Fall weekends in Door County offer plenty of special events and festivals between Labor Day and Halloween. There are show cars and bikes, artsy sails, lighthouses, pumpkins, a parade and flying pingpong balls, along with bluegrass music at a new event for 2025.
These festivals are put on annually by local community and business organizations across the county in September and October to bring fun and entertainment to Door County residents and visitors while highlighting special attractions and interests. That tradition goes back to 1945, when Sister Bay business owners put together their first Fall Festival (which continues to this day).
Here’s your guide to Door County’s 2025 fall festivals.
Baileys Harbor: Autumnfest Car & Motorcycle Show, Sept. 13
Kicking off the fall fest season is this annual classic car and motorcycle show presented by the Baileys Harbor Community Association.
Cars, bikes, trucks and vans of all ages will be on display from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with trophies awarded to the top two cars or cycles in each of 19 classes (up from 13 a year ago) as well as People’s Choice and Best in Show. Classes range from antique cars (pre-1950) to stock and classic cars from 1950 to today, street rods (to 1985) and rat rods, special interest vehicles, imports, Corvettes and Ford Mustangs. Show car/bike/truck/van owners also have the option of taking part in a photo shoot for their vehicles starting at 10 a.m. Cost to enter is $10; registrations are taken in advance (a link is on the “Events” page of the Baileys Harbor website) or until noon at the show.
An arts and crafts show and food and beverage vendors will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and popular local country band Modern Day Drifters provides live music on stage from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A raffle drawing also will be held at 3 p.m.
Most Autumnfest events take place at or near Kendall Park and Town Hall, at State 57 and County F. For more information, call 920-839-2366 or visit baileysharbor.com/events.
Sturgeon Bay: Harvest Fest, Classic Car Show and ‘Set Sail in Sturgeon Bay’ Street Art Auction, Sept. 20
It’s the 25th year for Destination Sturgeon Bay’s annual fall festival and auction of the sculptural works that make up the citywide summer street art project, this year featuring artist interpretations of boat sails in recognition of the city’s and county’s maritime history.
The “Set Sail in Sturgeon Bay” art project features 26 artificial sails that were painted, decorated, enhanced and reimagined on both sides by local artists, then exhibited on city streets on the east and west sides of downtown throughout the summer. Past street art subjects have featured sturgeon, lighthouses, “Chair-ies” (Adirondack-style deck chairs), cherries and bass.
To cap Harvest Fest, the sails are available through an online auction, with bidding closing at 5:30 p.m. The auction is being conducted via the Handbid app, which provides notifications on bids; a link is available, and people can view photos of the sails, on the Harvest Fest page at the Destination Sturgeon Bay website.
The artistic sails will be on view at Martin Park at 2 p.m. with interviews of the artists who created them conducted from the bandstand. Those who can’t be at the park can watch the artist interviews on Destination Sturgeon Bay’s Facebook page.
Another highlight of the day is the 19th annual Harvest Festival Car Show held by the Old Bolts Car Club. More than 100 antique, classic and customized cars traditionally have been on display up and down South Third Avenue for the show, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A presentation of the American colors and a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” takes place at 10 a.m. with awards presented at 3 p.m. Show car registration will be done on site from 8 a.m. to noon; entry fee is $15. For more information, go to oldboltscarclub.org.
The car club also is holding a “Cruise By the Bay” parade the night before to kick off the weekend’s festivities. At 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, show cars will depart from George Pinney County Park on Bay Shore Drive and head south into downtown on North Third Avenue before stopping at Martin Park.
Another special event that’s become a Harvest Fest tradition is the “Tapping of the Oktoberfest Firkin.” A firkin of a special craft beer from Starboard Brewing will be tapped by Mayor David Ward in front of the North Third Avenue brewpub at noon, followed at 1 p.m. by a contest to hold a full stein of beer at arm’s length (much harder than it sounds) and a root beer holding contest for the kids at 2 p.m.
Harvest Fest also features a craft show, food booths, children’s activities and live music and entertainment all along Third Avenue. Popular classic rock band Glas Hamr is on stage at Martin Park from 3:45 to 7 p.m.
One of the noteworthy, and tasty, booths at this year’s Harvest Fest will be manned by members of the Door County Historical Society, which usually holds its annual Apple Fest around this time of September but instead will be at the downtown festival offering samples of different apple varieties and apple pie in a cup. Those further interested in apples can watch apple coring and cider apple pressing demonstrations at the historical society’s Heritage Village in Sturgeon Bay during its regular Saturday open day, which also includes blacksmith demonstrations and tours of its Madden Tool Museum, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Harvest Fest starts at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. All events are free to attend; Third Avenue will be closed to traffic from Jefferson Street to Pennsylvania Street. For more information, go to Destination Sturgeon Bay, 36 S. Third Ave.; call 920-743-6246; or visit sturgeonbay.net or facebook.com/sturgeonbay.
Door County: Lighthouse Passport Days, Oct. 3-5
The fourth and final of the Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society’s annual weekend lighthouse festivals is expected to draw thousands of lighthouse buffs from around the world to visit and tour the Peninsula’s 11 lights as well as two to the south.
The festival offers airplane, boat, van, adventure and self-guided tours to the lights, most of which are not usually open to the public. Knowledgeable docents and volunteers provide visitors with stories of the lights and their past lightkeepers. Besides Door County’s 11 lights, the festival offers opportunities to visit the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse in Kewaunee County and Grassy Island Range Lights in Green Bay.
Tours are available for all levels of activity and accessibility. Some involve hiking, while others have guests ride in a small airplane. Boat tours depart from a variety of locations around the Peninsula.
All proceeds from tour ticket sales support the Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society and other participating lighthouse organizations. Reservations are recommended. Not all tours take place every day of the festival, and the Kewaunee light is open only on the Saturday of the event, Oct. 4. For tickets or more information, including schedules, call the museum at 920-743-5958 or visit dcmm.org or doorcountytickets.com.
Sister Bay: Campgrass, Oct. 4
A new bluegrass music festival is taking place at the new CAMP Door County campground and RV resort outside Sister Bay.
The festival starts at 11:30 a.m. and features music by Heartland Howlers, Dig Deep, Rodeo Borealis and Chicago Farmer. The event also offers a tie-dye workshop, pumpkin carving and a presentation by local raptor rescue organization Open Door Bird Sanctuary. Vendors will be on hand along with Papa B’s food truck.
CAMP Door County is at 10663 County ZZ, Sister Bay. Admission to Campgrass is free to those camping on site and $20 to the public, according to the campground’s Facebook page. For camping reservations or more information, call 920-673-3116 or visit camp-door.com or the “Camp Door RV Resort & Campground” Facebook page.
Egg Harbor: Pumpkin Patch, Oct. 11-12
The entire village turns into a pumpkin patch for a weekend as the Egg Harbor Business Association presents its family-friendly fall festival, with creative, seasonal pumpkin and scarecrow displays outside local businesses.
Of course, there’s more to the festival than just pumpkins and scarecrows. There are games, face painting and other entertainment and activities for children, live music throughout both days of the event, a juried arts and crafts fair and book sale, and of course plenty of food and beverages at various stands. Shuttles are expected to be available for those who don’t want to try to find a parking spot in the village during Saturday’s festivities.
For a schedule or more information on Pumpkin Patch, call 920-868-3717 or visit eggharbordoorcounty.org.
Sister Bay: 79th annual Fall Fest, Oct. 17-19
They call it the “Granddaddy” of Door County community festivals because it was the first and remains the largest, with the sponsoring Sister Bay Advancement Association saying an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 visitors annually attend for three days of fun.
But Fall Fest also offers three major events that sets it apart from the pack.
There’s the Fall Fest parade, which organizers claim is the largest in Door County, taking place on State 42 through downtown at 11 a.m. the Saturday of the festival, Oct. 18. Marching bands from local schools and numerous floats and vehicles traditionally take part. In a change from past years, preregistration is required to take part in the parade; the deadline is Oct. 3.
The Sunday morning of the festival, Oct. 19, brings the Derby Race, which was part of Fall Fest for years, disappeared and was resurrected in 2021 for the festival’s 75th anniversary. The derby has youths ages 7 to 13 race down Sister Bay’s long downtown hill in gravity-powered Soap Box Derby-style racers they built.
Perhaps the most noteworthy event is the immensely popular pingpong ball drop that helps bring Fall Fest to a close the afternoon of Oct. 19. Several thousand pingpong balls will be launched into the air from downtown rooftops and dropped on people’s heads, with most of them bearing the name of a local business. Those balls can be taken to the named business and redeemed for a prize.
As with most community festivals, there will be kids games, music, local food and a big arts and crafts fair, with about 100 artisans annually on hand for the Fall Fest fair. Also taking place is the traditional pancake breakfast Saturday morning hosted by the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Department in their station.
Specific schedules are being put together by the Sister Bay Advancement Association as of this writing. For updated schedules or more information on Fall Fest, call 920-854-2812 or visit sisterbay.com.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County fall festivals offer cars, lighthouses, pumpkins, pingpong balls and more
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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