It's Autumn! Celebrate With Local Festivals!

Fall is here, and now is the time to enjoy crisp mountain air and color-rich landscapes. Take time to get outdoors and make the most of these golden days, with fall festivals ready to entertain the whole family. Have fun and support local vendors, businesses, and musicians across the Treasure State.

Celebrate autumn at the Townsend Fall Festival from Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4. Presented by the Rotary Club of Townsend, admission is free. The festival starts off Friday night with live music, food, and drink and continues all day Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy three fun-filled days of local, Montana-based, and regional live music performances, delicious food and drink, a beer and beverage garden, and more than 100 unique craft and food vendors offering everything from handcrafted goods and unique products to local tasty treats and beverages. The Rotary Club’s booth will serve local brats and other tasty treats and beverages.

Get ready for activities for all ages. In Heritage Park’s playground, there’s space for kids to run, climb, and play on the park’s swings and slides, climbing toys, and sandbox. There’s more kid-friendly fun: bounce houses, rides, face painting, games, and surprise-filled activities.

On Sunday morning, the Volunteer Fire Department hosts a pancake breakfast in Heritage Park. Don’t forget to stay for Sunday’s Car Show with more than 300 classic and custom cars lining the streets, showcasing their creativity and chrome, and take in the town-wide fall decoration contest that will transform Main Street into a festive and artistic fall showcase.

Thanks to generous sponsors, admission is free, and all proceeds support Rotary’s local service projects throughout the year. Townsend Fall Festival: Friday, October 2, 4 PM to Sunday, October 4, 5 PM, Heritage Park, 200 Pine St; https://bit.ly/4xJC8nh

Two great events will be held on Sunday, October 18. The Deer Lodge Fall Fest (10 AM-4 PM at Indian Creek Campground) has something for everyone: a 5K fun run, activities for kids and the family, a variety of local crafts and merchandise vendors and artisans, and food trucks and live music and entertainment, organized by Mountain Bluebird Presents with singer Caleb Parke. 745 Maverick Ln, visitdeerlodgemt.com/fall-festival.

Pumpkin Sunday at Grant-Kohrs Ranch (1-4 PM), hosted by the National Park Service, is one of the most popular annual family events at Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, a free fall celebration with hands-on activities for all ages, ranch traditions, and fall fun. The highlight is the pumpkin patch, where kids 14 and under, accompanied by a parent, can pick out one Halloween pumpkin per child. Any pumpkins left after 3 PM will be available to all ages.

The pumpkin patch will be in the long open pasture to the left of the parking lot, next to the large red barn. All other activities will be scattered throughout the whole ranch. Throughout the afternoon, there will be many family fun activities, including fall kids’ crafts, tractor-drawn wagon rides around the ranch, apple cider pressing, soap making, a marshmallow-roasting campfire, and a kids' hay maze. Everything is free of charge. 266 Warren Ln, Deer Lodge, 406 846-2070 x250, https://bit.ly/4h9QOHa.

Rounding out the month of October and held every year on the Friday before rifle season opens is Ennis’ Annual Hunters Feed. Save Friday, October 23, from 3–5 PM, for the 40th Annual True Taste of Montana. Taking over Main Street and sponsored by the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, this local tradition has brought together friends, families, and visitors for more than 30 years for an afternoon of delicious food, lively music, and community spirit.

The event welcomes families, friends, hunters, and food enthusiasts to walk the street-fair layout to taste creative dishes such as elk poppers, moose meatloaf, and venison tacos, with all ages casting their ballots. Chefs, from seasoned pros to home cooks, prepare their most creative wild game dishes for everyone to sample and vote upon. Visitors can choose from a wide variety of dishes, from classic chili and hearty stews to more unusual and creative options. Prizes will be awarded for best chili, best non-chili, most unusual, and the best overall entry.

Main Street will feature live music and family-oriented entertainment throughout the afternoon, making it a lively, welcoming festival for all ages, so prepare to enjoy live music, browse the local shops and businesses for a variety of sales and specials, and soak up the festive atmosphere. Kids will enjoy the RE/MAX Mountain Property ice cream truck, which will be dishing out free scoops of Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream and accepting donations, 100% of which will go to Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Also available for purchase will be hunters' long-sleeve tees, elite compound bow raffle tickets, and/or 50/50 raffle tickets to help support this free Chamber event. Time your enjoyment according to the day’s schedule: 3-5 PM: Hunters Feed: wild game cook-off tasting and People’s Choice voting on Main Street; 5:15 PM: Awards ceremony at Willie’s Distillery for Best Chili, Best Non-Chili, Most Unusual, Best Overall, with the most important award being the People’s Choice, where everyone gets to vote for their favorite dish. From 5:30–7:30 PM will be the 11th Annual Critter Call Competition with prizes at Willie’s Distillery, a headline event where children take the stage and mimic their best animal calls and vie for prizes in several categories including barnyard animals, big game, waterfowl/upland birds and predators.

And for music fans, from 7:30 PM to Late, the Live Music Block takes over Main Street, with local bands playing inside and on the patio/beer garden stages of local establishments such as the Gravel Bar and the Longbranch. ennischamber.com/hunters-feed.