Brookgreen Gardens’ Harvest Home Weekend Festival is packed full of fall fun that the entire family will enjoy.

We all love summer on the Grand Strand, but there’s no denying that autumn is also a special time of the year. With cooler temps, comfort food, changing leaves and college football, fall in the South is full of its own kind of fun. One great way to celebrate is at Brookgreen Gardens this October for the Harvest Home Weekend Festival.

Taking place on the 5th and 6th, the first full weekend of the month, this fall festival is one of the venue’s biggest family events. Start out with the quintessential seasonal activity—choose your pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. You can also opt to paint your patch pick. Small pumpkins are just $4 and large pumpkins are $9, and the painting activity is free with purchase.

Next up on the list of fun is the over-the-top scarecrow building contest. Many families start planning their scarecrow for the next year the minute the current year’s contest is over. Strategize your straw man or just have fun being creative as you build. You can opt to bring your scarecrow home to use for your own seasonal decor for just $5. Taking a hayride is also a fall must. Tickets are $4 per person and the rides will depart from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

In addition to these family-friendly activities, there will also be great food, live entertainment and opportunities to meet animals. The entire gardens will also be open, so take the chance to explore the fall foliage and pieces of sculpture throughout the grounds in the crisp weather. The Harvest Home Weekend Festival will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, so don’t miss this celebration of the changing of the season that the whole family will love.

Harvest Home Weekend Festival

9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday, October 5, and Sunday, October 6
Brookgreen Gardens, 1931 Brookgreen Drive, Murrells Inlet
Free with garden admission
(843) 235-6000; brookgreen.org