As fall rolls in, the Laurel Highlands welcomes colorful foliage, delicious comfort food and a jam-packed season of awesome festivals. Our gorgeous rolling hillsides blanketed in red, yellow and orange serve as the perfect backdrop for some harvest season entertainment! Below is a round up of fall festivals happening in the Laurel Highlands this September. Choose which events you want to attend and build the best fall schedule ever!
Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
Sept. 4 - Oct. 10, Saturdays, Sundays and Labor Day
The Laurel Highlands is proud to be the host of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, a must-do fall festival! Step back in time and grab a turkey leg or steak on a stake, browse artisans' booths and watch jousting and sword fighting performances by an authentically-costumed cast.
Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee
Sept. 8-12
Get a glimpse of what the early days of agriculture were like at this country festival. For more than 60 years, the Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee has showcased machines like steam engines, gasoline tractors and everything in between! Enjoy demonstrations, parades, an apple pie contest, tractor pulls, live music, homestyle cooking and more!
Mountain Craft Days
Sept. 10-12
Mountain Craft Days at the Somerset Historical Center helps keep historic arts and crafts from our region alive by educating visitors about the rural folkways of western Pennsylvania! Featuring more than 125 craft booths, live entertainment and traditional goods, this is an event that everybody in the family will enjoy. Proceeds from the event benefit the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County who preserves and interprets the county's history and heritage!
Sandyvale Wine Festival
Sept. 11
The Sandyvale Wine Festival's main focus is obviously wine, but the event offers so much more than spirits! Gather with your friends in the Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and accompany your delicious bottle of wine with live music, great food, shopping and more!
Johnstown Slavic Festival
Sept. 17-18
In 1920, 25 percent of Johnstown's residents were of Slavic descent, and present-day Johnstown Slavs still take great pride in their heritage. The 4th annual Johnstown Slavic Festival will feature authentic Slavic music and dance performances, food and drinks, educational speakers, cooking demonstrations, vendors and more!
Mother Earth News Fair - CANCELLED
Sept. 17-19
Mother Earth News Fair's mission is to educate attendees about sustainable lifestyle practices including renewable energy, small-scale agriculture, gardening, green building, green transportation and natural health. Attend seminars to learn about these topics then patronize vendors who are reinforcing these practices with their products.
62nd Annual Ligonier Highland Games
Sept. 18
Break out your bagpipes! The Ligonier Highland Games brings more than 5,000 individuals together to celebrate their Scottish heritage through athletic events, food, Scottish and Celctic goods and, of course, music and dance! The event is complete with haggis hurling, a Scottish dog exhibit and plenty of craic!
Derry Railroad Days
Sept. 18-19
The town of Derry was originally founded in 1852 to specifically serve the Pennsylvania Railroad due to its easy access to water and position upon a slight summit. Today, the heritage of Derry is celebrated by the annual Derry Railroad Days festival. Enjoy a parade, family activities, live entertainment, delicious food, unique craft booths and, of course, a model train display!
Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival
Sept. 18-19
The Flax Scutching Festival was started in 1907 by Elmer N. Miller, who decided that old friends and new should gather annually and make linen cloth. 100 years later, the tradition still lives on in Stahlstown with the Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival. Enjoy live entertainment, treat yourself to a buckwheat cake and sausage dinner, experience Civil War and Revolutionary War Mililtia encampments and watch educational demonstrations on flax scutching, all during one event!
Mount Pleasant Glass and Ethnic Festival
Sept. 24-26
Mount Pleasant Glass and Ethnic Festival is an annual festival held in the streets of Mount Pleasant that celebrates the region's glass making history. The three-day festival is jam-packed with great food vendors, live entertainment, a parade and many craft, jewelry and clothing booths.
30th Annual PotatoFest
Sept. 25
Cambria County is the second largest supplier of potatoes in the state, so why wouldn't we celebrate that? The Ebensburg PotatoFest features potato goodies of all kinds which are crafted by the growers themselves. In addition to tater treats, the festival includes live musical entertainment and more than 200 arts and crafts booths lining the streets.
Hallowboo!
Sept. 25 - Oct. 31, Saturdays and Sundays
If you like coming to Idlewild and SoakZone during the summer, you'll love their Halloween event, HallowBoo! Dress the kids in their costumes and head to the amusement park to see all their favorite rides decorated for Halloween, enjoy spook-tacular entertainment and follow the trick-or-treat trail through Storybook Forest to receive goodies from their favorite characters!
While you're exploring Laurel Highlands fall festivals, be sure to use #laurelhighlands when posting photos on Instagram!
