6 festivals around Nevada to check out this fall
If you’re looking to hit the road this fall, Nevada is full of wonderful festivals offering food, music and experiences you just won’t find anywhere else. Here are six festivals you should check out around the state:
The Great Reno Balloon Race
It’s billed as the world’s largest free hot air balloon festival, and up to 100 balloons have taken flight over our sister city each fall since 1982. The family-friendly event welcomes 150,000 spectators, and if you go, you’ll see why. There truly is something magical about watching the behemoth balloons take off against a sunrise.
Sept. 5-7, Reno; renoballoon.com
Great Basin Astronomy Festival
Great Basin National Park is not only Nevada’s only national park, it’s also one of the darkest places in the world. That means you can practically see the JADES-GS-z14-0 galaxy with your bare eyes. OK, maybe not that far. However, you can certainly see a lot more with all the fancy telescopes people bring to this gathering. Numerous events are planned for this festival, so be sure to check their full schedule and travel tips before you head out.
Sept. 18-21, Baker; nps.gov/grba
OffBeat Music Festival
Las Vegas can’t hog all of the good music festivals. If you find yourself in Reno this fall, check out the OffBeat Music Festival. The fest debuted in 2015 and has been producing stellar lineups ever since. This year features Brooks Nielsen of The Growlers, Illuminati Hotties, Rose City Band and Sinkane. You may discover your new favorite act here. General admission for three days starts at $96.95.
Oct. 2-4, Reno; offbeatreno.com
Nevada Day Parade & Celebration
Nowhere parties harder on Halloween than the Nevada state capital. Correction: Nowhere parties harder on Nevada Day. Oct. 31 is the founding date of the Silver State. The following day’s celebration will start with hot air balloons taking flight, followed by the four-hour-long Nevada Day Parade (including a military flyover), a rock-drilling competition, a beard contest and a downtown neighborhood-wide post-parade celebration.
Nov. 1, Carson City; nevadaday.com
Beatty Days
Oh, how to describe this weird and wonderful desert festival? Travel two hours north of Las Vegas to Beatty for this Wild West fall fest, featuring a chili cookoff, live music, desert art, a parade, car show, corn hole tournaments, walks, runs, pet parade, hula hoop contest, and somehow a lot more filling the weekend, including the “Pickle Liquor Hoot-n-Holler,” in which contestants drink a concoction of hot sauce and pickle juice, then attempt the loudest hoot or holler.
Oct. 31-Nov. 2, Beatty; beattynevada.org
Pahrump Social Powwow
Pahrump (the name believed to be derived from the Paiute word “pah-rimpi, meaning “water stone”) is home to both Western Shoshone and Paiute tribes. Hundreds attend this festival each year, celebrating Native American culture through song, dance, craft and food. The three-day celebration preserves the tribes’ cultural heritage while teaching others about the culture. The theme for 2025 is “youth,” and admission is free at Pahrump’s Petrack Park.
Nov. 21-23, Pahrump; pahrumppowwow.com
