North Carolina Events This Weekend: October 30–November 1, 2026

16 North Carolina listings have dates that overlap Friday through Sunday, October 30–November 1, 2026. 2 are fairs, festivals, and one-day events, and the other 14 are longer seasons that are open during part of the weekend.

North Carolina packs a lot into a fall weekend. In October the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh brought thousands of animals, rides and deep-fried food, and the Brunswick County Fair kept livestock shows and a midway going in Ash. Lexington gave barbecue its own day, filling Uptown with one style of chopped pork and no cook-off.

Racetracks double as car-show grounds. Foxtoberfest gathered Fox-body cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Spirit of Wilkes filled the infield at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Huntersville is a trip in itself, with the 25-acre village of the Carolina Renaissance Festival and the Scottish-themed Rural Hill Corn Maze.

Farm seasons run for weeks across the state. Gross Farms in Sanford is a seventh-generation Century Farm, Gallberry Corn Maze in Hope Mills adds a smaller Fairy Tale maze for kids, and Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville includes a pumpkin with admission. The haunts run just as long. SCarowinds in Charlotte isn’t recommended for children under 13, Lake Hickory Haunts sits by the water, and the Asheville Haunted Trail is built for kids about 3 to 12.

When October turns to November, Festival Día de Muertos comes to Camp North End in Charlotte. November brings the Carolinas Veterans Day Festival and the Festifall Arts Market in Chapel Hill, then the holiday run: Christmas at Biltmore by candlelight, the Southern Christmas Show, the Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary and Christmas Town U.S.A. in McAdenville, lit since 1956.

Haunt nights and farm hours change through the season, so look up your night before you go.