Weekend Plans - Festivals Galore

Fall is synonymous with festivals.  This weekend especially, almost every neighborhood is hosting one version or another of a fall festival.  You can expect to see the stables: music, food, beer, arts and crafts, family friendly activities and neighborhood specific celebration.  Three different versions of Octoberfest are also happening around town, a Porktoberfest, a Dogtoberfest and even a Barktoberfest.

While my husband is out enduring his own brand of torture via the Bourbon Chase, a 200 miles relay race along Kentucky's Bourbon Trail, I'll be the smarter of us two and enjoy the festivities with the kids!

Highlands & Nearby Areas

Farmington's Harvest Fest
Friday - Sunday, 10/10 - 10/12 | Time not listed
3033 Bardstown Road (By Sullivan University) 

• $20/car on Friday, which includes food trucks, bluegrass music and craft brews. Bring chairs and picnic blankets 
• $10/car on Saturday, re-enactments of famous Civil War battles all day and an interactive camp for kids.  It's all about history today. 
• $5/car on Sunday, it's full fall fest mode.  Antiques and unique market today along with Abraham Lincoln.  You can also do a house tour.  

Butchertown Porktoberfest at Copper & Kings
Friday, 10/10 | 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Copper and Kings Distillery, 1111 E. Washington St
It's a celebration of fall and pork. The event features a cooking competition between local restaurants.  The event is free to enter but you buy tickets to sample the foods. There's also live music, local brews and cocktails.

Belknap Fall Festival
Friday, 10/10 | 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. &  Saturday 10/11| 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Douglass Loop
Food, live music, drinks and 50 artist vendors

Cylouvia in the Highlands
Sunday, 10/12 | 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Douglass Loop to East Broadway (3 miles)
Bring out your bikes, stroller, skates, pets and love ones for a stroll or ride right in the middle of hip and happening Bardstown Road.  The streets are close this day and you get the control of the road.  Great time to check out local eats, shops and make new friends. Stop by Comfy Cow on Eastern Parkway for some ice cream, grab an iceberg from 2 different Hiene Bros, and maybe check out some new restaurants, like El Camino, Joy Luck or El Luchador Tacos.

Kosair Charities Fall Fest 2014
Sunday, 10/12 | 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
982 Eastern Parkway
Not really in the Highlands, but close enough!  Come celebrate their 90th anniversary with music from every decade and the usually festival fares. The charity is all about kids so expect a lot of kids friendly activities.

The World's Largest Halloween Party at the Louisville Zoo
October 3-5, 9-12, 16-19, 23-26 & 30, 2014 | Starts at 5 p.m., last entry at 8:30 p.m.
$5 for members, $7.50 for non-members (available at Meijer stores only)
A fun Halloween party for the kids to dress up, trick-or-treat (11 and under), see pumpkin lanterns, take photos with fair tale characters and super heros.

South and Southwest

Jackolantern Spectacular
Thursday 10/9 - 11/2 | door opens at 6 p.m., show: 7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Iroquois Amphitheater
$9 - $12
You'll be amazed at the 5,000 artistically carved pumpkins lighting up a darken 1/4 mil trail around Iroquois Park.  Beautiful work of art, you'll ooh and ahh all the way.

Southwest Community Festival at Sun Valley Park
Saturday, 10/11 | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
6505 Bethany Lane
$2/car
Tucked in the far corner of Dixie Highway is one of the largest community events in Louisville.  Expect live music, 100+ booths and vendors, a car and motorcycle show, free games and inflatables for kids and age specific tents.

West Louisville

Portland Art and Heritage Fair
Saturday, 10/12 | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Various locations but navigate to 2215 Portland Ave.
A festival I'm personally interested in because it's a celebration of a historic city (it's older than Louisville) that many often neglect and afraid to venture to.  A lot of efforts are going into revitalizing the area and I'm excited to see how it'll transform Portland. Come see the Art Show at Historic Marine Hospital (the only surviving one in the entire nation), do crafts with Good Garbage, tour the Portland Locks, view the photography at Nelligan Hall, visit the Portland Museum and check out craft vendors at the new Tim Faulkner Gallery.

East Louisville

Tom Sawyer State Park Fall Fest
Saturday, 10/11 | 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, 3000 Freys Hill Road
$5/parking
The event includes hayrides, bonfire and s'mores, music, a children's play area, pumpkin painting, arts and crafts, etc.

Fall Festival at Foxhollow Farm
Saturday, 10/11 | 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Foxhollow Farm, Crestwood, Ky
$5/parking
A fall festival at an actual farm, featuring live music, hayrides, pumpkins, carnival games, obstacle course, and farm fresh food.  The farm is really neat too so a great opportunity to check it out.

Out of Town

Harvest Homecoming Festival
10/4 - 10/12/2014 | 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. (time varies)
New Albany, Indiana; between State, Third, Main and Spring Street 
I've been hearing about this festival for a while and can't wait to check it out this week.  It's a huge festival and just across the river.  A celebration of Southern Indiana, this includes a week's worth of activities and events.  You can get a complete list from their website.  This week, 10/9/2014 is when the vendors, foods, and crafts booths will be out in full festival style.  Close to the river front, you can enjoy a car show, live music and a party tent.

LaGrange Railroad & Bluegrass Festival
Friday 10/10, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m & Saturday 10/11, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Courthouse Square, Langrange, Ky
The highlight of this festival are railroads related activities and lots of bluegrass bands.  Fun things to expect: a farmer's market, kiddie train rides, a cowboy gun fight, bluegrass workshops and of course food and vendors.

Bardstown's Arts, Crafts & Antique Fair
Sat 10/11: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. & Sunday 10/12: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Bardstown, KY
Southern food, music, entertainment and over 200 art and craft vendors in beautiful Bardstown, KY that's less than an hour away.