Festival

Come to Appleton Farms for a celebration of all things cows: The October Cow Festival! There’s music, hands-on educational dairy activities, a dairy quest and tours of the dairy barn during milking time. The main event – the cow parade – features our herd of milking jersey cows and our Topsfield Fair award-winning heifers and calves (in costume!). The festival ends with fresh local ice cream!

Come to the Pumpkin Festival at Smolak Farms. We will celebrate with a very large selection of pumpkins in our pumpkin patch along with some Hide N' Seek pumpkins that will have a free gift inside! Perhaps you will be the lucky winner!

A Newburyport tradition for over 35 years, Fall Harvest Festival features talented artisans offering handmade crafts & artwork, great local food vendors, live music, the annual Scarecrow Contest and Kid's Korner.

This weekend is a very special weekend at Smolak Farms. Be the first to pick delicious apples from the Antique Apple Orchard such as the Sheepnose, Sops of Wine, Granny Smith, Pink Pearl, Cortland or Baldwin apples during the group educational tours. Have a chance to meet Johnny Appleseed who will be sharing his legendary tale and posing for photos while providing tours throughout the orchards.

Custom House Maritime Museum invites you to come taste some of the best chowder on in massachusetts while you learn about the history of the dish we fondly know as Chowda! Join us on the lawn behind the Museum to sample and vote an array of chowder dishes from some of the finest resataurants on the North Shore.  Proceeds from the event go to support the Museum!

The Topsfield Fair is a perrenial favorite for us.  We're not the biggest fans of the midway, although it is always worth a walkthrough and a ride or two.  We love fruits and vegetables, and are always on the lookout for the winning 'biggest pumpkin'.  Another favorite is checking out the pigs and other farm animals, as well as the interesting variety of guinea pigs and rabbits.

No visit to the fair would be complete without attending at least one show in the arena, where you'll find numerous events that define the fair like The Giant Pumpkin Contest, Antique Farm Tractor Pulling, Horse and Oxen Pulling, the Draft Horse Show, the Clydesdale Hitch or even a Figure 8 Car Race!

Note: Opening Day hours are 1:00pm -11:00pm

Watch the 2011 Giant Pumpkin Contest

This popular fall classic is one of the North Shore’s most anticipated events. Folks on the North Shore and beyond will flock to Ipswich for its famous fried clams, seafood and of course delectable clam chowder. What better way to round out the season than with an opportunity to, not only samples some of the best chowder around, but also become judge for a day?

This weekend, Johnny Appleseed returns to Smolak Farms to share his legendary tale and pose for photos in the orchards while helping children spread their very own apple seeds! Families are invited into the Smolak Orchard’s for a weekend of exciting activities.

Come to the Farm and enjoy the country!  While you are here (and after you pick your apples) enjoy the many games and activities that will be on hand for the kids (young and old).  Arts and Crafts, Old Fashioned Sack Races, Scavenger Hunts (with prizes of course), Donut Decorating, Make Your Own Caramel Apple and so much more.  

The Ipswich Cultural Council's 25th Annual Ipswich Art Show and Sale will be a weekend long event showcasing works by Ipswich Artists - 100 Artists estimated to participate! Works on display will be of many mediums including sculpture, painting, photography, textiles, jewelry, wood art and pottery. Live Music will be part of the elegant reception Friday evening featuring chamber ensemble from the Orchestra on the Hill. Saturday evening enjoy a special silent auction, poetry readings, live music and a walk across the river after dark to observe the magic of Ipswich Illuminated. Sunday relax and enjoy Brunch on the River with live music and artist vendors.