Massachusetts Events Calendar - October

Things to do in Boston, Cape Cod, Western Mass and other Massachusetts cities and towns. A month-long of spooky events are held in Salem each October. Harvest festivals are scheduled in other Massachusetts towns.

View Upcoming Events

Every year Salem, known for its witch trials and modern-day witches, plans a month-long series of spooky events that involve museums, haunted houses, storytelling, and tours.

September 5, 2009 - October 25, 2009

A recreation of 16th century English marketplace at festival time. It's great for kids, and includes exotic animals and jousting knights.

September 18, 2009 - October 4, 2009

A huge fair with livestock shows and competitions, a visit to the Emerald Isle, and The Avenue of States - life-size replicas of each New England state's original capitol building.

September 28, 2009 - October 4, 2009

Local restaurants are showcased with special menu offerings.

October 1, 2009

Hosted by the Salem Chamber of Commerce.

October 2, 2009 - October 12, 2009

Includes live entertainment, cooking contests, goat and llama shows, displays, a petting zoo, and the New England Giant Pumpkin weigh-off - held on opening day.

October 3, 2009 - October 4, 2009

Art, garlic cuisine, live music, and regional agriculture. Expect to find more than 20 varieties of garlic, hot apple cider, honey with a live bee display, herbal products, heirloom tomatoes and garlic farmstead cheeses.

October 3, 2009

A day-long line-up of jazz performance.

October 10, 2009 - October 12, 2009

Art studios in the Rocky Neck area and other locations open to the public.

October 10, 2009 - October 11, 2009

The Cape Cod Cranberry Grower's Association festival includes cranberry harvesting tours, live entertainment, agricultural exhibits, and crafts. Located in Wareham.

October 10, 2009 - October 12, 2009

A "Tavern Night," with 18th-century style dining and dancing, will also be held at Historic Hall Tavern in Deerfield.

October 11, 2009

Harvard Square ushers in the fall with an outdoor block party, filled with street vendors, concerts, activities for children, and other types of performances.

October 11, 2009 - October 12, 2009

Farmstands, music, and a scarecrow contest in the North Shore's Newburyport.

October 17, 2009

Features live blacksmith competitions, music, food, jewelry, art, hand crafts, ironwork, and children's activities.

October 17, 2009 - October 18, 2009

Live music, local crafts, delicious local fare and brews, kayak and road races, children's activities, a spelling bee and the "Shuck-Off" shucking competition.

October 17, 2009 - October 18, 2009

You can expect pumpkin decorating, a scarecrow creation contest, hayrides and more. Rockport is north of Gloucester on the North Shore.

October 17, 2009 - October 18, 2009

Spectators from around the world gather in Cambridge and Boston for the two-day rowing race on the Charles River at the Cambridge Boat Club. It was first held in 1965.

October 17, 2009 - October 18, 2009

Sturbridge Town Common is filled with family activities, including music, hayrides and face painting.

October 24, 2009

There's no better place to find clams than Essex on the North Shore.

October 28, 2009 - October 31, 2009

Head deep into the woods where a coven of witches supposedly met each October.  At Nashoba Valley in Westford.

October 29, 2009 - October 31, 2009

Learn of a Plymouth witch who supposedly cursed a family - and if you dare - visit the cursed family's gravesite on Burial Hill.

October 30, 2009

Held at Salem's Hawthorne Hotel. Music by Fiona Horne.

October 30, 2009 - October 31, 2009

The night starts with a stage show, but ends with visits trapped in dark, haunted corridors. In Falmouth, Cape Cod.

October 31, 2009

Pets compete for best costume at Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

October 31, 2009

Costume ball at Salem's historic Hawthorne Hotel.

October 31, 2009

Costume ball and fireworks at the Outlook Restaurant at Nashoba Valley Ski Resort in Westford.

Events by month

Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec