Autumn is upon us bringing beautiful foliage and a bounty of festivals the entire family can enjoy. Plan a fun-filled weekend this fall at these family festivals happening on Long Island. Consider one of these fall festivals for your next family weekend adventure.

34th Annual Oyster Festival

Dates: Saturday, October 14 – Sunday, October 15th

Location: Theodore Roosevelt Park

West End Ave

Oyster Bay, NY

Cost: Free

Did you know that the Oyster Festival started as a hometown parade honoring Theodore Roosevelt? This festival has evolved into the largest outdoor festival, attracting over 200,000 visitors each year. The Oyster Festival is known for their iconic oyster eating and shucking contest, live entertainment, vendors, rides and much more. This festival is perfect for seafood lovers, culinary pros serve up inventive gourmet seafood dishes showcasing oysters and clams, along with other festival favorites including frozen hot chocolate, fried Oreos and funnel cakes. There are also plenty of carnival rides, exotic animals (including miniature ponies) and a Pirate exhibit, perfect for kids. This is a great way to spend and Indian summer weekend down by the waterfront.

Riverhead Country Fair

Date: Sunday, October 8th

Location: Riverhead’s Main Street

Riverhead, NY

Cost: Free

Every year Riverhead celebrates its farmers and the agricultural heritage at the Riverhead County Fair. This year is the 42 ^nd annual Riverhead County Fair and there will be plenty of amusement rides, pony rides, pumpkin decorating contests, entertainers and delicious food. Tractor pulls and antique farm equipment will be displayed and make great photo ops.

RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns

Location: Garden of Gords

71 Old Westbury Road Old Westbury, NY

Dates: Various evenings in October

Tickets: therise.org

RISE of the Jack O’ Lanterns is returning for its 6 ^th year at Westbury Gardens. Come see 5,000 hand-carved illuminated jack o’lanterns arranged along a scenic path set to a spooky musical score. Some fan-favorites will be reappearing along with new spectacular carvings. Did you know that 5,000 fresh pumpkins are carved each week? Get into the Halloween spirit and plan a family outing to the RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns; you will be amazed at the talent and creativity that goes into these pumpkin carvings.

56th Annual Apple Festival

Dates & Time: Saturday, October 7 ^th – Sunday, October 8 ^th   (9am- 5pm)

Location: Mill Neck Manor

40 Frost Mill Rd, Mill Neck, NY

Cost: Parking fee is $15 per vehicle.

The 56 ^th Annual Apple Festival is located on the historic Gold Coast estate in Mill Neck Manor. This festival is filled with games and activities for children and plenty of mouth-watering goodies including ripe apples, jellies, fudge, and baked goods. There is also a pumpkin patch, handmade crafts and a variety of meats and cheeses. This is a great festival for the entire family; however keep in mind no dogs are allowed on the campus grounds.

  Long Island Fair

Dates: September 16, 17, 23, 24 (10 am-6pm)

Location: Old Bethpage Village Restoration

1303 Round Swamp Rd.

Old Bethpage, NY

Cost: $15 adults, $12 children ages 5-12, and children under 4 are free

Don’t miss the Long Island Fair at Old Bethpage Village Restoration; it is packed with fun family-friendly activities including carousel, petting zoo and potato sack races. This festival also has great entertainment including an acrobatic dual trampoline show, a juggling and aerialist performance and high dive show. Step back in time and enjoy an old-time baseball game and a demonstration by Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. Plan a beautiful fall day with the family to visit this historical landmark.

Oktoberfest at Eisenhower Park

Dates: Saturday, October 7-Monday, October 9 ^th

Location: Eisenhower Park

1899 Park Boulevard

Westbury, NY

Cost: Free

Celebrate Oktoberfest and German culture on Long Island at Eisenhower Park. Enjoy German fare (including Bavarian pretzels, bratwurst, and schnitzel), dance to the live polka music, take a tractor ride and get lost in the pumpkin maze. This is a fun free festival and a great way to celebrate Oktoberfest with the entire family.

5th Annual rUNDEAD 5k Zombie Run & Fall Family Festival

Date: Saturday, November 4 ^th 8:30am-4pm

Location: Massapequa PAL Field

510 Parkside Blvd Massapequa, 11758

Cost:  $30

The rUNDEAD is a 5k trail run benefitting the Special Olympics on Long Island. Each runner starts off with a flag belt and three flags (each flag represents a life-line). Zombies will try to take your flags one a time and each time a zombie grabs one of your flags you lose a life. The runner must finish the race with at least one flag in order to survive the zombies and be eligible for an award. This is a great event to raise money for a good cause, get some exercise and practice escaping from zombies.

Great Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular Sail 2017

Date & Time: Saturday October 28 ^th 3pm-6pm

Location: Belmont Lake State Park

Southern State Parkway Exit 38 North Babylon, NY

Cost: Free Event

This Halloween themed event that is perfect for the whole family. There are balloon animals, a children’s spooky den, trick or treating, crafts and much more. However, the best part of the event is at dusk when 50 carved pumpkins are put on floatation devices, lit with candles and sailed on the back of kayaks around Belmont Lake. If you are one of the first 50 people to bring a carved pumpkin, yours might get picked to be sailed! Be sure to bring you camera this is definitely an event that you and your family will want to capture.

Spooky Fest

Date & Time : Saturday, October 14, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 (6:30pm.-9:30pm)

Location: Tanglewood Preserve

1450 Tanglewood Rd.

Rockville Centre, NY

Cost: $10 per person or $15 when including the scary “Haunted Woods” and “Maze of Zombies” attractions

Many activities for young kids around Halloween time can be too scary for them to enjoy. However, Spooky Fest features “Not-So-Spooky Walk”, Halloween Theater, arts and crafts, live animal exhibit, a “Mystic Den,” face painting and “Friendly Merry Monsters.” These “non spooky” activities are great way for the little ones to get in the Halloween spirit.

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