Fall for Moore

in the Sandhills

Fall for Moore in the Sandhills

Fall in the Pinehurst area of North Carolina is one of our favorite seasons of the year. The heat of the summer has passed and the crisp, cool fall mornings make it a perfect time to explore Moore County and the Sandhills.

From fabulous and fun fall festivals and fairs to strolling our downtown shops for a certain cherished treasure to exploring miles of trails lined by majestic longleaf pines, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Almost every weekend is filled with a variety of options that will provide opportunities to meet warm and welcoming people and make memories with family and friends.

Make plans to Fall for Moore in the Sandhills with some of our favorite ideas and suggestions for the season!

 

Pinehurst Barbecue Festival

Pinehurst

August 30-Sept. 1, 2024

The Pinehurst Barbecue Festival is a Celebration of Taste and Tradition, featuring award-winning Pitmasters from across North Carolina in one of the most picturesque settings in the entire state.

Presented by Pinehurst Resort, US Foods and Our State Magazine, the three-day festival, staged in the Village of Pinehurst, offers a unique culinary experience of various barbecue meats, seafood and traditional sides.

Aug. 30- Sept. 1
Eats, Beats & Brews

Village Arboretum, Pinehurst

Saturday, September 21

5:00pm-6:00pm: Julia Golden
6:00pm-9:00pm: Austin McNeill

Everyone’s favorite food truck rodeo is back at the Village Arboretum! Eats, Beats, and Brews returns offering a variety of your favorite local vendors while bringing something new into town. Wine and craft beer will be available for purchase, outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted. Live entertainment throughout the evening for all to enjoy and fun activities in store for the children.

Make sure to bring your dancing shoes and appetite!

Eats, Beats & Brews
Malcolm Blue Festival

Aberdeen
September 28, 2024

10am – 5pm 

The Malcolm Blue Festival celebrates our early farming settlers and their crafts. You will enjoy artisan work of all kinds, such as blacksmithing, honey making, handcrafted jewelry, soap, lotion, cheese, and more. Children can ride in a horse drawn wagon, pet farm animals, and ride on a pony. Also, there will be live entertainment and demonstrations scheduled throughout the day. Don’t miss this wonderful festival!

Malcolm Blue Festival
Potter's Pumpkin Patch

Seagrove area

Saturday’s in October

Treat yourself and a friend to a day in the country on the Potters’ Pumpkin Patch Trail during the month of October.

This October find the latest fall designs such as pottery pumpkins, ceramic gourds, woodland creatures, autumn leaf pottery, scented candles, home décor and much more. These participating Seagrove shops are open throughout the week in full autumn splendor. Every Saturday in October has a variety of activities to experience as these five shops host special Fall events that change from week to week. Be sure to check each shop’s open hours and Saturday event details on our website as they vary from location to location.

Seagrove is the ideal getaway for a day or weekend trip. The countryside is beautiful, the pottery is exquisite, and the amount of locations is the perfect atmosphere for social distancing

Potter's Pumpkin Patch
Cameron Fall Antiques Fair

Cameron
October 4-October 5, 2024

Home to a dozen antique shops, Cameron has become a destination for the serious collector, tradesperson and those just interested in local history. The Antiques Fair is also open to more than 200 outside vendors who display their wares in the yards and along the sidewalks of Carthage Street. Featured in Southern Living and voted “Best Antique Shopping” by Our State Magazine readers, Cameron is worth the visit.

Get Ready for Christmas in Cameron

Christmas Open House, Antique Stores, November22-23, 2024

Antique Me
Southern Pines Autumnfest
Autumnfest

Southern Pines
October 5, 2024 9am-4pm Downtown Southern Pines, NC

A collaboration between the Arts Council of Moore County and the Southern Pines Recreation & Parks Department since 1978, the Annual Autumnfest will feature live entertainment, arts and craft booths, children’s activities, and great food.

Celebrate Autumn
Shaw House Heritage Fair & Treasure Sale

Southern Pines
October 11, 2024 9am-2pm

October 12, 2024 9am-4pm

The annual Heritage Fair and Treasure Sale is an all-day event that serves as a major fund-raiser for the non-profit Moore County Historical Association. The Association owns and maintains five historical Moore County houses.

The Heritage Fair offers unique vendors, food, live music, and demonstrations of old-time crafts, treasure sales, and farm animals for petting.

Moore History
Annual Aberdeen Sardine Festival

Aberdeen
October 11, 2024 @ 11am Aberdeen Lake Park

This tongue-in-cheek festival has become a local favorite and each year over 1,000 people come out and enjoy sardines, music, laughs, and fellowship! All are invited to enjoy a free lunch of sardines, crackers, moon pies, RC Colas, and Cokes. The Sardine Queen traditionally arrives via fire truck in her own parade at noon, and the new Sardine Queen will be crowned. And don’t forget to bring a breath mint!

Feeling Fishy
Great Trails State Day Pottery Pinecone Hunt

Throughout Moore County

October 19

To celebrate Great Trails State Day in North Carolina, the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen Area CVB has partnered with renowned Seagrove Potter Crystal King to create 30 pottery pinecones which will be hidden along select Moore County trails on Saturday, October 19th. This is a spinoff of the very popular spring Pinecone Pathways Program which will enter its third year in 2025. Check our Facebook page for clues.

Pottery Pinecone Hunt
Holly Arts & Crafts Festival 

Village of Pinehurst
October 19, 2024

Each year some of the Southeast’s most talented and well-known artists and craftsmen come together for the annual Holly Arts & Crafts Festival in the historic Village of Pinehurst. From woodworking to glass, stitched art to lawn ornaments, hand-crafted jewelry to metal sculpture, the festival holds something for everyone. Downtown shops offer sales and specials and an expanded food court will have a variety of offerings.

Time to Shop
Festival D'Avion helicopter and children
Festival D'Avion

Moore County Airport, Carthage
October 26, 2024

The Festival D’Avion is a celebration of freedom and flight at the Moore County Airport in Carthage, N.C., located just outside Pinehurst.
Marking its sixth year in 2024, the Festival D’Avion features classic and military aircraft displays, flyovers, precision jump teams, sightseeing tours, classic car displays, live entertainment, a “Junior Pilot” KidsZone, local vendors, food trucks, and fun for the entire family!

Celebrate Flight
Trick-or-Treat Trail at Weymouth Woods

Weymouth Woods State Park, Southern Pines

October 27, 2024

The 1/2 mile trail, you’re welcome to come any time during that window. Come learn about the spooky side of Weymouth Woods! We’ll have popcorn and cider, face painting, and gobs of candy being handed out by educators and volunteers along the trail. 2pm-4pm

Trick-or-Treat Trail
Veterans Parade
Southern Pines Veterans Parade
Southern Pines
Saturday Nov. 9, 2024 @ 10am

Located in Downtown Broad Street, Southern Pines, this parade is a celebration of our veterans and their families. The event is full of excitement, energy, and patriotism. From the start of the parade to the finish, you’ll be immersed in the spirit of America.

Get ready for an adrenaline-fueled spectacle at the Southern Pines Veterans Parade! The highly skilled Skydiving Angels of the Children of Fallen Heroes Parachute Team will take to the skies and perform an awe-inspiring jump while carrying the symbol of our nation, the American flag, Old Glory. But that’s not all – the Bandit Flight Team will thrill the crowd with a stunning flyover, bringing their incredible aerial acrobatics to the parade. This is a moment you won’t want to miss, as the excitement and energy of these incredible performances fill the air.

Parade Details
Celebration of Seagrove Potters Fall Festival & Studio Tour 2024

17th Annual Celebration of Seagrove Potters with Art for Everyone!

Saturday, November 23, 2024 | Sunday, November 24, 2024

Join us at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters at the Historic Luck’s Cannery (Luck Comer Lail Center), located at 798 NC Hwy 705 E in Seagrove. Keep an eye on our Celebration of Seagrove Potters and Seagrove Potters Facebook pages and our Seagrove Potters Instagram for exciting updates. Our out-of-town guests can utilize the Heart of NC website for friendly advice on overnight accommodations.

We hope that you can join us for this exciting weekend highlighting the majority of Seagrove potters and their unique handmade ceramics. We are proud of our craftsmanship, our heritage and traditions and our ever evolving community of artists that makes Seagrove what it is – an experience to treasure!

More information and a list of participating potters coming soon!

Let's Go
Ederville Tractor & Train Show

November 1-3, 2024

Ederville, situated in Carthage, North Carolina, is renowned as the premier tractor and train show on the East Coast! Join us each fall for a three-day, action-packed family event featuring a tractor parade, games, an antique auction, a money-in-the-haystack contest, and much more.

Tractor & Train Show
Fun on The Farm

Fall season in the Moore County area begins in late September to early October.

Kalawi Farms – Corn Craze Maze
1515 NC Hwy. 211 | Eagle Springs
Kalawi Farm | 910.673.5996
Directions: Kalawis Farm
Kalawi Farms Facebook page.

Just outside Moore County::

DJ’s Berry Patch – Pumpkins & Mums
1223 Salem Church Road | Apex
DJ’s Berry Patch | 919.600.4020 | Email
Directions: DJ’s Berry Patch
Located about an hour from Moore County

Doby Christmas Tree Farm & Pumpkin Patch

150 Doby Rd I Cameron

(910) 245-3265

Facebook

Located in Moore County

Gallberry Corn Maze
5991 Braxton Road | Hope Mills
Gallberry Farms | 910.309.7582
Directions: Gallberry Farms
Located about an hour from Moore County

Gross Farms Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch
1606 Pickett Road | Sanford
Gross Farms | 919.498.6727
Directions: Gross Farms

Millstone Creek Orchards 
506 Parks Crossroads Church Road | Ramseur
Millstone Creek Farms | 336.824.5263 | Email
Directions: Millstone Creek Farms
About 1 hour drive from Moore County
They have various u-picks:  apples (August – October), pumpkin/gourds (September – October), pecans (November). Be sure you call before you go, reservations highly recommended.

Fall Frights

Looking for some frightening fun? Be sure to Checkout:

Aberdeen Fear Factory Considered the largest indoor Haunted House this is not for the weak of heart. They do an earlier haunt for kids of all ages.

Sept 30 – Nov 13 Thursday, Friday, & Saturday In October Hours: 7:30 pm – 12:00 am

Haunted Forest at Sycamore Lodge the last 3 Saturdays in October. If you’re going to be scared, you might as well be scared for a good cause! Watch a video of the fun here.

Blessing of the Hounds

Southern Pines

Thanksgiving Morning

One of the most unique and cherished Moore County Events. The Blessing of the Hounds is a treasured tradition celebrated on Thanksgiving Morning. This events kicks of the holiday season Magic of Moore!

Blessing of the Hounds