Fall Festivals on the South Shore 2026: Street Fairs, Harvest Days, and the Big Ones a Short Drive Away

October is when the South Shore throws its parties outside. The village fairs, the harvest days, and the big Columbus Day weekend festivals all land in the same few weeks. So here is the plan, close to home first.

We split it the way we always do. Close to home is our own stretch, from Babylon to Patchogue, the kind of morning you can walk or bike to. A short drive away is for the day you want the big one, a carnival in a park or a food festival with a hundred vendors. A few of our local regulars have not posted this year's date yet, so every stop links back to the organizer's own page. Read it before you go.

If you only go once

Let the kind of day you want make the call.

For the walkable village afternoon, Babylon Village's Fall Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 17. For the one that feels like the whole season at once, the Town of Islip Apple Festival at the Islip Grange on Saturday, October 24. And if you want a later one, the Patchogue Fall Festival on Main Street, now set for Saturday, November 7.

Close to home

West Islip Country Fair, West Islip

This one has wrapped for 2026.

The 50th annual country fair, moved to its rain date after September's storm, gets its Sunday on the library grounds.

• Dates: Sunday, October 4, 2026
• Hours: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Admission: free
• Good to know: more than 100 craft vendors, live music on the stage, and a children's area with a bounce house, slide, magician, and face painting; find it at the West Islip Public Library.

Annual Fair at Argyle Park, Babylon Village

Cancelled for 2026. After two weather postponements, the Babylon Beautification Society called off the October 11 fair because of the forecast. They plan to be back in 2027.

Fall Festival and Mourning at the Manor, Sagtikos Manor, West Bay Shore

This one has wrapped for 2026.

The historic manor's annual colonial fall festival, with a Victorian twist.

• Dates: Sunday, October 11, 2026
• Hours: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
• Good to know: colonial demonstrations, from historic cooking and broom making to sheep shearing and soldiers' reenactments, plus a petting zoo, children's crafts and games, a puppet show, music, craft vendors, and food; "Mourning at the Manor" adds a house tour on Victorian mourning customs and a funeral procession to the family cemetery; check the manor's page for admission; find it at 677 West Montauk Highway.

Fall Harvest Festival, Babylon Village

The Babylon Village Chamber of Commerce's fall festival, back for 2026 along Deer Park Avenue in the village.

• Dates: Saturday, October 17, 2026
• Hours: 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• Admission: check the organizer's page for admission
• Good to know: Babylon restaurants, cafés, and bakeries serving their specialties, with fall themed cuisine from the establishments; two performance stages with continuous live entertainment all day; rides, games, prizes, and inflatables, plus a new Kids zone; and fall related fun at the Conklin House. This is a separate event from the cancelled Annual Fair at Argyle Park, which had a different organizer.

Town of Islip Apple Festival, Islip

The town's 46th annual apple festival at the Islip Grange.

• Dates: Saturday, October 24, 2026
• Admission: free, all ages
• Good to know: craft vendors, amusement rides, a Family Fun Zone, festival food, fresh apple desserts, pony rides, a petting zoo, and live music, plus a scarecrow contest and a Taste of Apple culinary contest; the town says every vendor space is already sold out.

Brightwaters Farms Fall Harvest, Bay Shore

Not a one-day festival but a whole season of them, on a farm in Bay Shore.

• Dates: every day through Friday, October 30, 2026
• Hours: weekdays 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM; weekends and Columbus Day 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
• Admission: free on weekdays; $29.95 per person on weekends and Columbus Day, under 2 free
• Good to know: pumpkin picking, hayrides, animal viewing, a little farmers playground, and a country store with homemade pies, cider donuts, and mums; find it at 1624 Manatuck Boulevard.

The regulars, 2026 dates still coming

These South Shore festivals all ran last fall and have not posted this year's date yet. We list last year's so you know roughly when to look, and we will update this page when each one confirms.

• Sayville FallFest, Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce: last year Sunday, October 19
• Patchogue Fall Festival, Main Street: moved to November this year; the Greater Patchogue Chamber has now set it for Saturday, November 7, 12 to 4 PM, with live music, craft vendors, food trucks, kids' activities, and the Chili and Chowder competition
• Almost Home Animal Rescue Fall Festival, Patchogue: last year Sunday, October 19

A short drive away

Famous Food Festival, Tanger Outlets, Deer Park

This one has wrapped for 2026.

A four-day food festival over Columbus Day weekend, about 15 minutes from Bay Shore.

• Dates: Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12, 2026
• Hours: Friday 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM; Saturday through Monday 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Tickets: sold online in advance, and the organizer says they are limited
• Good to know: more than 100 food and craft vendors, a live music stage, a beer and wine garden, rock climbing, axe throwing, line dancing, and a kids' section with rides and bouncy castles.

Long Island Fall Festival, Heckscher Park, Huntington

This one has wrapped for 2026.

The Huntington Chamber's Columbus Day weekend festival, which calls itself Long Island's largest, about 30 minutes north.

• Dates: Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12, 2026
• Hours: Friday 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Monday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Good to know: a carnival, music, and food in Heckscher Park; pre-sale carnival wristbands save $10, available up to five hours before each day opens.

Long Beach Fall Festival, Long Beach

This one has wrapped for 2026.

The city's 28th annual fall festival, about 35 minutes west.

• Dates: Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, 2026
• Good to know: a vendor village, a costume parade, and a beer, wine, and food area, per the city's festival page; check it for the schedule and the pay-one-price tickets.

Town of Babylon Fall Festival, Tanner Park, Copiague

The town parks department's yearly fall afternoon by the water, with a free movie after dark.

• Dates: Saturday, October 17, 2026
• Hours: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, then Monsters, Inc. on the lawn at 6:00 PM
• Admission: free for the festival and the movie
• Good to know: a hayride, pumpkin picking and face painting, with SouthBound playing live; bring lawn chairs or a blanket for the movie.

OysterFest Weekend, Oyster Bay

The Town of Oyster Bay's oyster festival, at the waterfront park and along Audrey Avenue, about 40 minutes north.

• Dates: Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 2026
• Hours: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
• Good to know: it spreads across Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park and Beach and Audrey Avenue downtown.

Fall Festival at Station Yards, Ronkonkoma

The Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce's third annual fall block party, steps from the LIRR station.

• Dates: Saturday, October 24, 2026
• Hours: 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
• Good to know: live music, craft and food vendors, pumpkins for the kids, and safe trick-or-treating, so costumes are welcome; the train drops you right at Station Yards.

Before you go

• Mark Columbus Day weekend. Babylon, Sagtikos Manor, Deer Park, Huntington, and Long Beach all land on October 9 to 12, so pick one a day.
• Go early to the village fairs. Babylon opens at 8:00 AM.
• Watch the regulars. Sayville, Patchogue, and the Almost Home rescue fair have not posted their dates yet, and this page updates when they do.
• Check the organizer's page before you drive. Rain dates and hours shift through October, and every stop here links to its own page at the end of this guide.