9 Things to Do and See in Quincy/Hannibal This Fall

Mark your calendars for October 8 from noon until 10:00 pm. The fourth annual FREE Rotary Oktoberfest will take place outside of the Dick Brothers Brewery and feature brewery tours, live music, beer tastings, and the ever-popular 0.2K Beer & Brat Dash (200 meter dash while drinking a beer and scarfing a brat). For more information, click HERE.

Okay, full disclosure here. I’ve never actually been to the Hannibal Jaycees Haunted House. Never actually been to any haunted house. But this list felt incomplete without including one. Plus, this one raises money for the Hannibal community and promises to scare the crap out of you with crazy clowns, so you (nor I) have a good reason to miss it. They’re open Fridays and Saturdays in October from 7:30 pm until midnight. Check them out on Facebook.

It wouldn’t really be fall without a stop by Mill Creek to pick up a pumpkin, would it? Mill Creek promises more pumpkins to choose from than ever before (including some upwards of 100 pounds!) They also offer asparagus, strawberries, sweet corn, tomatoes, and all sorts of homemade foodstuffs. Plus, they have hay rides and a corn maze for the little ones.

This year marks the 40th festival in historic downtown Hannibal. Come check out unique handmade crafts, arts, music, food, and drinks. There’s plenty to see at THIS LINK including some great sounding food (deep fried Oreos!) and drinks (more beer and wine!). The festival runs October 15 and 16.

I know, kind of a curveball on this one. I may be biased here, but trust me. Pack your cooler, your grill, a couple bag chairs, and join us out at QU Stadium one Saturday morning and you will not regret it. Or bring none of those things and just graze other people’s sites for free drinks and grub. You can probably get away with that one time before becoming “that guy”. Here's the full schedule.

I made my first trip this past weekend and walked out with two bags of apples, a jar of strawberry butter, and an apple cider slushie (of course). Keep an eye out on their Facebook page for when the fresh cider makes its 2016 debut (Edgewood predicts early October).

This one’s coming up soon, so don’t miss it! The Great River Grape Escape has become a signature event for Quincy’s Clat Adams Park over the years. Here you’ll be able to sample wines from eight wineries in our region as well as live music from several local artists. Admission is free, but if you want to taste the wine (and of course you do), that’ll be $10 which includes a commemorative glass and five tastings. For more information, find them on Facebook.

Gotta say again, I’ve never been to this one. But after doing a little inter-office research for this blog, it became obvious that I couldn’t leave this one off. The annual festival kicks off September 29 and runs throughout the weekend. The schedule looks pretty jam packed and includes something called “Cow Chip Bingo” which DEFINITELY has sparked my curiosity. Looks like I’ll have to make it out this year. Here's the link!

Like it has every year for the last 40 years, the Tin Dusters Fall Color Run takes place on the Friday following the second Sunday in October (October 14 for those of you doing the math in your head). I’m not a car guy, but heading up to Moorman Park to see all the hot rods (that’s an adequate synonym, right?) is actually pretty spectacular.