The festival calendar
Caterpillar races, chicken skillets & the moonbow
Kentucky's small-town festival circuit, plus every moonbow window at Cumberland Falls. ✓ = dates verified August 2026. typ. = the festival's usual weekend — confirm before driving. ≈ = astronomical window; confirm exact nights on the park's moonbow page (or let KYMoonbow.com obsess for you).
September 2026
- Sat, Sep 5 ✓Rabbit Hash Old Timers DayFrog jumps, rolling-pin flings, banjo democracy, dog-mayor audiences.
- Sep 5–6 ✓Daniel Boone Pioneer Festival, Winchester130+ booths downtown; pair with an Ale-8 pilgrimage — the bottler turns 100 in 2026.
- Sep 5 ✓Harvest Moon Jubilee, GeorgetownSmall-town fall opener.
- Sep 11–13 ✓Festival of the Horse, Georgetown45th annual downtown horse-town party, parade included.
- Sep 18–20 ✓Spoonbread Festival, BereaHot-air balloons, a car show, and the buttery reason for the season.
- Sep 19–20 ✓MOTHMAN FESTIVAL, Point Pleasant WVFree admission, hayrides, bunker tours, cosplay moths of every wingspan. The stretch-run of the year.
- mid-Sep typ.Cow Days, Greensburg · Black Gold Festival, Hazard · Honey Festival, JacksonThird-weekend main-street classics — confirm before driving.
- Sep 24–26 ✓Casey County Apple Festival, LibertyHome of the world-record giant apple pie; Amish-country pairing obvious.
- Sep 24–27 ✓World Chicken Festival, LondonThe 700-lb skillet frying for 50 nonprofits; Colonel look-alikes at large.
- Sep 25–27 ✓Marion Co. Country Ham Days, LebanonPigasus Parade, balloon glow, a literal ton of ham at breakfast.
- Sat, Sep 26 ✓Somernites Cruise, SomersetFourth-Saturday classic-car takeover, noon–6.
- late Sep typ.Anderson Co. Burgoo Festival · West Liberty Sorghum FestivalStew and syrup weekends.
- Sep 23–27 ≈Moonbow window, Cumberland FallsFull-moon nights, give or take two — confirm exact dates on the park's moonbow page.
October 2026
- Oct 2–4 ✓Kentucky Wool Festival, FalmouthSheep shearing, lye soap, cash-only gates. The fall-est festival there is.
- Oct 3–4 ✓Lincoln Days, HodgenvilleRail-splitting contests and dueling Abe look-alikes at the birthplace.
- early Oct typ.Perryville commemoration · Great Outhouse Blowout at Penn's StoreCannon and candlelight the weekend nearest Oct 8; the outhouse races answer to no one.
- Oct 8–11 ✓BLINK, Cincinnati & Covington30+ blocks of projection-mapped light art. A million people, zero admission.
- 2nd weekend typ.Forkland Heritage Festival · Sauerkraut Festival (Waynesville OH) · Canal Days (Metamora IN) · Salt Festival (Big Bone Lick)The great second-weekend pileup.
- Oct 16–18 ✓COURT DAY, Mt. SterlingKentucky's oldest festival, running since 1794 — 500+ vendors and the ancient trade-anything tradition.
- Oct 23–25 ✓Woolly Worm Festival, BeattyvilleCaterpillar races crown the official winter forecaster. Bring a contender.
- Sat, Oct 24 ✓Somernites finale, SomersetThe Covered Bridges of Kentucky cruise edition.
- Oct 23–27 ≈Moonbow windowPeak spooky-season edition.
November – December 2026
- Nov–Jan typ.Lights Under Louisville, Mega CavernDrive through a lit-up mine.
- Nov–Dec ✓Polar Express, Big South Fork Scenic Railway, StearnsThe pajama train to the North Pole — running for Christmas 2026; sells out early.
- 1st weekend Dec typ.Frontier Christmas, Old WashingtonCandlelit log-cabin lanes.
- Nov 21–25 · Dec 20–24 ≈Moonbow windowsThe cold-air clarity specials.
2027 preview (typical dates — confirm everything before driving)
- late Jan typ.Crawlathon, Carter CavesGuided wild-cave squirming for brave families.
- March typ.Frogman Festival, Loveland OHThe cryptid con for the amphibian-curious.
- last full wknd Apr typ.Mountain Mushroom Festival, IrvineMorels plus the Kentucky agate show — rockhound heaven.
- 4th Saturdays, Apr–Oct typ.Somernites Cruise season, SomersetThe car cruise resumes.
- early June typ.Great American Brass Band Festival, DanvilleFree tubas citywide.
- 2nd Sat June typ.Beer Cheese Festival, WinchesterThe birthplace defends its title.
- late June typ.Red River Gorge Bigfoot Festival, Beattyville areaThe believers assemble.
- July 4 wknd typ.Madison Regatta, Madison INUnlimited hydroplanes at 150+ mph on the Ohio.
- Aug 5–8, 2027 typ.127 Yard SaleThe World's Longest Yard Sale runs the first Thu–Sun of August down US 127.
- early Aug typ.Old Reliable Germantown Fair (since 1854) · NIBROC, Corbin · Goettafest, CovingtonThen the wheel turns: Old Timers Day, Mothman, apples, hams, chickens, wool, Court Day, woolly worms — da capo, forever.
This page gets its full scrub every January. Spot a changed date before we do? Send the correction and earn a place in our hearts.