PHILADELPHIA (BIG 98.1, KYW Newsradio) — Autumn adventures are quickly approaching. This is your guide for festivities, attractions and activities in Philadelphia, the suburbs and New Jersey to help you celebrate the best of fall. And for folks eager to scare up a spooky good time, we've included a list of haunted houses in and around Philadelphia.
Philadelphia
Center City District Restaurant Week
Various locations
Sept. 8 – 21; various times
With over 100 participating restaurants, enjoy $40 to $45 three-course dinners ($60 at select restaurants) and $20 two-course lunches at dozens of participating spots with Center City District Restaurant Week this fall.
Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival
Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill
Sept. 15; 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The 39th annual Fall for the Arts Festival returns to Chestnut Hill, transforming Germantown Avenue into an outdoor arts and craft marketplace. The popular family-friendly, pet-friendly event features live demonstrations, children’s activities, live music, culinary delights, and boutique shopping.
Delaware River Festival
Penn's Landing
Sept. 28; 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
This annual event brings people together for a day of family-friendly fun, educational activities, and water-centered learning to the Camden and Philadelphia waterfronts, including ferry rides, museum visits, pedal boats, face painting, a scavenger hunt, crafts and more. Full list of activities
Delco Arts Week
Various locations
Sept. 21 – 29; various times
The Delaware County Arts Consortium brings you a nine-day celebration of the vitality of the county's arts and culture communities, featuring the nation’s first community theater, professional musical performances, ballet companies, distinctive galleries, history museums and thousands of classes for people of all ages. Full list of activities
Fishtown Feastivale
Frankford Avenue, from Girard Avenue to Palmer Street
Sept. 28; 12 - 8 p.m.
This popular neighborhood block party, now in its third year, the Fishtown Feastivale kicks off the first weekend of fall. The free-to-attend, pay-as-you-go food festival and celebration features local burgers, briskets and Bavarian pretzels, cocktails and beer, and more than 50 local art, craft and retail vendors and DJs.
Halloween in Manayunk
Fridays and Saturdays in October; various times
Bring the whole family — pets, too — to Manayunk for a spooky Halloween in Manayunk celebration all month long. Fridays and Saturdays in October, visitors can get around Main Street on the free Trick-or-Trolley.
The Trick-or-Trolley will stop at several spots, including Manayunk's spookiest attraction, Lincoln Mill Haunted House. Manayunk's annual Halloween celebration and trick-or-treating will resume as well.
Night Festival at the Navy Yard
Sept. 12; 4 - 8 p.m.
Head to The Navy Yard for a festive evening of food trucks, live music, local vendors, and more for the second annual Night Festival on September 12 from 4PM-8PM.
Out & About in MNYK
Oct. 5; 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Manayunk is excited to be bringing back Out & About in MNYK to Main Street! In honor of National Coming Out Day in October, Out & About in MNYK will host LGBTQ+ organizations and entertainment to promote the neighborhood as a safe space that welcomes everyone.
Parks on Tap
Various locations
Wednesday - Sunday, through Sept. 29
Don't miss this season's final month of Parks on Tap. Experience brews-and-bites parties across the city's urban parks and green spaces, listed here:
Schuylkill Banks: Sept. 4 - 8
Spring Gardens: Sept. 11 - 15
Clark Park: Sept. 18 - 22
Strawberry Mansion Bridge: Sept. 25 - 29
Philadelphia Fall Arts Fest
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Sept. 21, 11 a.m.
Kick-off the 2024-2025 theater season with the Kimmel Center's one-day extravaganza, the Philadelphia Fall Arts Fest. This free event showcases diverse live performances, exciting activities, ticket deals and giveaways, plus more.
Philadelphia Eagles home opener
Lincoln Financial Field
Sept. 16, 8:15 p.m.
Go birds! The Eagles are back for the 2024 season. Don't miss the home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show
Rittenhouse Square Park
Sept. 15 - 6, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Sept. 17, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The biannual Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show is the oldest outdoor fine arts show in the country. This free outdoor gallery showcases nearly 150 professional artists offering works in paint, sketch, glass, printmaking, sculpture and more.
Savannah Bananas World Tour
Citizens Bank Park
Sept. 21, 7 p.m.
The Savannah Bananas are taking over Citizens Bank Park this fall. Head down to South Philly for nine innings of trick pitches, choreographed dances, and epic entrances.
Spruce Street Harbor Park
301 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
Through Sept. 29
Spruce Street Harbor Park features the same floating hammocks, tasty grub, and music you know and love. Stop by to experience all it has to offer before the season comes to a close.
Uptown Beer Garden
1500 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Through Halloween
While Center City Sips comes to a close, get ready for something a little more spooky at Uptown Beer Garden for the fall! More details coming soon.
New Jersey
Delaware River Festival
Wiggins Park, Camden
Sept. 28, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
This annual event brings people together for a day of family-friendly fun, educational activities, and water-centered learning to the Camden and Philadelphia waterfronts, including ferry rides, museum visits, pedal boats, face painting, a scavenger hunt, crafts and more. Full list of activities
Magic Pumpkin Patch at Harbaugh Village
126 Bridgeton Pike, Mullica Hill, N.J.
Oct. 4 - 27
Experience family fun, magical memories and holiday traditions at Harbaugh Village. From the pumpkin play yard and corn maze at day, to the nighttime-only, illuminated, Magic Pumpkin Patch, take a trip to New Jersey for their endless entertainment and events!
Philly Suburbs
Fallfest and Fallfest UnWINEd
Sept. 13 – Oct. 30; 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Buck County's friendly-family FallFest returns to Shady Brook Farm. The annual event features hay rides, barnyard animals, kids’ games, pedal go-cars, the Barn of Horror, a Peanuts-themed corn maze and lots more! Plus pick-your-own pumpkins, sunflowers and apples.
When the sun goes down, head to FallFest Fun After Dark with The FallFest UnWINEd weekend live music, bonfires, the Moonlit Maze, and the not-so-scary Eerie Illuminations Halloween Light Show Wagon Ride.
Linvilla Orchards Arts & Craft Festival
137 W. Knowlton Rd., Brookhaven, Pa.
Sept. 14 - 15, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Celebrate the harvest season than with the annual Linvilla Orchards Arts & Craft Festival, featuring select local artists and craftspersons selling handmade wood crafts, jewelry, photography, candles and more, plus live musical performances.
Pumpkinland at Linvilla Orchards
137 W. Knowlton Rd., Brookhaven, Pa.
Sept. 7 - Nov. 2
Linvilla Orchards' annual Pumpkinland opens for the season on Sept. 7. Check out harvest hayrides around the farm, haybale mazes, plus more. Things get spooky after dark with moonlight hayrides around the farm or to the nearby Witch’s House, ending at a campfire with cider and marshmallows.
Scarecrows in the Village, Peddler's Village
100 Peddlers Village, Lahaska, Pa.
Sept. 9 - Oct. 27
Peddler's Village presents the 45th free Scarecrows in The Village event! For eight weeks, more than 100 creative and colorful locally handmade scarecrows line the grounds' brick pathways as part of an annual competition, which you can vote for your faves! The display's apex is the annual Scarecrow Festival on Sept. 14 and 15 - with scarecrow-making workshops, pumpkin painting, live music, and kids activities.
Upper Darby International Festival
Sept. 28, 1 -6 p.m.
The seventh annual Upper Darby International Festival celebrates the diverse Delco community, the sixth largest in Pennsylvania. Celebrate the township's signature event and their theme "The World In One Place" with international cuisine food vendors, community resources, a Kids zone, the traditional Parade of Flags, plus more.
Haunted Houses in and around Philadelphia
The Bates Motel
1835 Middletown Road, Glen Mills, Pa.
Sept. 20 - Nov. 3
The Bates Motel in Delco is named one of the 10 Best Haunted House Attractions in America by CNN. Last year, the American Haunts Group named the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride to Legendary Status, one of only five in America! From the Bates Motel Haunted House, the 25-minute Haunted Hayride, Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail, and Double edge Axe Throwing, experience all the thrills they have to offer.
Fright Factory
2200 S. Swanson St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Sept. 27 - Nov. 2; 7:30 - 11 p.m.
Fright Factory is a dark and cavernous basement of a 120-year-old abandoned factory in South Philly. This 25,000-square-foot space is split into three themed areas, an Industrial Nightmare, South Side Sanatorium, and Fright Factor Unholy.
Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary
2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia
Sept. 20 - Nov. 9
On select dates each fall, Eastern State Penitentiary opens its cell blocks after dark for Halloween Nights. Experience 15 different attractions of terror behind the walls including five haunted houses, prison tours, spooky-themed bars, a beer garden, plus more.
Lincoln Mill Haunted House
4100 Main St., Philadelphia
Sept. 27 - Nov. 2; Thursday through Sunday; times vary
Lincoln Mill Haunted House is a fully immersive horror experience featuring live scare-actors, special effects, and more. The ghastly history tells a spine-chilling story of bodies “discovered” in a secret basement chamber after flooding from Hurricane Ida in 2021, uncovering the mill’s dark and gruesome past. Explore the 160-year-old abandoned mill as you avoid the lingering spirits of workers who were subject to torment from their disturbed boss, featuring scare actors, high-quality sets, special effects and animatronics
Pennhurst Asylum Haunt
Bridge Street and Church Street, Spring City, Pa.
Sept. 21 - Nov. 2; Friday through Sunday; 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Pennhurst Asylum is a terrifying haunted attraction in Chester County featuring three chilling venues: Pennhurst Asylum haunted house, The Morgue and The Tunnels. Plus, check out less-scary daytime and paranormal investigation tours.
Sleepy Hollow Haunted Acres
881 Highland Road, Newtown, Pa.
Sept. 28 - Nov. 2; Friday through Sunday; 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Located in Newtown, Bucks County, Sleepy Hollow Haunted Acres features three ghoulish attractions on the 230-acre working Gunser Farm family farm. Experience the 1 1/4-mile Sleepy Hollow Hayride through acres of dark woods and fields. Explore the The House in the Hollow, possibly the most haunted house in Bucks County. And dare to venture into the Field of Fright. Then gather with family and friends by the warm glow of the bonfire and listen to live music.
Nightmare Before Tinsel
116 S. 12th St., Philadelphia
Open daily in season*
Located in Midtown Village, the Nightmare Before Tinsel is a seasonal pop-up bar for ghouls 21 and older at the former Simpsons jewelry store.
*More information on opening dates and times will be available soon.
The Valley of Fear
Phoenix Sport Club, 301 W. Bristol Rd., Feasterville, Pa.
Sept. 21 - Nov. 2; Friday through Sunday; 7 - 10 p.m.
Located at the Phoenix Sport Club in Feasterville-Trevose, The Valley of Fear features three attractions including the disorienting Original Haunted Hayride through “America’s Most Horrifying Woods,” a terrifying hunt for One-Eyed Willie’s lost treasure at Escape Shipwreck Cove, and the dreaded mansion of evil at the risen-from-the-ashes Miles Manor Haunted House.