Fall Festivities Around Purdue

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Fall is my favorite time on Purdue’s campus – between the changing leaves with the brick buildings and colder temperatures while studying, it feels like a quintessential college movie. A wide variety of activities on and off campus mark the season, and if you’re looking to spend a few hours or a weekend, there’s something for every individual or group

Purdue Farmers Market

Every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in May through October, the Purdue Farmers Market takes place on Memorial Mall. This is always a very popular event, and I frequently run into someone I know getting a snack, buying produce, or getting some fresh air on the lawn. Many vendors return year after year, and goods for sale include in-season vegetables, condiments, baked treats, jewelry, plants, honey, clothing, grab-and-go lunches and snacks, and more.

Football Games

There’s nothing quite like a Purdue football game on a brisk fall day, and both Homecoming Weekend and Fall Family Weekend are especially good times to don your Boilermaker attire and swing by a tailgate before hitting the stands. Many students make the game an all-day event by dressing up and going out with friends before or after to keep the festivities going. If you don’t feel like heading over to Ross-Ade, you can catch the game at Walk-On’s at the Union or one of the many restaurants along State Street.

Exploration Acres Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

Exploration Acres was crowned the third-best corn maze in the U.S. by the Reader’s Choice branch of Newsweek for 2024, and it's easy to spend a full day soaking up the fall atmosphere. Twenty acres, ten miles of paths, and four mazes form the cornfield portion, and visitors can reserve a fire pit to refuel after working their way through the challenges. As you go along, you can collect punches on a rewards card at checkpoints within the maze for discounts at local stores and restaurants. Hayrides and a visit to the pumpkin patch are also included in admission, and you can grab a bite to eat at one of the pop-up vendors or the country store.


Volleyball Games

Purdue volleyball is another fan-favorite fall sport, and this year’s team recently broke its own Big Ten regular season attendance record playing in a sold-out Mackey Arena which is usually our basketball court. The fan base is the most dedicated in the country, and the Block Party student section keeps morale and engagement high by maintaining a free ticket distribution system to maximize attendance and creating and coordinating volleyball cheers. Dubbed the “heartbeat of Holloway” Gymnasium, all students can get the most out of a game by dressing up, snagging or sharing an unused ticket, and cheering on the Boilermakers in the loudest and most intimidating volleyball students section.


Starry Night Festival

Starry Night is an annual music and arts festival that takes place in mid-October. Thousands of students, community members, and families come for live bands and singers, food trucks, vendors, and free artistic activities under the stars. Hosted by Campus House church, the non-faith-affiliated festival brings together local artisans, performers, restaurants, and opportunities for hands-on creative projects to form a welcoming and family-friendly evening block party. Additionally, Starry Night supports various charitable causes through corporate partnerships and on-site tabling to give back to the community.

Wea Creek Orchard Apple Picking

Located about eight miles away from campus, Wea Creek Orchard is a convenient and popular spot for apple picking all throughout autumn. They have a wide range of apple varieties; depending upon the month, visitors can find fuji, pixie crunch, crimson crisp, golden delicious, gala, akane, blondee, and other species. You can also snag pumpkins, purchase canned fruit preserves, take a tractor ride, and say hi to the farm dogs to fully get into the fall spirit.


Feast of the Hunters’ Moon

The Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is an annual reenactment of the fall gathering at Fort Ouiatenon on the Wabash River between Native American and French fur trappers in the 18th century. In early October, thousands of reenactors wear historical attire, dance and sing, canoe on the Wabash, fire muskets, craft traditional products, and enjoy buffalo stew, fry bread, and cider. Both highly immersive and educational, Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a local classic.

Howl-O-Ween Wolf Park

Wolf Park, located ten miles northeast of campus, is a not-for-profit educational and conservation wolf center focused on behavioral research and public perception of wolves. In late October, visit the park in a costume for the Howl-O-Ween Night complete with a lantern tour, wolf mythology, and local haunting stories around a campfire. This event includes the park’s well-known Howl Night program where you can see the wolves at their liveliest during twilight and join in with their nighttime howls. If you’d like to bring a treat for the wolves, Wolf Park says that they welcome packaged hot dogs and summer sausage.

Evil on Erie

Evil on Erie is a haunted house featuring two stories of terror housed in an abandoned warehouse in Lafayette. With over 150,000 square feet of horror Fridays and Saturdays in October, the premise behind Evil on Erie centers around a portal in the haunted warehouse that allows nightmares to pass through and target visitors. Be prepared for actors and warehouse components to touch you from the shoulders up and knees down, and keep an eye out for the haunted train sure to frighten any Boilermaker.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for fall activities in and around campus – from sports to shopping and history to haunts, there truly is something for everyone throughout the fall at Purdue.

Natalie Anderson, IE '27

Recruitment Project Committee 

 

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