Garrett County presents 56th-annual Autumn Glory Festival

Known for scenic Deep Creek Lake and Maryland’s only ski resort, Wisp Resort, Garrett County is also home to the annual Autumn Glory Festival, a five-day celebration of autumn that celebrates the beauty of the local fall foliage. From Wednesday through Sunday, the area offers a wide variety of things to do indoors or outdoors.

Take in the breathtaking views of our spectacular fall foliage by driving or biking one, or both, of the county’s 2023 Autumn Glory Fall Foliage Tours.

To celebrate the festival’s roots, the Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area, a program of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, offers an annual Autumn Glory Turkey Trail of area turkey dinners. More than a decade before the Autumn Glory Festival became an annual event, a group of local turkey growers organized and promoted community turkey dinners. The idea of a large festival was later developed to attract visitors to the area, which led to the creation of the Autumn Glory Festival. The turkey dinner listings, and corresponding map, is available online at garrettheritage.com and at the Garrett County Visitors Center.

The Autumn Glory Festival begins with the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Autumn Glory Kickoff Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 11, featuring networking, cocktail hour, dinner, musical entertainment and the announcement of the annual Autumn Glory Golden Ambassador. Tickets are available for online purchase at visitdeepcreek.com.

You can also enjoy the Glorious Harvest Farmers Market & Craft Show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Thursday through Saturday. This will be held at the Mt. Fresh Pavilion in downtown Oakland.

The Alpaca Acres Fall Fun on the Farm will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day from Wednesday through Sunday at Alpaca Acres Farm and Fiber (by appointment only).

Thursday features the fireman’s parade in downtown Oakland. The week continues with historic area tours, antique and craft shows, art exhibits, farmers’ market, live music, quilt show, shopping specials and a wide variety of other activities. There will also be a carnival downtown presented by Gambill Amusements from Wednesday through Sunday.

The official Maryland State Banjo & Mandolin Championships at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, features banjo and mandolin contestants of all ages competing for top honors at Southern High School.

The Cove Run Farms Corn Maze will be held from noon to 9 p.m. from Friday through Sunday. You can find the corn maze at 596 Griffith Road in Accident.

The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce hosts the Autumn Glory Craft & Gift Sale Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 14-15) at the Ag Heritage Hall at the Garrett County Fairgrounds in McHenry. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Garrett Regional Medical Center, a proud partner of WVU Medicine, is the sponsor of the 2023 Autumn Glory Craft & Gift Sale. Additional craft shows run throughout the weekend in McHenry and Oakland.

On Saturday, Oct. 14, the Chamber’s Grand Feature Parade begins at 1 p.m. with over 100 entries, including bands, floats, marching units, clowns, antique vehicles and elected officials. The festival also welcomes the award-winning “Pride of West Virginia” — The Mountaineer Marching Band — visiting from West Virginia University.

First United Bank & Trust is the sponsor of the 2023 Autumn Glory Grand Feature Parade. Saturday also features the Autumn Glory Tournament of Bands at 6 p.m. at Southern High School’s turf field. The WVU marching band will also perform an exhibition show at the Tournament of Bands.

Sunday’s events include the Autumn Glory Festival Car Show in downtown Oakland, horseback trail rides from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by reservation at Circle R Ranch, and more.

In 2017, TripAdvisor named Oakland one of the 21 Best Fall Vacations in America for seeing fall foliage and U.S. News and World Report named Oakland one of 50 Small Towns Across America with Gorgeous Fall Foliage. Also in 2017, msn.com listed Oakland as one of the Prettiest Leaf Peeping Towns in the Country and Readers Digest listed Garrett County as one of the 11 Road Trips That Showcase Stunning Fall Foliage.

In 2016, msn.com selected Garrett County as one of the 17 places in the U.S. to see Spectacular Fall Foliage. From 2015-17, USA Today featured Grantsville and the Autumn Glory Festival as part of their 50 state road trip: Scenic Drives around the USA.

In 2014, Travel & Leisure Magazine selected Oakland as one of America’s Best Towns for Fall Colors and included a mention of Garrett County’s annual Autumn Glory Festival.

Autumn Glory also landed in the international spotlight in 2007, when the popular travel website, MSN.com, listed it tops among fall festivals in the world. To the delight of locals and visitors alike, Autumn Glory in Oakland beat out Paris’ Festival d’Automne (No. 5) and Munich’s Oktoberfest (No. 7) — in addition to a bevy of domestic celebrations, including San Francisco’s Dias De los Muertos.

“Music, parades and awesome colors are at the center of this festival,” noted the site, highlighting in particular the Grand Feature Parade, the Maryland State Banjo & Fiddle Championships and the Tournament of Bands.

For more details about the 56th annual Autumn Glory Festival, please visit visitdeepcreek.com/autumnglory or contact the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce at 888-387-5237.