fall festival pumpkins

Autumn means harvest time in South Dakota

With such a rich agricultural culture, it’s no surprise that harvest celebrations have been happening here for more than 100 years. That’s plenty of time to get things right. These festivities come in many forms—from family-friendly carnivals and Weiner dog parades, to Celtic concerts, Oktoberfests, a pumpkin catapult and so much more! Check out what communities, large and small, are doing to celebrate the arrival of autumn in South Dakota. (Pro tip: Come hungry and thirsty.)

Enjoy authentic seasonal beers and traditional German foods at either the 1880 Train Oktoberfest Express in Hill City or Oktoberfest in the "haunted city" of Deadwood. Catch the Huron Ringneck Festival & Bird Dog Challenge, which draws participants from across the U.S. to Huron for an exciting pheasant hunting competition. Catch the tractor parade in Delmont for the Annual Harvest Festival or shop for festive artwork and holiday decor at the Autumn Festival, An Arts & Crafts Affair in Sioux Falls. And don't be spooked for Yankton's Harvest Halloween in downtown Yankton, where Halloween-themed games, trick-or-treating, live music, dancing and more will be keeping the ghoulish party alive. Meanwhile, pumpkins get launched and giant pumpkins get weighed at the annual Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival in downtown Rapid City. Grab your costumes and pumpkin-flavored beverages, because fall is in full swing and there's something going on all season long throughout the state!

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Delmont Harvest Festival
1. Annual Harvest Festival/Kuchen Festival – Delmont
Homesteader Day Harvest Festival
2. Homesteader Day Celebration – Beaver Creek Nature Area
NESD Celtic Faire
3. NESD Celtic Faire and Games - Aberdeen
black hills octoberfest
4. 1880 Train Oktoberfest Express – Hill City
Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival
5. Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival – Rapid City
Deadwood
6. Oktoberfest – Deadwood
Hobo Marlin Pumpkin Train
7. Prairie Village Hobo Marlin Pumpkin Train – Prairie Village
Newton HIlls State park
8. Festifall & Candlelight Walk – Newton Hills State Park
Halloween Festival Yankton
9. Yankton’s Harvest Halloween – Yankton
Autumn Festival, Sioux Falls
10. Autumn Festival: An Arts & Crafts Affair – Sioux Falls
Huron Ringneck Festival
11. Ringneck Festival & Bird Dog Challenge – Huron
pumpkins
12. Chamberlain/Oacoma Harvest Festival – Chamberlain
Fall Into South Dakota
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