Topsfield Fair - Topsfield
Friday, 9/30 - Monday, 10/10

The Topsfield Fair is the quintessential country fair - traditional agricultural exhibits, big entertainment, rides, games, shopping, and great food.

Special events include New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off (Fri, 9/30); Military Day (10/4); Duck Races; the Bengal Tiger Encounter; Rawhide Rodeo (10/5 & 10/6); Maximum Velocity Professional Stunt Team; and a Fairgrounds Scavenger Hunt (10/7).      

Mister G - Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Saturday, 10/1, 10:30AM

Coolidge Corner Theatre kicks of its fall Kids Show series with a rockin' good time with Mister G, who sings about everything from bugs to the planet to a hat that goes everywhere with him.

Boston Local Food Festival - Fort Point Channel
Saturday, 10/1, 11:00am - 5:00pm

Festival-goers can find farmers, fishermen, producers and chefs selling and showcasing local food - $5 tastings! Music, craft activities and workshops are also planned. Free admission; $5 tastings

In the Dark (Opens 10/1)
A Day in Pompeii (Opens 10/2)
Museum of Science, Boston

Two exhibits open at the Museum of Science this weekend:

In the Dark lets museum-goers explore and solve some of the mysteries of the dark and discover how light-loving species like humans adapt to darkness as they walk through a forest at night, test their survival skills in a fragile cave ecosystem, and plunge deep beneath the waves to explore the deepest ocean chasms. (Included with Museum admission)

A Day in Pompeii offers a glimpse of daily life in Pompeii, one of Imperial Rome's most cosmopolitan cities. (Additional fee; Advance, timed-entry ticket purchase highly recommended)

Boston Harbor Island Regatta
Saturday, 10/1, 10:00am - 2:00pm

Families can take a ferry to Georges Island and watch nearly 100 sailboats as they participate in the annual Boston Harbor Regatta. Race start times are at 10:00AM and 11:00AM. Free to watch; regular ferry fees apply

Witch’s Woods Haunted Hayride and Halloween Screampark
Nashoba Valley Ski Area, Westfor MA 01886
Thursdays-Sundays, beginning 9/30, 6:30pm - 10:30pm

The Haunted Hayride is a tractor-driven cart that takes adventurers through the woods on a trail that’s filled with witches, zombies, ghouls, ghosts, and maybe even something else that has no name. (Ages 6 and up*)

Witch’s Woods also features three haunted houses: Nightmare Mansion is our featured haunted house, with screams around every corner; Castle Morbid is a dark dungeon that will change the way you think about haunted houses; and the 3D Keeper’s Crypt, filled with gremlins and scary furry things lurking in every area. (Ages 12 and up*)

Carnival games, rides, concessions, the Jack O’Lantern Jamboree (a collection of professionally carved pumpkins in a brightly lit display) and Horrorwood Chamber of Chills are accessible without a ticket.

* Ages are recommended by venue; parents know their children best, so please use your judgment!

The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch Sale - MIT, Cambridge
Saturday, 10/1, 10:00am - 3:00pm

Whether you go to look or buy, a quick visit to the Kresge Oval at MIT on Saturday will get you in the Halloween mood - imagine a lawn covered in over a thousand glass pumpkins! Free to look

Oktoberfest and Honk Parade - Davis and Harvard Squares, Cambridge
Sunday, 10/2, 12:00pm - 6:00pm

The afternoon begins with the HONK! Parade, which departs Davis Square at 12n and arrives in Harvard Square for Oktoberfest at 1pm. Grab a spot on Mass Avenue to watch over 30 bands from all over the US - an eclectic group of colorful musicians that are sure to delight all with their funky music and a strut in their step!

Oktoberfest features six stages of live entertainment by some of the most talented local and national performing artists around, including a main stage in the Super Crosswalk, a Club Passim stage, Church Street stage and HONK! Performers throughout the festival area.