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Fairs & Festivals in the Finger Lakes

Agriculture

Central New York Maple Festival

When:weekend nearest the end of March/beginning of April

Where: various venues around Marathon, NY 13803

Contact: 607-849-3812

Arts and crafts, live entertainment, food, helicopter rides, one-room schoolhouse, children's activities, and more.

Cayuga Nature Center Annual Maple Festival

When: 3rd weekend in March

Where: Cayuga Nature Center, 1420 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca, NY 14850

Contact: 607-273-6260

Breakfast, live entertainment, children's activities, storytelling, sugaring demonstrations, and more.

Stella Maris Strawberry Festival

When: 2nd Saturday in June

Where: Stella Maris, 130 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, NY 13152

Contact: 315-685-6836

Strawberries, live music, artists, children's activities, raffle.

Strawberry Festival

When: Saturday in mid-June

Where: The Three Bears, Main St., Ovid, NY 14521

Contact: 607-869-9512

Enjoy strawberries and the history and architecture of these historical buildings.

Strawberry Festival

When: 3rd Saturday in June

Where: Owego, NY 13827

Strawberries in just about every form as well as arts & craft vendors.

Finger Lakes Wine Festival

When: mid-July

Where:Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, NY 14891

Contact: 866-461-7223

Three-day wine-tasting festival of over 500 wines. Music, food, vendors.

Sweet Corn Festival

When: mid-August

Where: Long Acre Farms, 1342 Eddy Rd., Macedon, NY 14502

Contact: 315-986-9821

Corn maze, petting zoo, farm market, flight park.

Wheat Harvest Festival

When: 1st Saturday in August

Where: King Ferry, NY 13081

Contact: 315-364-8202

Draft horses, parade, wagon rides, museum exhibits, pie- and watermelon-eating contest, cake booth, crafts.

Sauerkraut Festival

When: 1st weekend in August

Where: Festival Grounds, Ontario St., Phelps, NY 14532

Fireworks, food, beer pavilion, local bands, rides.

Avon Rotary Corn Festival

When: Saturday in mid-August

Where: Genesee St., Avon, NY 14414

Contact: 585-226-8195

Corn every which way, arts and crafts, live music.

Empire Farm Days

When: 2nd weekend in August

Where: Rodman Lott & Sons Farms, Seneca Falls, NY 13148

Contact: 877-697-7837

The newest farm equipment, technology, and products with displays by leading manufacturers, scientists, and industry specialists.

Wayland Potato Festival

When: Saturday at the end of August

Where: Wayland, NY 14572

Parade, politicians, food, fireworks.

Potter Park Onion Festival

When: Sunday in late August

Where: Potter Park, Rt. 364, west of Penn Yan in Yates County.

Contact: 585-393-2704

Celebration of the local onion harvest.

Rudin's Olde Tyme Farm Days

When: 4 days, the first week in September

Where: Gaskill Rd., Owego, NY 13728

Contact: 607-687-3339

Central New York's largest heritage farm show. Antique tractor pull, tractor rodeo, sawmill tour and demonstration, cider press demonstration, hay rides, country music and square dancing, vendors and exhibits, auction.

TomatoFest

When: 2nd weekend in September

Where: Emerson Park on Owasco Lake, Auburn, NY

Contact: 315-253-6569

Food (of course), games, live music, arts and crafts, rides, farmer's market.

Golden Harvest Festival

When: weekend after Labor Day

Where: Beaver Lake Nature Center, 8477 E. Mud Lake Rd. Baldwinsville, NY 13027

Contact: 315-638-2519

Puppets, juggling, magic show, storytelling, live music, food, including cider, fresh apple pies, corn on the cob.

Purple Foot Festival

When: Sunday after Labor Day weekend

Where: Casa Larga Vineyards, 2287 Turk Hill Rd., Fairport, NY 14450

Contact: 585-223-4210

Grape stomping, food, games, wine, tours.

Cincinnatus Corn Festival

When: 3rd week of September

Where: Cincinnatus, NY 13040

Contact: 607-863-3900

Parade, food, live music.

Richford Potato Festival

When: 3rd Saturday in September

Where: various locations in Richford, NY 13835

Contact: 607-255-7661

Celebrates the historic significance of potato farming in the community. Storytelling, jugglers, bathtub race, and, of course, food.

Savannah Potato Fest

When: 4th weekend in September

Where: Savannah, NY 13146

Contact: 315-365-3156

Everything potatoes. Potato peeling contest, potato recipe contest, potato parade, potato art.

Grape Festival

When: 4th weekend in September

Where: Naples, NY 14512

Contact: 585-374-2240

Celebrate the region's grape harvest. Grape pie contest, grape-stomping contest, wineries, wagon rides, arts, crafts.

Apple Fest

When: 1st or 2nd Sunday in October

Where: Greig St., Sodus Point, NY 14555

Contact: 315-483-3691

Everything apples--pies, wine, cider, and those little round red things.

Newark Valley Apple Festival

When: 1st full weekend in October

Where: Bement-Billings Farmstead, State Route 38, Newark Valley, NY 13811

Contact: 607-642-9516

Civil War re-enactments, tours of the farmstead, craft vendors, music, heirloom activities, food, and everything apple.

The Great Cortland Pumpkinfest

When: 2 days in early October

Where: various locations around Cortland, NY 13045

Contact: 800-859-2227

Pumpkins, food, children's activities, live music, antique tractors, hay rides, crafts, exhibits.

LaFayette Apple Festival

When: 2nd weekend in October

Where: Tully Farms Rd., LaFayette, NY 13084

Apple cider from on-site cider mill made while you watch. Donuts, dumplins, pies and fritters, as well as lots of other food. Midway rides and attractions. One of the largest arts and crafts shows in the northeast U.S.

Apple Harvest Festival

When: 1st weekend in October

Where: Downtown, Ithaca, NY 14850

Contact: 607-277-8679

Apples, cider, baked goods, Ferris wheel, petting zoo, pony rides, music, crafts.

Brooktondale Apple Festival

When: 3rd Saturday in October

Where: Brooktondale Community Center, 524 Valley Rd. Brooktondale, NY 14817

Contact: 607-539-6537

Anything apples, especially cider and pies. Quilt raffle, silent auction, cake wheel, and craft vendors.

Pumpkin Harvest Festival

When: each weekend in October

Where: Long Acre Farms, 1342 Eddy Rd., Macedon, NY 14502

Contact: 315-986-9821

Corn maze, petting zoo, farm market, flight park.

The International Rutabaga Curl

When: Last Saturday before Christmas (December 25) at "high noon"

Where: Ithaca Farmers' Market, Steamboat Landing, Ithaca, NY 14850

Contact: 607-387-3424

A tongue-in-cheek game (with rules) played on the last day of the farmers' market season. There is a Turnip Toss for small children. And a good time is had by all. (Spectators should dress warmly as the building is unheated.) 

Updated 17 January 2012