Up North fall festival offers fall color, haunting, costume contests

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are a staple at any Michigan fall festival.Zachary Clingenpeel | ZClingenpeel@mlive.com

MANISTEE, MI – This festival among the peak fall colors of Northern Michigan offers a variety of harvest- and Halloween-themed fun this weekend.

Manistee Fall Festival is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. Saturday in downtown Manistee – but the fun doesn’t end there. Adult elements of the festival continue into the evening.

The main festival area is downtown on River Street between Maple and Poplar streets. This is where much of the family fun will take place, including yard games, live music, giveaways, a pie toss fundraiser with local celebrities, and a costume contest.

Downtown trick-or-treating is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. at participating businesses.

Things start to get spooky at 4 p.m. with the annual Zombie Run 5K, which begins at Manistee’s First Street Beach. Costumes are encouraged. Sign up here.

From 6-9 p.m., the Manistee Elks will host Boos, Brews and Brats, an annual event that includes beer, brats, live music and a costume contest.

Manistee’s Ghost Ship will be open 7:30-10:30 p.m. on Saturday and will host its final day from 7:30-10 p.m. Sunday. The haunted tour takes 25 to 30 minutes.

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The festivities continue from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Taco ‘Bout It bar and restaurant with karaoke and a costume contest.

Find the full schedule of events here.

RELATED: Spectacular bridges, dams are perfect upgrade to your Up North fall color tour

Those traveling to the area can pair the festival with a fall color tour. Manistee Tourism promotes two fall color routes, and its Bridge & Dam Tour is a perfect upgrade to a leaf-peeping trip.

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