What to Do in Washington in October

admin

1 week ago

This post was originally published on this site

Suncadia trails have all the fall colors at their annual Harvest Fest.

the leaves are changing, and fall brings Northwest festivals that run the gamut: apple cider festivals, spooky frights, and classic harvest hurrahs. Cheers to the season, and don’t forget a rain jacket.

thru NOV 2 | Federal Way

We’ve bemoaned the shortage of amusement parks in our region, but Wild Waves continues to carry the banner for thrills—and in October the chills don’t come from getting out of the water. The Halloween event is divided into family friendly (during the day) and a bit scary (after dark), with haunted houses, a kiddie hay maze, and an adults-only Vampire Bar. Most rides will be running, but not the water slides.

Bucoda’s casket races are unusual, to say the least.

Oct 1–31 | Bucoda

How to put tiny Thurston County town Bucoda on the map? In fall, a monthlong salute to all things spooky does its best, culminating in a mass “Thriller” dance near Halloween. The festival also includes a haunted house, costume contests, cemetery tours, a hearse procession, and signature casket races. Bucoda: dead and loving it.

Tragic Kingdom, a No Doubt tribute band from Portland, goes full ’90s.

Oct 3 & 4 | Moses Lake

The rare October festival that doesn’t have some sort of Halloween tie—though a good flannel works as a costume if you’re going as any member of a bygone Seattle grunge band. Half the fun lies in the names of the cover bands that perform: 21 Guns (singing Green Day), Fighting Foos (saluting Foo Fighters), and Nirvana tribute Nevermind. Held in the Grant County Fairgrounds, the annual concert is a celebration of all things, sounds, and fashions of the 1990s.

It’s October. Shouldn’t you take your lederhosen to Leavenworth?

weekends, oct 3–18 | leavenworth

It’s a fall classic. The Bavarian hamlet of Leavenworth plays host to the quintessential beer fest complete with live music and polka dancing in the Festhalle, a street market, and Kinderplatz festival rides. But the drink menu ventures beyond traditional festbier to include hard kombucha and a nonalcoholic lager.

Oct 4 & 5, 11 & 12 | Cle Elum

Suncadia Resort hosts its 19th annual fall event at the historic Nelson Farm. The free event includes face painting, axe throwing, and a hay pyramid, plus a classic pumpkin patch. Local brews and craft cocktails liven up the country line dancing and wagon rides; food trucks fuel square dancing lessons in quintessential fall fashion.

oct 4 | north bend

Beneath the towering Mount Si, adorable mountain town North Bend welcomes fall with an annual blues walk, as 18 venues throughout town host over 20 bands. The old-school neon of the North Bend Theatre serves as the starting line; from there, let the blues tunes guide you through Twede’s Cafe, Twin Peaks Pub, and more town classics.

oct 10 & 11 | Bainbridge island

A waterside literary fest brings national and local authors to Bainbridge Island for readings, panel discussions, and signings. The weekend kicks off with a keynote presentation from fiction author Karen Russell of recent Dust Bowl–era epic The Antidote. With something for writers and readers alike, the fest continues with a slew of literary stars gracing the weekend’s free events.

Oct 10–12 | Port Townsend

An event so big it can’t fit in one location, the annual tree-to-glass festival pops up at farms and cideries around the Port Townsend area. Aside from requisite tastings, an apple-filled brunch, a cider cooking class, and an afternoon garden dance party fill the rest of the weekend.

Oct 11 | Kennewick

The Tri-Cities’ riverside Columbia Park hosts this serene annual tradition. Tickets score a kit to craft a floating lantern, each decorated and illuminated alongside live music before being set out on the Columbia at dusk. The admission fees also fund the cleanup of the artworks after the event.