Fantastic Fall Happenings in San Diego!

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When autumn arrives and the summer beach crowds diminish, visitors to San Diego can relish in the region's sunny mild weather and enjoy a number of fun-filled fall activities to enhance their vacation getaway. During San Diego's shoulder season, visitors can find a variety of annual festivals and fairs, haunting Halloween celebrations and diverse cultural entertainment.

Fairs, Festivals and Parades

• The 12th annual Gaslamp Quarter Fall Back Festival brings alive the history and culture of downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. Held on Island Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets, the event occurs from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Nov. 4 and features food, live music, historic activities like butter churning and gold panning, spaghetti and pie eating contests, children's arts and crafts and more

Foodies Fest  

• During Nov. 2-11, hundreds of beer-centric events will take place during San Diego Beer Week, a countywide festival that highlights San Diego's award-winning craft beer, breweries and pubs; event dates, times and locations vary throughout the week.
• The 9th Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival, the region's largest wine and culinary event, takes place Nov. 14-18 on the Embarcadero Marina Park North, located next to Seaport Village, and other venues throughout downtown San Diego. The festival features gourmet food, celebrity chefs, wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and more.

Art & Sol

• Held along upper Girard Avenue in the village of La Jolla, the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival on Oct. 13-14 showcases over 150 fine artists. The fair also features a wine and beer garden, live entertainment, a gourmet marketplace and the Geppetto's/Witt Lincoln Family Art Center.
• During Nov. 1-9, the 13th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival presents films, videos and workshops that celebrate the work of Asian artists from around the world. Screenings are held at the UltraStar Mission Valley Cinema in Hazard Center and showcase feature films, shorts and animation.
• Showcasing more than 25 bands from throughout the United States and Canada, the 33rd Annual San Diego Thanksgiving Dixieland Jazz Festival during Nov. 21-25 at the Town & Country Resort in Mission Valley presents nationally acclaimed musical performances to kick-off the holiday season.

Cultural Events

• Little Italy in downtown San Diego presents the  18th Annual Little Italy Festa on Oct. 14. A grand celebration of Italian culture, this traditional street festival offers music, fine foods, specialty crafts and Gesso Italiano, a classic Italian street chalk painting exhibition.
• Visitors can explore the Mexican traditions of the Day of the Dead in Old Town San Diego, where more than 25 museums, restaurants and shops participate in a community-wide celebration of Dia de los Muertos on Nov. 1-2, creating traditional Mexican altars and offerings to departed loved ones. A candlelight procession from the Whaley House to El Campo Santo cemetery to make offerings to Old Town's earliest families at their gravesites tops off the unique cultural experience.

Halloween Haunts

• Halloween makes a splash at SeaWorld San Diego during its Halloween Spooktacular at SeaWorld celebration. This family friendly program features trick-or-treat stations, a Sesame Street-themed Halloween show, special Halloween-themed sea lion show and interactive Halloween characters along the pathways of the park. The event takes place every weekend in October.
• LEGOLAND California in Carlsbad joins in the Halloween fun every Saturday in October with its annual  Brick-or-Treat celebration, featuring a one-of-a-kind, 4-ft. tall LEGO jack-o-lantern. Children ages 12 and under can participate in fun-filled costume contests and trick-or-treat with a souvenir goodie bag along the park's Brick-or-Treat Trail, featuring a kid-sized cul-de-sac of spooky LEGO homes with fun and creepy creatures.
• During Sept. 21 - Oct. 31, screamin' good times await in downtown San Diego at the Gaslamp Quarter's popular  The Haunted Hotel, where guests venture through rooms and hallways inspired by haunts from Hollywood's favorite horror films. During Sept. 28 - Oct. 31 at the  Haunted Trail of Terror in Balboa Park, guests run for their lives through an outdoor maze of walkways patrolled by creepy spooks and spirits.
• During Sept. 28 - Oct. 31, more thrills and chills await guests at the Del Mar Fairground's massive  Scream Zone, with featured frights including a 3-D ghost maze, 25-room house of horror and haunted hayride.
• Night crawlers enjoy the annual Monster Bash in the Gaslamp Quarter occurring 6 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 27. This annual outdoor music festival takes over the streets of downtown's historic neighborhood with live musical performances on multiple stages, beer gardens and an extreme costume contest. This ticketed event is for guests ages 21 and older.
• San Diego's uptown community of Hillcrest offers devilish delights during Nightmare on Normal Street, an annual Halloween street party and costume contest on Oct. 27 at the San Diego LGBT Community Center. Festivities include music, food, a beer garden and other ghoulish entertainment.

Talk Turkey

• Hornblower Cruises & Events offers a Thanksgiving Day Buffet Cruise on Nov. 22 that is perfect for entertaining guests without all the hard work in the kitchen. The traditional Thanksgiving buffet is decorated in the holiday spirit and includes all the Thanksgiving favorites, including a glass of champagne upon boarding.