September 20, 2021
17 Outstanding October Events
School has started. Leaves are changing colors. Halloween is coming at the end of the month, there is a frightening amount of fun to be had throughout the Ann Arbor area.
Dexter Cider Mill
August – November
The Dexter Cider Mill is the oldest continuously operating Cider Mill in Michigan. Cited by “Hour Detroit” magazine as one of the 101 places to visit in the greater Metropolitan area. Today cider is made the same way it was made 120 years ago by using an oak rack press. The Dexter Cider Mill is open Wednesday – Sunday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. There are no admissions or parking fees.
University of Michigan Football
September – November
Every fall with the return of the school year brings the return of football season. Whether you are a die hard fan or just happen to be in town visiting, the football games make an impression. During the weekends when a game is played at home expect large crowds and allow extra time for your commute throughout the city. To see the full schedule click here.
Talladay Farms Corn Maze
September 29 – October 30
Talladay Farms Corn Maze is one of the largest corn mazes in the Midwest covering 27 acres, and this year features 2 mazes featuring the 7 continents. There is also a kids corner, with barrel train rides, straw mounds, pumpkin bowling, and more. They also have a separate haunted maze that opens Friday, October 6, 2017, and is open Friday and Saturday nights, at dark, in October.
God of Carnage
September 28 – December 16
A playground clash between 11-year old boys throws together two sets of parents for a meeting to resolve the dispute; a civilized get-together that turns swiftly and hilariously into a battle pitting couple against couple, husbands against wives, spouse against spouse. Winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. Directed by Lauren Knox. Contains adult language and content.
Night Terrors
Every Friday through Sunday in October & October 30 & 31
Six different scary attractions bristling with over 115 costumed monsters including the famous haunted hayride, alien clowns, the Asylum, and more. Refreshments available for purchase. Kids age 10 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Apple Daze
October 7
Every year The Dexter Lions Club sponsors Apple Daze in celebration of one of Michigan’s most famous products. Come down to Monument Park and try delicious food, music and more!
Ypsilanti’s Working Women Walking Tour
October 7
Long before “Rosie the Riveter”, many of the largest industrial employers in Ypsilanti were of women. Hundreds of women and many girls worked in Ypsi’s woolen mills, the Scharff Tag and Stay Press factories. In addition working women, black and white, immigrant and native-born, were laundresses, cooks, domestics, clerks and dressmakers.
Join historian Matt Siegfried for a walking tour visiting the sites of factories and work places, strikes and social halls, homes and boarding houses where these women lived and labored around the beginning of the twentieth century.
Smoke and Ale Fall Festival
October 13 – 14
Chelsea, Michigan’s annual Smoke & Ale Fall Festival and BBQ Cook-off Contest will take place Oct. 13, 2017, starting at 11:00 am at the Chelsea Fairgrounds. The BBQ contest is for professionals, semi-professionals, and foodies alike. Live music sets the tone for this casual and upbeat fall event. They are expecting over 2,000 people this year. In 2017, for the first time ever, the Smoke & Ale BBQ Contest is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society as a Master Series contest. BBQ-lovers will rock out to the sounds of several great bands at the festival. There will be performances on Friday night (the earliest start to the festival since its inception) as well throughout the day on Saturday. Expect to hear Mo’ Easy, The Alligators, Root Doctor, Shelter Dogs, and other bands throughout the weekend.
Another returning attraction at this year’s Smoke & Ale Fall Festival is the Cornhole Classic, a tournament version of the classic lawn game. A cash prize is awarded to the top team – but everyone, including spectators, have a great time with the Cornhole Classic.
Rosie World Record
October 14
The Yankee Air Museum invites you to join the movement on October 14, 2017 to reclaim the Guinness World Record for most Rosie the Riveters. Together we will bring the World Record back to the Arsenal of Democracy, and show our support for renovation of Rosie’s WWII-era factory, the Willow Run Bomber Plant. Doors open at 9 am and participants must arrive by 11 am to be counted.
Trick or Treat on the River
October 15
Spend the afternoon enjoying the haunting fall beauty of the Huron River and trick or treating by canoe or kayak. As you paddle up and down Gallup Pond, you will encounter creatures handing out treats and candy. Feel free to join in and dress up. Bring a bag for your candy, and keep an eye out for swamp monsters and pirates.
Milan Third Thursday
October 19
The Milan Third Thursday events take place in downtown Milan on the third Thursday of the month, June-October. This event includes live entertainment, music, food, shopping and fun for the entire family.
Cranes, Colors and Cabernet Festival
October 21
This is a major annual event in the Chelsea area that takes place in October of each year while the Sandhill cranes gather before their migration south. Numbers of these great birds vary from year to year, but the celebration is always on! The Cranes Colors and Cabernet Festival is a joint venture between Sandhill Crane Vineyards, the Jackson Audubon Society, The Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary, Legacy Land Conservancy, and The Big 400. Activities include guided bird watching and walk and wine tasting and release parties, and sometimes guided walks with wine.
Third Century Expo
October 27
The Third Century Expo will be the bicentennial finale, blanketing the heart of Central Campus during the UMich200 Fall Festival. It will be a public fair of cutting-edge projects and initiatives that demonstrate how the University is making a positive impact on society, both locally and globally. The Expo will spread from the Diag north to North University Avenue and Ingalls Mall. There will be exhibits, live performances, pop-up art and music, and displays of new technologies. Lobbies in surrounding buildings may also serve as display or performance spaces.
Pavilions and tents filled with interactive exhibits will be representative of schools, colleges and organizations from the Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses. This event will take place on Homecoming weekend.
Downtown Ypsilanti Halloween Festival
October 27
Join in the festivities at the Downtown Halloween Festival from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm on October 27 at the Library Park Plaza in Ypsilanti. There will be candy, fire trucks, candy, the Library Boo-kmobile, candy, face-painting, candy, a costume contest with prizes, a DJ, clowns making balloon animals, a tow truck, and a hearse.
Halloween Maze
October 28
This free, family-friendly Halloween Maze includes cider and donuts. The event will take place October 23 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at 2200 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI. Donations are being accepted and will go to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA). Help make hay for PHA. Click here to donate.
Halloween Treat Parade
October 31
It’s our 17th annual Treat Parade in downtown Ann Arbor! Area merchants welcome your little costumed characters to the neighborhood with greets and treats. Black and orange balloons will fly from participating businesses. Join the fun from 11 am to 5 pm. Get an early start and head to the Ann Arbor District Library on S. Fifth Ave. for a Halloween Party, first-floor lobby. This year you can attend from 10 am to 11 am. Come in costume for stories, puppets and trick-or-treats.
Halloween – Caramel Apple Event
October 31
Come to downtown Manchester with the kids to get them candy and caramel apples on Halloween at the Manchester Mill Porch. The event runs from 5-7pm. Many of the local businesses downtown hand out candy as well.
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