Tennessee gears up for Halloween with ghost tours, festivals and family-friendly spooky events along with harvest festivals full of food, history and fun. For a complete list of events, visit tnvacation.com/calendar.
Oct.
13-15
Memphis – The Pink Palace Crafts Fair features music, food, craft demonstrations, kids’ crafts, rides and more 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Oct. 13-14 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Oct. 15 at The Pink Palace Museum.
Nashville – More than 200 authors from around the U.S. conduct readings, panel discussions and book signings at the Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Wordnoon to 5 p.m. CT Oct. 13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Oct. 14; and noon to 5 p.m. CT Oct. 15 at War Memorial Plaza and Main Public Library in downtown Nashville.
Oct. 13-15, 19-22, 26-29
Knoxville – Boo at the Zoo is slated for 5:30-8 p.m. ET each evening where trick-or-treaters can get lots of goodies along the BOO! Trail and enjoy a variety of entertainment at Zoo Knoxville.
Oct. 13-15, 20-22, 26-29
Nashville – Boo at the Zoo has entertainment, carousel rides, trick-or-treating and more at Nashville Zoo.
Oct. 13-22
Murfreesboro – Science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) will come to life at more than 80 events during the inaugural Tennessee STEAM Festival hosted by attractions and institutions across the state.
Oct. 14
Kenton – The Arts & Music Festival in the Vines has more than 30 arts and crafts vendors, face painting, locally brewed craft beer, wines and more 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT at White Squirrel Winery & Vineyard.
Memphis – Playhouse on the Square presents Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 10 a.m. CT at The Circuit Playhouse. Tickets are $5 for children, $10 for adults.
Oct. 14-15
Chattanooga – Chattanooga Oktoberfest sets the stage with German-themed foods, live oompah music and a bier garten with more than 99 local and seasonal brews all weekend at First Tennessee Pavilion.
Oct. 18
Memphis – Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives perform for audiences 7:30 p.m. CT at the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum.
Oct. 20-22, 27-29
Chattanooga – Boo! in the Zoo takes place 5:30-8:30 p.m. ET and has trick-or-treat stations, pony rides, inflatables, costume contests and much more at Chattanooga Zoo.
Oct. 20-22, 27-31
Memphis – Le Bonheur Zoo Boo 2017 happens 5:30-9:30 p.m. CT where families can enjoy straw mazes, candy stations, hayrides and more at Memphis Zoo.
Oct. 20-28
Clarksville – Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show returns for an unforgettable night out 7 p.m. CT Wednesdays and Thursdays and 8 p.m. CT Fridays and Saturdays at the Roxy Regional Theatre.
Oct. 21
Linden – Come join the fun of a Haunted Hay Ride through the backroads of the park with ghosts and goblins around every turn 6-10 p.m. CT at the Park Pavilion of Mousetail Landing State Park.
Oct. 21-22, 27-31
Statewide – Bass Pro Shops are offering free, family-friendly Halloween fun featuring classic Peanuts characters, free crafts and games for kids, a Halloween costume parade, trick-or-treating and more at Bass Pro Shops statewide.
Oct. 24-29
Memphis – An American in Paris is the new Tony Award-winning musical about an American soldier, a French girl and a city wanting a new beginning after war, playing 7:30 p.m. CTOct. 24-26; 8 p.m. CT Oct. 27; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. CT Oct. 28; and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. CT Oct. 29 at the Orpheum Theatre.
Oct. 25-29
Knoxville – DockDogs World Championships brings some of the best of the best in canine competition with Big Air, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve events at Knoxville Convention Center.
Oct. 26
Elizabethton – Scary Stories at Fort Watauga has tales of woe and terror 7:30 p.m. ET at Sycamore Shoals State Park.
Jonesborough – History Happy Hour features Steven Wallace from the ETSU Geoscience Department and the Gray Fossil Site, who will speak on the natural history of the region 6:30 p.m. ET at the International Storytelling Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Murfreesboro – Great Pumpkin Festival: Night of Ninjago! features hands-on activities, maker projects, costume contests and more 4-7 p.m. CT at Discovery Center.
Nashville – Songwriter Ronny Criss and Friends perform during Music at the Frist 6-8 p.m. CT in the Frist Center Cafe at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Oct. 26-27
Chattanooga – Enjoy music from Scott H. Biram 7 p.m. ET Oct. 26 and Overland Express 7 p.m. ET Oct. 27 at Songbirds Guitar Museum.
Oct. 26-27, 29, Nov. 2-3, 9-10
Knoxville – See Rock City is an award-winning play by Arlene Hutton about married life against the backdrop of World War II performed by The WordPlayers 7:30 p.m. ET Oct. 26-27,Nov. 2-3 and Nov. 9-10 and 2:30 p.m. ET Oct. 29 at Erin Presbyterian Church.
Oct. 27
Chattanooga – Aquascarium welcomes guests to come in costume to celebrate a family-friendly night of spooky critters and treats, costumed SCUBA divers and more 4-8:30 p.m. ET at the Tennessee Aquarium.
Cookeville – Cookin’ on the Square has live music and more than 75 teams preparing gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT in downtown Cookeville. Tickets are $20 and include a handmade ceramic bowl.
Hendersonville – Spirits of Rock Castle is a walking tour featuring two scary stories at the house and three by the lakefront 6:30-8:30 p.m. CT at Historic Rock Castle.
Knoxville – John McCutcheon performs his interpretation of Appalachian standards on banjo and hammer dulcimer 8 p.m. ET at the Laurel Theater.
Knoxville – Enjoy an acoustic evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt 8 p.m. ET at the Tennessee Theatre. Devil Makes Three with Scott H. Biram take the stage 9 p.m. ET at The Mill & Mine.
Nashville – Have a night of laughs and magic when Penn & Teller come to Nashville 8 p.m. CT in the Andrew Jackson Hall at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
Oct. 27-28
Nashville – Famous pianist Yefim Bronfman performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3; a live recording of Tobias Picker’s Opera Without Words takes place; and a performance by the Nashville Symphony of Wagner’s Overture and Venusburg music from Tannhäuser is featured 8 p.m. CT at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Oct. 27-29
Memphis – The 10th annual RiverArtsFest is a street celebration of original fine arts from more than 180 artists, Memphis music and great Southern food with activities for all.
Morristown – Mountain Makins Festival is hosted at the historic 1892 Rose Center, filled with juried fine arts and crafts, live music, dancing, storytelling, children’s activities, food and expert demonstrations of time-honored traditions.
Oct. 28
Alamo – Witches’ Ride is a two-mile ride where women are dressed as witches, ride “brooms” and throw candy to children 10:30 a.m. CT at the Crockett County Court Square.
Baxter – Join hundreds of riders from Nashville’s Fall Foliage Train Excursion for the Baxter Harvest Festival with more than 80 vendors, a parade and live bluegrass music 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT in downtown Baxter.
Columbia – The 2017 Boo Bash includes dancing, music, food and brews provided by local Asgard Brewing Co. and 822 South 7-11 p.m. CT at the Memorial Building.
Cookeville – Enjoy a free showing of “Night of the Living Dead” at Boo, Y’all Halloween Cinema at the Depot 7 p.m. CT at the Cookeville Depot Museum.
Cornersville –Halloween in the Park features a community-wide trick-or-treat, a costume contest, pet costume contest, haystack search, mummy wrap, cake walk and hay rides 5 p.m. CT at Cornersville Downtown Park.
Livingston – Fall-O-Ween in Livingston has more than 100 booths for trick-or-treating, games with prizes, bouncy houses, hay/wagon rides, music and ghost stories. The event is free and open to the public.
Lynchburg – Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue has been touted as the most prestigious barbecue competition in the world.
Memphis – Flick-or-Treat at the Garden: The Great Pumpkin & Hocus Pocus features pre-show fun for kids, kettle corn, food trucks, photo opportunities and adult “spirits” with gates open 5 p.m. CT and movie beginning 7 p.m. CT at Memphis Botanic Garden.
Memphis – Find more than 30 items from Harry Potter’s days at Hogwarts during the Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt 2-4 p.m. CT then watch Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 24 p.m. CT at Pink Palace Museum.
Spring Hill – Vines and Vintage is one of only six state-sanctioned wine festivals in Tennessee. Join the annual event filled with wine, music, antiques and artisans at Rippavilla Plantation.
Oct. 28, 30-31
Knoxville – Mysterious Past of the Blount Mansion: Legends, Customs and Myths include ghost stories, scary legends, candy for kids and special fun with the Craighead-Jackson House, one of the most haunted sites in Knoxville 8-10 p.m. ET Oct. 28 and 8-9 p.m. ET Oct. 30-31 at Blount Mansion. Tickets are $10.
Oct. 30
Knoxville – The Milk Carton Kids with Sammy Miller and The Congregation take the U.S. Cellular Stage 7:30 p.m. ET at the Bijou Theatre.
Oct. 31
Memphis – Vine to Wine at the Garden: Spooky Spirits is a wine tasting with hors d’oeuvres 6-8 p.m. CT at Memphis Botanic Garden. Guests may come in costume as well.
Nashville – Halloween Movie Night: Nosferatu is an event where guests can experience the 1922 vampire classic, one of the scariest movies ever made, with breathtaking live accompaniment 7:30 p.m. CT at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.