auto Show – West side of Mill Road
50/50 Raffle – pick up your tickets at any of the festival information booths sponsored by the Sister Bay Advancement Association
Arts & Crafts Show – Mill Road
Kids Bouncy Houses, Fishing Games, and Climbing Wall

New!!  5pm-7:30pm: Sister Bay Lions Club Firsh Boil at the Fire Station on Mill Road

Saturday, October 19

7 am-11 am: Pancake Breakfast – Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department

9am-5pm:

• Food & Drinks – Throughout the village
• 50/50 Raffle – pick up your tickets at any of the festival information booths sponsored by the Sister Bay Advancement Association
• Bake Sale and Go Bo Cookie Sale
• Classic Auto Show – West side of Mill Road
• Kids Bouncy Houses, Fishing Games, and Climbing Wall10 am-5 pm: Arts & Crafts Show – Mill Road
• Pumpkin Bowling and Goat Toss between The Bowl and CHOP

11 am: Parade – Bay Shore Drive, Downtown. Parade Marshal – Volunteer of the Year

1pm, 2pm, and 3 pm: Hillbilly Silly Science Show – Family Fun – Village Hall

Sunday, October 20

9 am-2 pm: Classic Auto Show – West side of Mill Road
9 am-5pm: Kids Bouncy Houses, Fishing Games, and Climbing Wall
9 am-3 pm: Arts & Crafts Show – Mill Road
10 am-3 pm: Pumpkin Bowling and Goat Toss between The Bowl and CHOP
10 am-4 pm: Food & Drinks – Throughout the village
2pm: Ping Pong Ball Drop w/special kids zone – Downtown Sister Bay
1 pm: 50/50 Raffle Winner Announced – corner of Mill Road

Check out this article on Door County Pulse for more photos.

Jack O’ Lantern Days in Fish Creek

Jack O’Lantern Days
October 25 – 27, 2019 | Fish Creek

Here’s a Door County fall festival that puts the “eek!” in Fish Creek! A real, hometown Halloween festival, Jack O’Lantern Days will entertain little witches and goblins of all ages.

Jack O’Lantern Days isn’t a festival in the sense that there is a lot of food vendors and music, but there are plenty of fun things for families and couples to do. Highlights include a festive costume contest, town hall games, town-wide trick-or-treating, a costume parade, mask making at the Peninsula School of Art, a ho-made bake sale, and games, food and a fortune teller at the Gibraltar Fire Station. Shops offer lots of discounts, and kids trick-or-treat inside all the shops. The Open Door Bird Sanctuary comes down for the day with an up-close demonstration of beautiful birds of prey.

Jack O’Lantern Days is a relaxing fall weekend event without the loud music or crowds that some of the other Door County fall festivals offer.

It’s good to note, however, that many places on the peninsula are closed by the time this event takes place. Don’t let that stop you. Fall hiking is beautiful, and there is still much to do. 

Pin this article!