The Fall 40: Your Guide to Autumn 2026 in Leelanau County

Yesterday (Tuesday) marked the first official day of fall, which means it’s officially time for vibrant autumn colors, cider and donuts, harvest celebrations, and (soon) the spooky strains of Halloween. Here are 40 ways to celebrate fall in Leelanau County over the next two months.

1. Say It Out Loud Open Mic: Tonight (Wednesday), the Northport Arts Association will host this creative-writing-focused open mic night. The event welcomes any kind of writer to come out and share their work, from poets to fiction writers, and published authors are encouraged to bring their books to sell.

2. Farm Club Field Social: Tomorrow (September 24) marks this Farm Club event, which invites attendees to “toast to September,” enjoy free tastes of new beers and ciders by a bonfire, and build marigold garlands using flowers from the farm.

3. Harvest: The Leelanau Conservancy and the LC Collective will host their annual fall gathering at the DeYoung Natural Area Farmstead at 5pm on Friday, September 25. Described as “a big backyard get-together,” the event will include live music, kids art activities, and the option to preorder food from Farm Club and Lakeview Hills Farm.

4. Leelanau UnCaged: This Saturday, September 26, is the 12th annual Leelanau UnCaged. The popular festival, which “transforms the heart of Northport into dynamic, open-air stages” for music, dance, art vendors, and community, is the unofficial passing-of-the-baton event for Leelanau’s summer-to-fall transition.

5. Fall at Jacob’s Farm: Cider and donuts season kicked off at Jacob’s Farm earlier this month and will run until the farm closes after Halloween. Also open through Halloween is the farm’s corn maze, which has a dual theme celebrating both America’s 250th anniversary and late Grateful Dead member Bob Weir. Jacob’s Farm is also celebrating Oktoberfest from September 19-October 4, with beer steins, pretzels, and brats.

6. Fall Wine Country Wagon Rides: Black Star Farms will offer is fall hayrides on Saturdays all fall long. Each 30-minute wagon ride includes a tour of Black Star’s 160 acres, including cherry orchards, vineyards, fall color, and the winery’s “resident goats.”

7. Flannel and Fire Chili Cook Off: Over the county line at Benzie’s Cherry Bowl Drive-In, this September 26 event encourages local cooks to bring their best pots of chili and compete for bragging rights. The event will also include crowning of a “flannel king and queen,” story time with the Benzonia Public Library, and a double feature of to-be-announced movies.

8. Vineyard Forager’s Hike: This September 27 guided hike, led by “local foraging expert and naturalist,” will lead ticket buyers around North Farm’s vineyard property at 4940 North Houdek Road in Suttons Bay in search of mushrooms, leeks, and ramps.

9. Northport Tea Dance: This annual event, intended to create “awareness and visibility for the LGBTQ members of our community,” will run from 2-6pm at Northport's Willowbrook Mill on Sunday, September 27.

10. VI Grill's Oktoberfest: Suttons Bay’s VI Grill is bringing this German tradition to Leelanau County from September 28 through October 12, with beer specials, Bavarian pretzels, and a menu of traditional German dishes.

11. October Wellness Series: Suttons Bay Bingham District Library is bringing back this slate of free Friday morning events, featuring featuring talks from local health and wellness experts.

12. Wine Weekend: The Bay Theatre is teaming up with local wineries for this series of four films, all of which will be getting their own wine pairings and small plates. The series runs October 1-4.

13. Horror Fest: The Cherry Bowl Drive-In kicks off Halloween month with this two-night celebration of scary movies. The films haven’t been announced yet, but the dates (October 2-3) are set.

14. Sleeping Bear Marathon: Leelanau County’s biggest annual running event, which includes a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 5K, is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, October 3.

15. PoWeR Book Bags Sunset Soiree: This fundraiser for the local reading and literacy nonprofit is scheduled for October 3 at Shady Lane Cellars in Suttons Bay.

16. Leelanau Reads Banned Books Edition: Leelanau’s four public libraries – Leland, Glen Lake, Suttons Bay Bingham, and Leelanau Township – are celebrating Banned Books Week (October 4-10) by inviting the whole county to read J.D. Salinger's controversial coming-of-age classic The Catcher in the Rye together. Each library will host discussion events about the book in October, and Leland's Old Art Building (OAB) will add a “Freedom to Read” event on Wednesday, October 7.

17. FallTime Social and Pig Roast: The Ruby Ellen Farm in Bingham Township will host its annual fundraiser on October 4, featuring a pig roast, a live auction, a petting zoo, cider pressing, and more.

18. Late Night Leland: This annual fall event, where “shops and restaurants stay open late and the village comes alive under the stars,” is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7 from 4-8pm.

19. Growing up Leelanau: Leelanau Investing for Teens (LIFT) is teaming up with the OAB in Leland for this “student narrative portrait exhibit.” Participating students were encouraged to think about “the people, places, and experiences that have shaped who they are and what it means to grow up here” and then capture those things with photography. The results will be displayed at the OAB from 6-8pm on Thursday, October 8.

20. Lake Leelanau Street Fair: Saturday, October 10 is the date for this hallmark autumn-in-Leelanau event, featuring a variety of local arts, crafts, and food vendors.

21. Spooky Saturday: October 10 is also the date for this Leelanau Township Library event, featuring “an assortment of spooky Halloween themed science experiments and some snacks.” Northport Arts Association will offer “spooky art activities” on the same day.

22. Trunk or Treat at the Drive-In: The Cherry Bowl will host one of the first trunk or treat events of the Halloween season on October 10, featuring a “monster mash dance party,” prizes for the best-decorated trunks, Halloween-themed concessions, and a to-be-announced film screening.

23. Vineyard at Sunset 5K: French Valley Vineyard will hold this 5K and fun run from 5-8pm Sunday, October 11, with proceeds going to Leelanau Montessori.

24. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: The Leland Cultural Campus will celebrate the “the history, living cultures, and enduring presence of Indigenous peoples in Leelanau County and beyond” with this full-day event on October 12. The celebration will include drumming, dancing, free admission to the Leelanau Historical Society Museum, and an evening speaker from the tribal community.

25. Fall Artisan & Wine Walk: A tradition of the Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce, this event welcomes the public to stroll through Suttons Bay, explore local businesses, meet local artists, sample wines (and beers or ciders), enjoy live music, and win prizes. The event runs 5-8pm on Friday, October 16.

26. Haunted Lighthouse Tours: Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum in Northport will run its typical series of haunted lighthouse events this fall, with tours on October 16, 17, 23, and 24.

27. Rock the Light Trail Run: Also hosted by the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, this trail 5K is scheduled for Saturday, October 17 and will take runners on a loop of Leelanau State Park trails.

28. Apple Days: This free Farm Club event will have over 20 apple varieties to taste and purchase, as well as hot cider and hard ciders, apple hand pies, fritters, and fresh buckwheat donuts. It runs 11am-4pm on Saturday, October 17.

29. Chef’s Potluck: Also at Farm Club is this October 19 dinner celebrating cookbook author Hetty McKinnon. McKinnon will collaborate with a few local chefs – Jen Blakeslee of The Cooks House, Michael and Patrick Evans of Crocodile Palace, and Tim Kemp of Allium Hill – to create a four-course meal based on her cookbooks. McKinnon then returns to Farm Club the next day for an “in conversation” event.

30. The Made in Michigan film series: The Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay will be presenting a film series called “Made in Michigan” over the next month. The highlight is an October 22 special screening of Grounded, a feature-length documentary made by Interlochen Arts Academy students exploring the topic of regenerative farming.

31. International Affairs Forum + OAB: The OAB is once again partnering with Northwestern Michigan College’s International Affairs Forum (IAF) to bring IAF’s conversations about global affairs to Leland. The OAB is livestreaming multiple events for free this fall, including an October 22 event about Iran, the Middle East, and national security; and a November 12 session titled “Boiling Point: How America Brought War to Ukraine.” This fall, the OAB is teaming up with Peninsula Provisions in Lake Leelanau for $10 soup and bread prior to events.

32. Broomsticks and Bubbles: This Friday, October 23 event is Leland’s answer to Traverse City’s ladies night, only it occurs at Halloween time instead of Christmas. Shoppers are invited to get dressed up in costumes and then “sip, shop, and sparkle your way through town as each shop serves a special potion and offers magical deals.”

33. Leland Fall Frenzy: Saturday, October 24 is this year’s date for this Leland Chamber of Commerce event, with sales at participating stores in downtown Leland.

34. Harvest Wine Celebration: This annual event returns to Leelanau Sands Casino on October 24, with seven seasonal food and wine pairings.

35. Book-or-Treat: The Suttons Bay Bingham District Library is bringing back this twist on trick-or-treating from October 26-31. Kids 0-12 can come to the library during that period to “pick out a special treat…a new, free book to keep.”

36. An Evening with the Leelanau Conservancy: Farm Club will host this benefit for the Leelanau Conservancy, with all proceeds going toward the nonprofit. Tickets to the October 29 event include bottomless soup, one draft beverage, and “conversation about the farmland protection work being done in Leelanau.

37. Suttons Bay’s Village Trick or Treat: The Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce will host its annual village trick or treat on Halloween from 4:30-5:30pm, with participating businesses handing out candy and other treats. A trunk or treat event will follow at the Suttons Bay Fire Station.

38. Empire Trunk or Treat: The Empire Area Community Center and Empire United Methodist Church will host this 5-6:30pm October 31 celebration, featuring free hot dogs and pork sliders.

39. Other Halloween events: Details haven’t been announced yet for a few Halloween traditions in the county, including at the county government center and up in Northport, as well as Halloween parties at local restaurants, bars, and wineries. Keep an eye out for more information about Halloween festivities at October approaches.

40. Pack the Pantry: On Saturday, November 21, the Suttons Bay Chamber will sponsor this one-day event, which offers “special storewide discounts and sales at participating businesses.” In exchange, shoppers are encouraged to bring and donate non-perishable food and personal hygiene items, to help pack the pantry at Leelanau Christian Neighbors.