Fall Feels a Little Different in St. Francisville
The mornings are a little cooler, the porches a little more inviting, and the calendar suddenly fills with reasons to get outside. There are pumpkins and pottery wheels, live music and local makers, witches on bicycles, rodeo Sundays and just enough ghost stories to remind you that this is, after all, one of Louisiana’s oldest towns.
October has arrived, and St. Francisville is ready for it.
Start October with a Treasure Hunt
October gets off to a good start with the Tunica Hills Yard Sale Trail, a weekend made for treasure hunters.
Wind your way through the beautiful Tunica Hills, stopping at yard sales along the route and keeping an eye out for everything from vintage finds and antiques to those unexpected treasures you didn’t know you needed. Saturday is the big day, with some stops opening Friday and Sunday as well.
And don’t stop when the trail ends.
Head into St. Francisville and keep the treasure hunt going through our antique shops and locally owned boutiques, grab a bite to eat, and turn a morning of bargain hunting into a full fall weekend.
Come with an empty trunk. You may need it.
Bring the Family
Fall here is wonderfully easy to enjoy with kids in tow.
At Camp Marydale, October is all about getting outside and enjoying the season. Families can head to the Pumpkin Patch, pick out the perfect pumpkin and enjoy a fall day together in the beautiful rolling hills of West Feliciana. Later in the month, costumes and treat bags come out for Trunk or Treat, giving little ones another reason to dress up and enjoy a little Halloween fun.
On a cool October evening, Music on the Mount brings everyone together for live music, food and family-friendly activities. Bring the kids, find something good to eat and settle in for the evening. It’s simple, relaxed and exactly the kind of night that makes you wish fall lasted a little longer.
At the Basel Market Fall Fest, it’s the kind of old-fashioned fall fun kids love—bobbing for apples, making crafts, playing games, grabbing a balloon and maybe even heading home with a live goldfish.
Then make your way to Parker Park, where even more family fun is waiting at the annual Yellow Leaf Arts Festival.
Make Something at Yellow Leaf
On October 24 and 25, Parker Park comes alive with more than 50 artists, live music and creativity at the Yellow Leaf Arts Festival.
Wander from booth to booth discovering original art and meeting the people who made it, while children get to become artists themselves.
The Make & Take tent invites kids to sit down, create something and bring their masterpiece home. They can even try their hand at the pottery wheel.
It’s colorful and creative, a little messy in the best possible way, and the kind of small-town arts festival where families can happily spend the better part of a day.
For the Love of Southern Gardens
In a place where historic homes, ancient live oaks and beautiful gardens are part of the landscape, the Southern Garden Symposium feels right at home.
On October 23 and 24, garden lovers will gather in some of St. Francisville’s most beautiful historic settings for two days of lectures, hands-on workshops and garden experiences. This year’s program explores the connection between classical architecture, landscape design and Southern garden traditions, with events unfolding at Afton Villa Gardens, Butler Greenwood Plantation, Rosedown State Historic Site and Audubon State Historic Site.
Friday offers everything from floral design beneath the live oaks and growing camellias to landscape design and creating beautiful rain gardens. Then on Saturday, the setting shifts to the spectacular Afton Villa Gardens for a full day devoted to garden design, inspiration and the enduring beauty of the Southern landscape.
Whether you’re an accomplished gardener or simply someone who appreciates a beautiful one, it’s an especially lovely way to experience St. Francisville in the fall.
On Sundays, Head to the Rodeo
Every Sunday in October brings one of Louisiana’s most distinctive traditions: the Angola Prison Rodeo & Craft Show.
The rodeo draws visitors from across the region, but leave plenty of time for the enormous arts and crafts market, too. Handmade furniture, artwork, jewelry and other pieces created by incarcerated artisans make the market nearly as much a part of the experience as the rodeo itself.
Make the drive, spend the day and stop in St. Francisville on your way home for dinner.
Or better yet, stay the night.
October Calls for a Good Ghost Story
There may be no better time of year to visit The Myrtles.
Known around the country as one of America’s most haunted historic homes, The Myrtles has collected centuries of history and more than a few ghost stories beneath its ancient oaks.
Believer or skeptic, there’s something especially fun about walking those grounds in October.
And spooky season doesn’t stop there.
When the Witches Ride of St. Francisville rolls into town, grab the girls, pull out your witchy best and join the fun. Costumes, decorated bikes and plenty of personality turn an ordinary October evening into one of the most playful nights of the season.
Make a night of it. Shop beforehand, grab dinner afterward and enjoy a town that’s more than willing to get into the spirit.
Fall Is in the Little Things, Too
Not every October memory needs a headline event.
Sometimes it’s a farmers market in the morning. A bookshop stop. A historic demonstration at Audubon State Historic Site. An outdoor movie. A pop-up at a favorite boutique. A long lunch that turns into an afternoon wandering through town.
Our shops fill with fall finds. Restaurants roll out seasonal specials. Antique stores give you another reason to say, “Let’s just look for a minute,” knowing full well you’re probably coming out with something.
And between it all are the old homes, quiet streets, country roads and live oaks that make St. Francisville worth exploring even when there isn’t an event happening at all.
Make a Weekend of It
That’s really the secret to October here.
Don’t try to squeeze St. Francisville into a few hours.
Come for the pumpkin patch and stay for dinner. Pair the Tunica Hills Yard Sale Trail with an afternoon of antiquing and shopping in town. Grab the girls for the Witches Ride and turn it into a weekend away. Take the kids to Music on the Mount and find somewhere good for Sunday lunch.
And if gardens are your thing, come for the Southern Garden Symposium and stay for Yellow Leaf, shopping, great food and a beautiful fall weekend in St. Francisville.
Come for the rodeo. Come for the art. Come for the music, the gardens, the pumpkins or the ghosts.
Or come simply because it’s fall, the weather is finally beginning to cooperate, and sometimes a weekend in a small town is exactly what everyone needs.
October is full of reasons to come to St. Francisville.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Come spend a fall weekend with us. Explore the full calendar at Visit St. Francisville and start planning your trip today.
