Fall and Halloween Happenings
Whether you’re looking for a hayride, a haunted house, or tricked-out bar, Nashville is ready to welcome (and possibly scare) you.
- Fall Festivals
- Family-Friendly Activities
- Spooky Activities
- Tricked-Out Bars
Fall Festivals
(September 13-October 31. Stroll the grounds adorned with 75,000 pumpkins, visit the three pumpkin houses, trek the mildly spooky Scarecrow Trail, and take in one of their many special music events.
(September 26-November 1) West Nashville. Attractions include tractor rides, a corn maze, a sunflower patch, pumpkin patch, food trucks, and live music. On select days, you can go aloft in a hot-air balloon or helicopter. Check the website for when it’s open.
(October 2-5) The Germantown neighborhood street will be filled with live music, merchants, and beer stands.
(October 4) Come hungry because there’s a world of food options in this celebration of the various cultures who make up Nashville. Music, dance, crafts, kids’ activities, and much more. One of my favorite free events.
(October 10-12) Artisans from as far away as Minnesota make the trek to Nashville for this annual fall showcase. In addition to their tents, there are multiple food trucks, a hands-on art area for kids, and live music. FREE.
(October 18-19) Explore the literary side of Nashville with vendors galore, book signings, and author forums. Happens at Bicentennial Mall State Park. FREE.
(October 26) Billed as Nashville’s Biggest Halloween Block Party, count on the folks in East Nashville go all out with festivities including costume contests, wicked good food, and live music.
Family-Friendly Activities
(September 7-November 1) If you have a car, consider a trek north to this kid-centric farm in Springfield. They’re big into fall festival activities including hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and a giant corn maze portraying a country star. Other attractions include pig races, zipline, playground, tire mountain, carousel, bungee jumping. tree house, duck pond, and a challenge course. HF isn’t great about keeping their website current so call before you go.
(September 13-October 31. Stroll the grounds adorned with 75,000 pumpkins, visit the three pumpkin houses, trek the mildly spooky Scarecrow Trail, and take in one of their many special music events.
(September 18-October 31) Love that they describe their Eagleville operation as an ag-venture park. Activities change with the seasons including tulip- and strawberry-picking. Of course there’s a petting zoo but they’re also home to some exotic species. Plenty of ways to wear out your active kids including climbing walls, a playground, and tire swings. And where else are you going to milk a cow?
(September 26-November 1) West Nashville. Attractions include tractor rides, a corn maze, a sunflower patch, pumpkin patch, food trucks, and live music. On select days, you can go aloft in a hot-air balloon or helicopter. Check the website for when it’s open.
(September 27) Free event at Centennial Park, 10am-3pm. Look for artsy, craftsy activities as well as dance, live music, food trucks, and more.
Shuckle’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch
(September 27-November 1) Saturdays/Sundays) Come to Greenbrier for fall family fun. Fiddle Dee Farms offers an 8-acre maze, pumpkin decorating, hayride, and much more.
(September 28-October 28) You wouldn’t think admission to a Franklin farm as being a hot ticket–but this one is. They often sell-out their seasonal activities. Your kids might enjoy exploring the petting zoo, the corn-filled alternative to a ball pit, craft activities, hayrides. Fall is their biggest season with pumpkins galore. Adults might enjoy the historical aspect of this 150-year-old homestead.
(October 17-November 1) One of the biggest annual events at the Nashville Zoo. Activities include trick-or-treat stations, special animal shows, and spookacular scenes. Don your costume and enjoy. New this year: special decoration and entertainment celebrating Día de los Muertos.
Spooky Activities
(September 20-November 1) Conjured in 1986, it touts that it’s Nashville’s longest running scream experience. Venture through elaborate scenes to encounter all sorts of unsettling stuff. It shares the building with Full Moon Theater which specializes in classic horror films and displays some fangorrific movie props.
(September 13-?) Hideous happenings in East Nashville as they build upon their 25+ years of scaring the crap out of people. Plenty of gore in store.
(September 6-TBA) The names of the experience set the stage(s): The Boogieman, Horror High Final Exam, Fairy Tale Hell, and Area-X. And yet there’s more including a Zombie Apocalpyse Training Facility, Clown Alley, and yet more.
Take an otherworldly walk through downtown to learn of devious deeds and gravely dark secrets. Expect a super-natural good time in your hour-long stroll past historic buildings.
Yes, you’ll be traveling in a hearse as you visit bone-chilling places of interest including the darker side of downtown, the Nashville City Cemetery, and other places where mayhem went down. One hour.
This site is sort of a hub for spine-tingling adventure.
Not for me but you might like the pulse-raising vibe of this 100+ year old house where, according to the proprietors, multiple murders took place. Lots of jump scares. Awaiting to hear if it’s returning for 2025.
(October 9-11) They say: “Prepare for an immersive experience that will transport you into four chilling tales… each brought to life with eerie detail. As you delve into these chilling tales, savor four expertly crafted cocktails, each paired to enhance the haunting atmosphere of the story it accompanies.”
Tricked-Out Bars
UPDATED AS INFO BECOMES AVAILABLE.
These places battle with wild (and sometime playful) takes on Halloween. Most offer at least a couple of potent potions from the bartender.
Stranger Brews
(September 25-November 2) East Nashville Beer Works offers a tribute to the Netflix series, a little bit creepy, a little bit nostalgic.
(Now-November TBA) Noelle Hotel’s Hidden Bar always goes all out with its Halloween pop-up. This year’s macabre venture is a toothy candlelit tribute to vampirism.
(Oct. 2-31) “The portal is open.” Drawing on Stranger Things for inspiration, expect Sidebar at Bode/Nashville to glow with references to the series and other tributes to the ’80s including a nostalgic soundtrack.
(October 25-26) Virgin Hotels Nashville offers a frighting mix of spine-tingling decor, bites & cocktails, live music, and much more from Commons Club to 14 floors up at The Pool Club. Reservations suggested.
A Hallows-Faire Storytelling Dinner
(October 30) This one-night-only evening at Harriet’s Rooftop includes a six-course course and beverage pairing as you delight in an interactive ghost story told in six mesmerizing chapters.
(TBA) A dignified approach to Halloween at the Holston, one of Nashville’s fine historic hotels in Downtown Nashville. Pay close attention for ghostly faces appearing in portraits, whispered tales of the hotel’s previous life, and chilling ghost stories….and a menu of gothically inspired drinks.
