If you love good BBQ – and who doesn’t? –the Fall Festival in Clarence, NY is where you want to be this weekend as the Great Pumpkin Farm hosts the annual Heart of Texas OINKTOBERFEST BBQ Cookoff 2017, New York State’s longest continually running sanctioned BBQ competition!

Preview night is this Friday, September 22 and includes FREE ADMISSION to the Great Pumpkin Farm (note that the Fall Festival will NOT be open on Friday night).  Gates open at 5:00 p.m., so guests can enjoy finger-lickin’ delicious BBQ from the participating contestants and, at the Witches Brew Bar & Café, great food, beer, wine and specialty Halloween drinks. Buffalo’s own Miller and Other Sinners will provide a southern soul backdrop of great music from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the main stage.

The Fall Festival kicks off its second weekend at 10:00 a.m. Saturday with its usual activities and events plus more delicious BBQ. Judging for the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS)-sanctioned OINKTOBERFEST competition takes place beginning at noon on Saturday; the awards ceremony begins at 5:00 p.m. Team entries will be judged and scored according to KCBS guidelines and rules. Food categories will include chicken, pork ribs, pork butt/shoulder and beef brisket. The scores of these four categories determine the Grand Champion. Sunday promises more delicious eats with the Backyard BBQ & RibOink-Off. (View the list of teams scheduled to compete.) There will also be live music all day long on the main stage.

Other special attractions during the second weekend of the Fall Festival include:

Magic by Mike & Annie This magic experience is full of comedy and audience participation opportunities. Show times Saturday and Sunday are 11:30 a.m., 1:00, 3:00 & 4:30 p.m.  in the Pumpkin Palace (next to the Cackling Hen Revue). Free with Festival admission.

As with every year at the Fall Festival, there’s something for everyone, including the corn maze, hay maze, magic show, Boo Barn, amusement rides and more. Guests can also purchase pumpkins, gourds, mums and stalks and visit the bakery for freshly baked pies, cookies, pastries, candy and cider.

The Great Pumpkin Farm’s Fall Festival is celebrating its 22nd year as Western New York’s favorite fall destination.  Young and old who attend the Festival look forward to the thrill of the amusement rides, hayrides and corn maze, relish picking out their pumpkins, homemade donuts, pies, cookies and pastries, selecting the perfect Halloween decorations and watching special events, such as the World Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest, the Trebuchet Contest and Oinktoberfest, New York State’s BBQ Cook-off – and so much more!

This year, the Great Pumpkin Farm declared opening weekend to be Armed Forces Weekend, in collaboration with WNYHeroes, Inc.  The regular admission fee was waived for military, police or fire department personnel who were also permitted to bring one guest for free. A special happy hour took place at the Witches Brew (inside the Pumpkin Palace) on both Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17. There was live music and military veterans served as bartenders. All tips collected were donated directly to WNYHeroes.

Throughout the seven weekends of the Fall Festival, WNYHeroes representatives will be on hand at an informational booth in the Event Center at the Great Pumpkin Farm.

In addition to Armed Forces Weekend activities, the opening weekend of the Fall Festival included animatronic dinosaurs, Vinnie and Teddy, in the Corn maze and Sylvia Fletcher & Friends Ventriloquism. On Saturday, September 16, the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library’s Bookmobile (Library on Wheels) was on site with crafts for the children and story times throughout the day.

FALL FESTIVAL WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

• WEEKEND #2: September 22-24 – Friday Night Preview Night; Oinktoberfest, New York State’s official KCBS-sanctioned BBQ Cookoff
• WEEKEND #3: September 30 – October 1 – World Pumpkin Weigh Off (Sunday); Sylvia & Friends Comedy Ventriloquist
• WEEKEND #4: October 7, 8 & 9 (Columbus Day) – Pumpkin Olympics; Annual KISS 98.5 Pumpkin Drop (Monday)
• WEEKEND #5: October 14 & 15 – Pig Races; World Pumpkin Pie Eating Competition (amateurs on Saturday, professionals on Sunday)
• WEEKEND #6: October 21 & 22 – Annual Trebuchet (catapult) Contest with local high school teams (practice Saturday, contest Sunday); Dinosaurs in the Corn Maze
• WEEKEND #7: October 28 & 29: – FINAL WEEKEND; Costume Contest; Dinosaurs in the Corn Maze.

More information on Weekday and Weekend events can be found on our event calendar or by view our list of attractions.