My sister and I are a couple of Halloween Queens and are trying to start an annual trek to Halloween/Pumpkin festivals for the 2 of us.

Last year we went to Keene, NH and had a ball! I've done searches on the web and either they are too small to be posted or I'm too early. If you know of any festivals pls let me know. Since we're new to this, we're not sure what's out there to like/dislike. We enjoyed all the jack o'lanterns; the food focused on pumpkins; the games avilable to play; watching kids in the parade; etc.

(I know of Portland, ME - they were in some sort of contest last year for the number of carved jack-o-lanterns which Keene won with 28,000+.)

I'm in Dallas and she's in Chgo so we assume we'll have to travel. We're in our..well, let's just say we can can wear purple shirts and red hats if we had to. We don't mind how large or small the town is as long as it has an airport in the vicinity.

Thanks in advance.

A really exciting Halloween event is the pumpkin display at Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI. Hundreds of gorgeous, lit-up jack-o-lanterns arrayed throughout the park.

How strange: yesterday at the SF Zoo there was a whole crew of women wearing purple shirts and red hats. What is the significance?

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin and Art Festival is pretty fun. It's about an hour south of San Francisco. Tons of pumpkin-based foods, live music, a haunted house, etc. in a beautiful agrarian beach community.

http://www.miramarevents.com/pumpkinfest/

Cher, were the women all over 50? You probably ran into a gathering of the Red Hat Society, an organization of women who apparently are in such deep denial about aging that they have formed a support group in order to appreciate themselves via planned silliness.

My friends and I went last year to Salem, MA a week before Halloween. It was absolutely gorgeous and so much to do. The whole town is decked out in Halloween decor during October. Lots of cute shops, tons of stuff related to the Salem Witch Trials (museums, house tours, etc). We took a trolley tour around the town & this is a must do. Visited the House of Seven Gables, which was interesting. I love Salem's harbour. I would go here again in a heartbeat. Only thing is, if you're wanting to go in October you will want to call now to get a room. We ended up having to stay in Danvers, which was a 10-15 minute drive to Salem. Very convenient.

The events which led to the Witch Trials actually occurred in what is now the town of Danvers, then known as Salem Village.

The hanged witches were buried in on Gallows Hill Salem Town, but Rebecca Nurse's famly retrieved her body and buried it back home in a neighborhood that became part of Danvers. So you were having a more-authentic experience without even realizing it!

You can visit the Rebecca Nurse Homestead on Pine Street in Danvers; it's owned by a nonprofit historic reenactment group, so it's a historic property, not a hyped tourist gimick like most of the stuff in Salem.

Wow - this is great! thanks for all the ideas. They will all be added to the list especially if this becomes an annual event.

Chillicothe, Ohio Pumpkin Festival

Thanks for all the ideas.

The Ohio one she could drive to!

Pumpkintown, SC Pumpkin Festival.

There is a "fallfest" each year outside of Cincinnati at Coney Island. Last year they got in the Guiness Book WW for most scarecrows in one place - some are more "professional" looking than others but it's fun (they are scattered throughout the festival all over the place). Really neat. Good for kids too - last year there was a spot for them to make their own apple pies then pick them up after they baked. Yummy fall food treats. Paddle boats, rides, and trick or treating for kids in the afternoon.

If you come to the Cincinnati area for this, don't miss a day at Iron's Fruit Farm north of the city in Lebanon. Homemade donuts and apple fritters, hay rides to the pumpkin patch, farm animals to pet, and lot of apples from their orchard (you can pick them yourself if there are still some in season).

Great post - I love fall and I'm getting excited just thinking about it (bought Bengals football tickets this weekend!!!).

Circleville Pumpkin Festival in Circleville, OH

Huge, fun fall festival with all things pumpkin!

http://columbusoh.about.com/gi/dynam...umpkinshow.com

Many thanks. Have started a list and calendar for when they occur.

Come to Delaware Nov, 5-7 for the annual Punkin Chunkin championships. Come watch all kinds of amazing people and gizmos (catapults, air cannons, etc) compete to toss a pumpkin as far as possible.

http://www.punkinchunkin.com/rules.htm

Morton, Illinois (near Peoria) has a pumpkin festival. There is a plant in Morton than processes pumpkin - you see pumpkin trucks on the highways around there (and pumpkins that fell off on the shoulders) all during the fall.

We went a few times when we lives nearby. The festival has a lot of food made with pumpkins for sale - chili, cookies, ice cream, and of course, pie.

Here's the link - www.pumpkincapital.com