From Harvest To Halloween, Here's Your Guide To Fall Events In Leelanau County

The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are getting colder, and the trees are beginning to change color. Clearly, fall is well underway in Leelanau County. Whether you’re looking for hallmark autumn activities like corn mazes and hayrides or already planning ahead for Halloween weekend, the Leelanau Ticker has your guide to many of the fall-centric events and attractions that will dominate a busy couple of weeks throughout the county.

Leelanau Conservancy’s Fall for Leelanau

This week, the Leelanau Conservancy is offering a series of events to “celebrate the deep connection between local farming and our thriving food economy.” The “Fall for Leelanau” series will “spotlight the innovative practices taking root on protected lands –sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and food sovereignty,” and point participants toward “new trails” and “diverse landscapes” in the county where they can experience fall color.

Events on the Fall for Leelanau docket include a trail stewardship open house at Palmer Woods Forest Reserve tomorrow (Tuesday) from 4-6pm, a fall color driving tour on Wednesday, a “super moon paddle” on Thursday evening on Lake Leelanau, and a docent-guided hike at Kehl Lake Natural Area on Sunday afternoon.

The centerpiece is a Friday evening harvest celebration at DeYoung Farmhouse. That event, scheduled for 5-7pm, will feature music from Breathe Owl Breathe, local food and drinks curated by Kelsea Duda of Fernhaus, and a “Leelanau Food & Farming Panel” moderated by Jacob Wheeler of the Glen Arbor Sun, and showcasing the perspectives of local experts like Tera John, food sovereignty coordinator for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Nikki Rothwell, director of the MSU Extension Horticultural Station and co-owner of Tandem Ciders; and Nic Theisen, farmer at Loma Farm and co-owner of Farm Club.

More information about these events – including sign-up links and fall color tour tips – can be found on the Conservancy website.

Fall festivals

A few of Leelanau’s big fall festivals have already come and gone. This past weekend, for instance, saw the annual Street Fair Harvest Festival in Lake Leelanau. There are still a few similar events on the calendar for the next few weeks, though.

For instance, this Friday marks the annual fall Suttons Bay Artisan and Wine Walk. From 5-8pm, Suttons Bay merchants will “open their doors to showcase the talents of local artists and offer tastings of refreshing local beverage.” The event will also feature live music and a showcase from popular pumpkin carving expert Lord of the Gourd, and attendees will the opportunity to win a $200 Suttons Bay shopping spree.

Two days later, First Lutheran Church in Suttons Bay will host its own fall festival, featuring free food, a bake sale, and games. And Saturday, October 26 is Leland Fall Frenzy, a day-long Leland Chamber of Commerce event where participating shops offer big discounts.

Harvest season at local wineries and farms

Leelanau wineries are currently in the thick of it, as far as fall grape harvest is concerned. While local wine enthusiasts won’t taste the fruits of the 2024 vintage for a little while, there’s still plenty of harvest celebration happening at wineries along the peninsula. Examples include Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail promotions like the annual “Hunt for the Reds of October,” which spotlights locally-made red wines; or “Harvest Days,” which allows ticketholders to preview membership benefits at participating wineries.

Other wine-centric harvest events on the calendar include weekly fall wagon rides at Black Star Farms on October Saturdays (the last two are scheduled for the 19th and the 26th) and a Harvest Wine Celebration dinner at Leelanau Sands Casino on October 19.

As for farms, one of the most popular fall traditions in Leelanau County is the corn maze at Jacob’s Farm, which is open now until the end of October; this year’s maze has a “Big Top Circus” theme. Just across the street from Jacob’s, Gallagher’s Farm Market is slinging fall treats like cider, donuts, and apples,

Halloween celebrations

From candy to costume parties to scary movies, Leelanau has plenty of options available this year as far as Halloween festivities are concerned.

To start, multiple towns up and down the peninsula offer different opportunities for trick-or-treating. The Glen Arbor business district, for instance, offers a daytime trick-or-treating event on October 29 from noon-3pm – “or until the treats run out.” As for actual day-of-Halloween trick-or-treating, options include the annual Suttons Bay Village Trick or Treat, which runs from 4:30-5:30pm at participating downtown businesses; or the Empire Area Community Center’s Trunk or Treat in downtown Empire, scheduled for 5-6:30pm.

Beyond trick-or-treating, there are Halloween events to appease both kids and grown-ups. Family-friendly engagements include a fall harvest gathering at Leland Public Library next Friday, October 25, with pumpkin painting, story time, cider, donuts, and costumes; a Halloween party at Leland’s Old Art Building from 1-3pm on Saturday, October 26 with face-painting, crafts, cider and donuts, and more; or a kids Halloween celebration at the Leelanau Township Library from 3-5:45pm on October 30, featuring arts, crafts, treats, and games.

For the adults, there’s stuff like Well-O-Ween at French Valley Vineyard on Friday, October 25, or the “Spooktacular Costume Party” at Hive Coffee Co. on Friday, November 1. The former, described as “a fun and festive evening of health and wellness celebration while enjoying the Halloween season,” is hosted by the Leelanau Wellness Collective and will include “light bites,” mix-and-mingle time, a costume contest, an opportunity to “fresh press your own apple cider,” and more. The costume party at Hive, meanwhile, is part of the coffee shop’s ongoing “social club” series and is billed as an opportunity to “meet new people and socialize” and to “break out of that social barrier without the use of alcohol.”

Another pick for the grown-up crowd: At 7pm next Saturday at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, catch a screening of the classic 1922 silent vampire flick Nosferatu, complete with original musical accompaniment from the Chicago-based Maxx McGathey and “doom-funk band” Gramps the Vamp.

Photo credit: Raquel Jackson/Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce