Charleston has no shortage of outdoor spaces and places, and cooler weather is the perfect time to explore all the Lowcountry has to offer. Check out our list below of fall festivals, activities and events to savor the season.
Charleston Beer Week
With more than 35 breweries in the greater Charleston area, most with expansive outdoor areas and roll-up doors to enjoy the weather, fall is a great time to check out the locations that make beloved local brew. Charleston Beer Week, held from Oct. through Nov. 6, will offer unique events you wouldn’t normally find on the calendar and special release brews for your sipping pleasure. www.charlestonbeerweek.com
Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch and Fright Nights
Boone Hall is a sprawling working farm in Mt. Pleasant that welcomes guests during the fall season for two major seasonal events. The Pumpkin Patch is a fall experience, with family-friendly activities like tractor rides, a corn maze and much more while you pick out the perfect pumpkin. Boone Hall Fright Nights includes a haunted house and hayride with costumed actors who will scare and entertain. The Pumpkin Patch will be open from Sept. 30- Oct. 30 on weekends. Fright Nights will be held on weekends from Sept. 24-Oct. 30 with select Thursday nights. Tickets can be purchased online. www.boonehallplantation.com
North Charleston Harvest Festival
The City of North Charleston’s Harvest Festival features live music, an artist market, costume contests, trick-or-treat on the street, costume contests, a petting zoo, children’s activities and more. The fall festivities take place in the Olde Village of North Charleston, located on East Montague Avenue near Park Circle, on Oct. 22. www.northcharleston.org
Summerville Sweet Tea Festival
The Sweet Tea Festival, held on Sept. 17, is a celebration of the birthplace of sweet tea in Summerville. The historic downtown is transformed into a massive open house/street fair with different food trucks, artisanal vendors and entertainment. There will be plenty of sweet tea and attendees can help select the Tea of the Year by sampling and voting for their favorite. www.summervilledream.org
Bulldog Tours Haunted Walking Tours
Explore all things spooky, spectral, and supernatural in Charleston’s most haunted places with a variety of haunted walking tours by Bulldog Tours. Attendees will walk the jail cells and hallways where Charleston’s worst criminals lived and died. Get exclusive access to explore centuries old cemeteries and graveyards to hear the haunted tales of the authors and poets, artists, politicians, bootleggers and more who still “reside” there. A ghost tour of the USS Yorktown will additionally offer a frightfully good time. www.bulldogtours.com
Fall Home and Garden Tours
Visit some of the most historic homes and gardens in America on these self-paced tours organized by the Preservation Society of Charleston. Peek at stunning porches and piazzas of some of Charleston’s finest private homes and walk inside some of Charleston’s finest buildings, seldom open to the public. Private garden tours are led by notable professionals such as landscape architects, garden designers, and horticulturalists. www.preservationsociety.org
The MOJA Arts Festival
The MOJA Arts Festival is a multi-disciplinary festival produced annually and directed by the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs that includes dance, literary, music, theatre and visual arts at several venues in and around Charleston. www.mojafestival.com
Oktoberfest Celebrations
Modeled after the famous autumn festival held in Munich, Germany, Charleston has many annual Oktoberfest celebrations, including a large event on Oct. 8 at St Matthew’s Lutheran Church downtown, with German foods and music, beer and children’s activities and the Annual Oktoberfest celebration at Bay Street Biergarten on East Bay Street downtown with live music, local beers, games and more. Additionally, on Oct. 1, the Charleston Symphony Polka Band will hold a concert featuring traditional Polka music mixed with modern mashups at the Frothy Beard brewery in Summerville.
Haunted Harbor Ghost and Pirate Tours
Come aboard for a spine-chilling experience as we tour the Charleston harbor to view some of the city’s most haunted sites, hear stories of local ghost lore, and learn about the deep-rooted superstitions of Charleston’s Gullah culture. Learn of lost fortunes, ships ravaged by storms, pirates who still haunt their conquests and a headmistress who guards the grounds where she once lived. Expert guides at Sandlapper Tours will regale you with tales of Blackbeard, Captain Stede Bonnet, Charles Vain, Calico Jack Rachem, and Anne Bonney, the first infamous female pirate. www.sandlappertours.com
Harvest Festival at Johns Island County Park
Come on out to Johns Island County Park on Nov. 5 for foot-stompin’ live music from local bluegrass bands, pumpkin decorating, archery, and more. Feast on Southern delights like Carolina barbeque, kettle korn, and other favorite festival foods. Once you’ve eaten your fill, head on over to the crafters market for some great for holiday shopping. There will be family-friendly activities including games, books and more from the Charleston County Public Library. www.ccprc.com
Shem Creek
Fall is the perfect time of year to stroll along Shem Creek, the jewel of Mt. Pleasant, with idyllic creek views—and more often than not, dolphin sightings—as well as long-range views of Charleston’s larger waterways. Stop by any of the many restaurants and bars along the creek for a bite or a beverage al fresco or relax at the Shem Creek public park and dock on Shrimp Boat Lane. www.experiencemountpleasant.com
Charleston Farmers Market
Held up in the heart of downtown Charleston at Marion Square, the weekly Charleston Farmers Market on Saturday mornings highlights Lowcountry farmers, growers, artisans and crafters along with live performers and community activities. Stop by from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. to peruse a variety of local produce, packaged and prepared food, plants, herbs, cut flowers and enjoy breakfast and lunch vendors in what organizers call “the largest outdoor dining patio in all of Charleston.” www.charlestonfarmersmarket.com