The seaport city has enjoyed quite a renaissance in recent years. Its rejuvenated downtown and rockbound harbor district have attracted a number of top restaurants dedicated to perfecting preparing scrumptious largely locally harvested shellfish and other seafood. A number of cozy bars and pubs are pouring an increasingly sophisticated variety of regional wines, specialty brews, and hand-crafted spirits. Harvest on the Harbor shines a spotlight on the city’s dining and drinking scenes with a variety of special events and tastings, including the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition, the Maine OysterFest, and the Maine Cocktail Classic.
www.harvestontheharbor.com, 207-775-9090
Trailing of the Sheep, Ketchum, Idaho The tradition of driving livestock from their summer pastures in the mountains to the valleys below for the winter season got its footing in the Swiss Alps way back in the Bronze Age—and that’s what this unique Idaho fall event is all about. Since the 1860s, Ketchum and Hailey area ranchers have been herding their sheep down to Sun Valley each fall, and that tradition has been celebrated every autumn since 1976 with a wild and wooly festival, (pun intended), set this year for October 8-12. The highlight of this riotous weekend is a parade led by more than 1,500 sheep trailing like a veritable wall of wool down Ketchum’s main drag. Widely heralded, National Geographic named the event one of America’s top 7 fall festivals. Visitors join in the pandemonium and also can take in the Folklife
A bull elk is the icon of the Estes Park Elk Festival, credit Estes Park Elk Festival
28, 2025) to celebrate as local herds of elk come forth to answer the testosterone-driven call of nature.
These majestic beasts are the second largest species within the deer family and a bull can measure five feet at the shoulder and weigh as much as 1,100 pounds. He comes equipped with an enormous pair of antlers that typically measure 50-60 inches long and up to six feet wide—and he fiercely employs them in fighting for mating dominance and protection from predators. The Estes Park Elk extravaganza, held in the city’s Bond Park since 1999, makes for an exhilarating weekend featuring wildlife exhibits, Native American music and storytelling, craft and food vendors, a bugling contest, various other kinds of live entertainment and educational seminars.
www.epelkfest.com, 970-577-3904
Harvest on the Harbor, Portland, Maine October 24-26 is a perfect time for a visit to Maine as the leaf-peeping season reaches its peak and Portland rolls out its annual celebration of the state’s finest locally sourced foods, beers, wines, and spirits.
Lobster platter served at Harvest on the Harbor, credit Portland Tourism
AMERICAN FALL FESTIVALS
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2025 | 29
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