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Tractors Pulling Planes? Yep, at This Weekend's Heritage of Flight Festival

It’s only Tuesday, but that hardly means that’s it too early to start talking about—and planning—some stuff to do this weekend. If you’re looking to get outside to enjoy the cooler temperatures but also want a little entertainment, there’s always the option to attend a fall festival. Lucky for you we have one in mind, and it’s all taking place this weekend in New Carlisle, Ohio.

This weekend the eighth annual Heritage of Flight Festival and Parade rolls into town, as stuff is scheduled for October 5, 6, and 7. The highlight of the festival has to be the tractor pull, but we’re not talking about the usual country fair style tractor pull. Here the tractors are pulling airplanes on a parade route right through the center of town, so if you’ve ever wanted to see a biplane being towed by a John Deere tractor—this is the place to accomplish that mission.

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Plan for Air-Powered Cannons and Trebuchets at Delaware's 'Punkin Chunkin'

There’s only a few weeks until we discover who will be crowned this year’s lord of the gourd, as the World Championship Punkin Chunkin competition is set to hit the skies from November 4-6. Each year there are more and more pumpkins serving as projectiles—as well as machinery dedicated to launching the orange orbs—so this might be the best year yet.

Unfortunately registration to launch your own pumpkin is now closed, but that’s fine with us as it’s probably better to just enjoy being a spectator. The main events take place where they always do—Bridgeville, Delaware—and the fun starts each day at around 7:30am. There’s live music, fireworks, and even a chili cook-off, but obviously the main attraction are the weapons of mass pumpkin destruction.

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New Mexico Travel / Fall Travel / Events / Fall Festivals / Albuquerque Travel / → All Tags

Billions of Balloons Hit The Skies Next Week In New Mexico

We’re sure you’ve seen plenty of pictures of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, so try to make this the year you finally make it out to New Mexico to check it out in person. We know it’s short notice—things run from October 1 through October 9—but where else can you see a SpongeBob SquarePants hot air balloon in person?

The hot air balloon party started back in the 1970s with just around a dozen or so balloons, but when the balloons hit the skies next week there will be more than 700. The launch field is almost 80-acres in size, so definitely remember to bring your sneakers if you’re planning to walk around before lift-off. This is one of the only festivals where visitors are allowed to walk between balloons so take advantage of the opportunity to meander about.

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Set Your Pumpkins Flying This Weekend at Delaware's Punkin Chunkin

If you’ve got a leftover pumpkin taking up space on your front steps or fire escape, we’ve got a suggestion on where to bring it. The annual Punkin Chunkin is taking place this weekend in Bridgeville, Delaware. There will be pumpkin recipes contests here—after all who can resist some pie—but the festival’s stars will be hundreds of devices attempting to launch pumpkins as far as possible.

This is the 25th anniversary of the festival, so expect teams to be even more prepared than usual. Not only will there be air-powered cannons, but there will be catapults as well as medieval replica trebuchets. The overall distance record is still standing from 2008—an air cannon shot a poor little pumpkin over 4,400 feet—so we’re hoping that this year someone can break the mile marker with their pumpkin launcher.

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World Pumpkin Capital to Cook Up 40th Annual Pumpkin Festival

We were sad to find out that this year's Pumpkin Festival in New Hampshire may be its last, we take solace in the fact that we can get our fall dose of pumpkiny goodness at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival, which calls itself the "World Pumpkin Capital."

About 25 miles south of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay will throw its 40th anniversary fest on October 16 and 17. Everything at the fest revolves around pumpkins.

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This Year's New Hampshire Pumpkin Party May Be the Finale

Fall in New England means plenty of vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows throughout the rolling hills, but this season one town in New Hampshire has way more orange than any other color. That’s because citizens of Keene are all about pumpkins this month, and their Pumpkin Festival next weekend is ready to set all kinds of jack-o-lanterns records.

This fall festival has special stuff for the kiddos, tasty food options, and plenty of live entertainment. However, the stars of the show are the pumpkins. Whether you carve your pumpkin at home or at the festival, be sure to remember to bring a votive candle with your orange gourd. There’s no charge to visit on October 16, but remember to bring $10 for parking.

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Try a Chinese Mooncake at L.A.'s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

If you're not lucky enough to be in China today for the Mid-Autumn Festival, you still have a chance to partake in the event's signature goodie, the mooncake. Los Angeles' Chinatown will throw its own homage to the traditional pastry on September 25, with its 72nd annual festival. Similar to Thanksgiving, the lunar festival is harvest-time holiday where you're supposed to gather with your loved ones and gorge. There's a number of legends associated with the fest, one of which says that rebels trying to overthrow the 14th-century Mongol rulers hid secret messages inside mooncakes to rally the people.

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Alaska Travel / Animals / Fall Festivals / Fall Travel / Active Travel / → All Tags

All Hail The Bald Eagle At Alaska Festival

The sight of a Bald Eagle always makes us feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. Obviously we love traveling the globe to experience new countries and cultures, but the nifty fifty is where most of us call home. That’s why we were kind of excited—in a nerdy way—to hear about the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival. This isn't some cute little festival either, it's pretty hardcore when it comes to learning about all things eagle.

Things take flight from November 11 through 15 as folks and fowl head to Haines, Alaska to celebrate the festival’s fifteenth anniversary. The highlight of the festival is the Flight For Freedom Eagle Release on Saturday afternoon. Here lucky participants get a chance to release rehabilitated birds back into the wild blue yonder. There’s an auction to get the opportunity to do so, so bring the checkbook—it all goes to charity, so don’t be a cheapskate. For those who prefer a little art with their wildlife, there will be plenty of photographers, artists, and other creative types in attendance to share their secrets and to share their wares.

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Pay Your Last Respects To Your Pumpkin During 'Punkin Chunkin'

Halloween is a great time for pumpkins as they are the stars of the show. However, after their big day, things go down hill pretty quickly. One of the worst places for a pumpkin, as it's where the globe is forced to meet its fate, is at the annual Punkin Chunkin events in Delaware. Here, teams compete to launch pumpkins as far as possible. These aren’t just simple slingshots, but are pretty complicated pieces of machinery and engineering. There are air-powered cannons, medieval trebuchets, and trusty catapults. Kids are even welcome to participate, just make sure that Mom and Dad don’t do all the work.

The air cannons are the coolest and probably most dangerous. The current world record was set at last year’s festival as a pumpkin was chucked 4483.51 feet. The other pumpkin launches do pretty well too, and you won’t be disappointed as the orange orbs are launched well over 2,000 feet into an open field. If you can’t make it to this year festival, don’t worry; you’ll be able to watch a replay of the day’s events on Thanksgiving night on the Science Channel.

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BYOT (Bring Your Own Tarantula) To California Town's Tarantula Fest

While cities usher in October with Oktoberfest and Halloween-related festivals, small-town Coarsegold, California, marks it with a celebration of the tarantula. This place has so much tarantula love that a massive spider sculpture sits atop the city’s Historic Village and killing one is a major faux paux. The 11th annual Coarsegold Tarantula Festival pays homage to the eight-legged spiders with a day of events on October 24.

Officials say the reason why the old mining town reveres the creepy-crawly spiders is that residents take pride in their natural surroundings, especially the diverse wildlife. The tarantulas are unique to the area, and as such the residents protect them as an integral part of the community. "When we first moved here, I accidentally ran over a tarantula and was severely admonished by a neighbor," says Dian Boland, the founder of the event. The incident prompted her to learn more about the misunderstood creatures. The more she learned, the more she wanted to honor the tarantula. "I wanted to make people aware of how interesting they are, how they really are good for the environment and unique to the mountains up here and really a lot of fun,” she says.

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Maine Wants To Remind You What A Natural Night Sky Looks Like

See that mass of light on the horizon in Acadia National Park? That's the Milky Way—for reals.

Stargazers will see the blue yonder with new eyes at Maine's new Acadia Night Sky Festival, which celebrates the starry, natural nighttime sky. The festival, which starts on the sunset of Sept. 17 and ends at sunrise Sept. 21, tries to bring awareness to the problem of light pollution and the importance of preserving the pristine skies of Bar Harbor and and Acadia National Park.

Fest organizers say that a natural sky is increasingly rare, since artificial light from cities create light pollution and obscure our view of the glowing stars and other stellar matter. They add that two-thirds of the entire population of the Eastern Seaboard has yet to see Earth's own galaxy. In light of this (har, har), the Island Astronomy Institute, along with groups like the National Park Service and the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, decided to preserve the beauty of downeast Maine's natural sky. It's such a sight to behold, that on clear nights you can see the Milky Way swirl above Mount Desert Island.

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Maryland Travel / Fall Festivals / Fall Culture Travel / → All Tags

Maryland Ren Faire Welcomes Jousting and Meat on a Stick

Hear ye, hear ye! Time to break out your floral headdress and blouson-sleeved coats, Jaunted readers; 'tis the season for Ren Faire. For a 33rd season, Crownsville, Maryland celebrates everything from jousting to archery at their annual Renaissance Festival. The merry event will be held every weekend, rain or shine, through October 25th, with a full scroll of activities that will take Renaissance enthusiasts back to a time when knights ruled the roost.

Before you don an epic costume and get your Robin Hood on, the official website reminds patrons that no costume or real weapons are allowed by guests. 'Tis a family-friendly event, after all. At the gate, an adult ticket will run you 18 ducats—er, dollars*—while a two-day pass can be purchased for $28. Wee lads and lasses the age of six and under are admitted for free. You also have the option of purchasing a cleverly-titled "Fairever Pass," which is good for the entire festival, will include your photograph, and grants you access to a private entrance to Revel Grove, where the event is being held.

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