What to Do This October in Chattanooga

Trick or treat yourself to an unforgettable October in Chattanooga! This month, our city comes alive with a bewitching blend of Halloween happenings, fall festivals, and seasonal splendor. Whether you're a thrill-seeker or a pumpkin spice enthusiast, we've got the perfect lineup to make your autumn absolutely amazing.

Oct 1-Nov 30

Choo Choo Halloween Walk-Thru Light Show

📍The Choo Choo

Showcasing an immersive, family-friendly light show with nearly 1 million lights synchronized to holiday-specific music, NoogaLights at the Choo-Choo will have all your ghouls and goblins grinning from ear to ear.

Oct 5

Choo Choo Halloween Walk-Thru Light Show

📍Chattanooga State Community College

⏰10am-2pm

Don't miss out on Chattanooga State's 9th Annual Latin Festival & Open House on Saturday, October 5. It's a celebration of Hispanic culture packed with performances, activities, and food, which attendees can enjoy while touring the ChattState campus.

Walk Run Pedal Jamz Festival

📍Tennessee Riverpark

⏰8am-7pm

The Walk Run Pedal Jamz Festival® is new, different and a fun fundraiser for nonprofits that do so much for the community. The festival includes vendor tents; food trucks; a toddler walk; live music, free giveaways, and a charity walk, run and bike ride.

Green Eyes Festival

📍Downtown Chickamauga

⏰10am-6pm

Green Eyes is a legendary figure said to haunt the Chickamauga Battlefield and has inspired countless stories and tales. This festival celebrates our unique local folklore by bringing friends and families together to create new unforgettable memories in the heart of Chickamauga.

Fiestaval

📍Miller Park

⏰11am-9pm

On Saturday, October 5th, Chattanooga will become a ​“Gran Fiesta”. Join the celebration of culture!

Swim the Suck

📍Suck Creek Boat Launch

Swim the Suck is a 10-mile downstream open water swimming race in Chattanooga. The river course twists and turns making an “S” curve through the steep canyon walls of the protected Tennessee River Gorge.

Good Food Fair

📍BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Place in Highland Park

⏰10am-2pm

Get ready for an exciting day at the Chattanooga Food Center's very first Good Food Fair, happening on October 5th from 10 AM to 2 PM at the BlueCross BlueShield Healthy Place in Highland Park!

Walk Run Pedal Jamz Festival

📍Tennessee Riverpark

⏰8am-7pm

The Walk Run Pedal Jamz Festival® is new, different and a fun fundraiser for nonprofits that do so much for the community. The festival includes vendor tents; food trucks; a toddler walk; live music, free giveaways, and a charity walk, run and bike ride.

The Cryptid Ball

📍Gordon Lee Mansion

⏰7-11pm

Get ready for a night of mystery and myth at The Cryptid Ball, where legendary creatures come to life in a party like no other!

Oct 6

Whiskey Thief Game Night

📍Whiskey Thief

⏰7pm

Join Whiskey Thief Sundays from 7-9 PM for a fun night with Challenge Entertainment's Singo Musical Bingo! Let the games begin!

Oct 9

Chatt Symphony Pop Up at Houston Museum

📍Houston 'Pop Up' Museum

⏰7:30pm

Celebrate Autumn and enjoy music by small ensembles of CSO Musicians as you soak in views of the Tennessee River from the patio at the Houston Museum's Pop Up location.

Oct 11

Black & Yellow Affair w/ Bun B

📍Bessie Smith Cultural Center

⏰6:00-10:30pm

The Chattanooga Hip-Hop Summit will kick-off with a Black & Yellow Affair with Bun B! Dress in your finest black & yellow attire and join us on the red carpet for a reception and fireside chat, giving you the chance to hear of Bun B's story of success, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Oct 11-12

Halloween Trail Fest

📍Enterprise South Nature Park

⏰6-11pm

Kicking off the spooky season is the Halloween Trail Fest at Enterprise South Nature Park. This event features a 2 mile Haunted Trail, Family Glow Trail, Too Cute to Spook Trick or Treat Trail, Bounce Houses, Read 20 Read-A-Louds, Hayride Shuttle from the parking lot, Food Trucks, Bonfire, and more.

Boo in the Zoo

📍Chattanooga Zoo

⏰4-8pm

Chattanooga Zoo's annual Boo in the Zoo is a family-friendly holiday celebration including lots of candy, merry-not-scary decorations, costume shows, a bounce house, a scavenger hunt and more!

Other dates:

• Oct 18&19
• Oct 25&26

Oct 11-13

Fifth Annual Chattanooga Motorcar Festival

📍West Village Chattanooga

The weekend includes activities for children and adults, celebrity meet and greets, car club gatherings, specialty displays, Concours d’Lemons, street festivals, a parade, Broad Arrow Auctions in the Convention Center, and Luftgekühlt returns to celebrate air-cooled Porsches.

Oct 12

Spooky Paws Pet Parade

📍Tennessee Riverpark

⏰10am-5pm

Get ready for a hauntingly delightful event at the Tennessee River Park in Chattanooga on October 12th from 10 am to 5 pm – the "Spooky Paws Pet Parade"!

Art After Dark

📍Chattanooga Public Library – Downtown

⏰6-8pm

Join Hunter Museum at the Downtown Chattanooga Public Library on the Second Saturday of every month from 6-8 PM. These teen-only events feature art-making led by Hunter Museum staff, snacks, and exclusive after-hours access to the library.

1st Annual Nooga at Night XC Invite

📍Camp Jordan Soccer Fields

⏰7:30pm

Hosted by Dalton State College, the races will begin at 7:30 PM at Camp Jordan. Come watch your favorite high schools and colleges (including UT Chattanooga, Dalton State, Covenant College, and more) race the night away! Can't wait to see you there!

Oct 12-13

Oktoberfest

📍Chattanooga Market

The weekend features German accents such as a live oompah music, cultural food offerings and an expanded selection of beer, food and fun.

Hocus Pocus Fall Market

📍Camp Jordan Arena

⏰10am-5pm (Oct 12)

⏰10am-4pm (Oct 13)

Shop over 140 vendors, food, inflatables, FREE pictures with the Sanderson Sisters, and don’t forget the kids – They can trick-or-treat with each vendor!! Costumes welcome!

Oct 13

Paint & Sip

📍Georgia Winery

⏰3-6pm

Paint and Sip Parties are 3 hour events where guests will receive step by step painting instructions and price includes all of your art supplies and a glass of wine.

Oct 16

Bourbon Night with Willett Distillery

📍Easy Bistro & Bar

⏰6-9pm

Join Easy Bistro & Bar and Christopher Rich from Willett for an incredible evening with a curated tour of the different expressions of the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) portfolio: from Willett Pot Still and the Wheated 8yr all the way to Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Selections of Bourbon and Rye. Yes, there will be Purple and Green tops Too!

Oct 16-19

Lookout Comedy Festival 2024 - LCF Pass

📍The Comedy Catch at The Choo Choo

The Lookout Comedy Festival is Chattanooga's flagship comedy event, bringing over 30 stand-up comics and comedy industry professionals from all over the nation to the Scenic City over the span of four days every year.

Oct 17

Hip Hop Fashion Show

📍Hunter Museum of American Art

⏰6-7pm

Celebrate styles inspired by City as Canvas and the New York City urban art scene of the 1970s-90s during an in-gallery, immersive fashion show featuring music, dance, and fashion presented by Chery Jordan and the RUNWAY REBELS.

Oct 19

Brewtober Beer Fest at Lula Lake

📍Lula Lake Land Trust

⏰12-4pm

Brewtober Beer Fest takes you into the heart of Lula Lake for an autumnal, October adventure you cannot find anywhere else: iconic sights + delicious brews + beautiful trails.

Chattanooga Witch & Warlock Paddle (CANCELLED)

📍Coolidge Park

⏰11am-2pm

Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Coolidge Park and enjoy a spooktacular paddle adventure on Saturday October 19th! Gather your coven and call all of your witch, warlock, and wizard friends for a ghoulish good time paddling on the Tennessee River.

Pax Breu Ruim 5th Anniversary Party

📍Pax Breu Ruim

⏰12am-12pm

Join pax.breu.ruim OCTOBER 19TH for our 5th anniversary party to celebrate with special cocktails, a Vendor Market + DJ from 12-4pm followed by live music from 5- midnight (ish).

Chattanooga Halloween Weekend Bar Crawl

📍Nic & Norman's Chattanooga

⏰4-11pm

Get ready for a spooktacular weekend in Chattanooga with our Halloween bar crawl starting on October 19th at 4:00 PM!

Monster Dash Costume 5K and Kids Candy Chase

📍4631 Amnicola Hwy

⏰9am

FIT4MOM Chattanooga presents their 5th annual family-friendly costume 5k walk/run and kids sprint!

Oct 19-20

2024 Sweet Squirrell of Mine

📍Raccoon Mountain

⏰9:30am

The 2024 Sweet Squirrell of Mine is one of 5 events in the Go Nuts Racing Fall XC Enduro Series. The event will take place on October 19th and 20th on Raccoon Mountain. Come out and enjoy days full of racing and fun!

Between the Bridges Festival

📍Coolidge Park

Hey Chattanooga visual artists! Have you ever wanted to know what showing and selling at a festival is like? Have you done festivals and want to do MORE closer to home? Just looking for a new place to show and sell? Well guess what? We have a fall show FOR LOCAL ARTISTS ONLY! 2024 marks our 4th year putting on Between The Bridges, and it keeps getting better and better!

Chattanooga Apple Festival

📍Camp Jordan Arena

⏰10am-6pm (Oct 19)

⏰10am-5pm (Oct 20)

Experience the Chattanooga Apple Festival at Camp Jordan! Shop over 150 vendors, food trucks, inflatables, petting zoo, pony rides, trackless train rides, entertainment, and more!

Oct 20

7 Bridges Marathon

📍Coolidge Park

⏰7am-5pm

Enjoy Chattanooga’s largest and most loved marathon held on Sunday, October 20, 2024. Live DJ, event shirts, medals, food, and so much more! Oh yes, 5 different races to choose from.

Oct 24

CelebrateHer Fashion Show

📍Bessie Smith Cultural Center and Chattanooga African American Museum

⏰6-9pm

Get ready to celebrate women's empowerment and style at the CelebrateHer Fashion Show - it's going to be a night to remember!

Masquerade Gala

📍The Signal

⏰6:30-9:00pm

Join Women's Council of Realtors Gala for a special evening to celebrate the advancement of Women in real estate in Chattanooga.

Oct 25

Drink and Discover: CarnEvil

📍Creative Discovery Museum

⏰7-10pm

Join CDM for a spine-chilling evening at Drink and Discover: CarnEvil on Friday, October 25! This 21+ event transforms Creative Discovery Museum into a spooky carnival where the thrills are endless.

Oct 26

Chattajack 31

📍Ross's Landing

⏰8:30am

Chattajack is a paddleboard/kayak race unlike any other. It is one that celebrates the effort a paddle athlete makes in the pursuit of distance endurance.

Halloween Bash @ Whiskey Thief

📍Whiskey Thief

⏰7pm

Join Whiskey Thief for a spooktacular night at Whiskey Thief's Halloween Bash on Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 7-11 PM! Enjoy the beats of DJ Jiggawatt, drink specials, and their shareable menu.

Halloween Silent Disco at Naked River Brewing Co. Chattanooga

📍Naked River Brewing & BBQ

⏰7:30-11:30pm

Get spooky at the Halloween Silent Disco! Dress up and join us Saturday, Oct 26th at Naked River Brewing Co. for a night of music & fun!

The Official Halloween Bar Crawl - Chattanooga - 7th Annual

📍Whiskey Cowgirl

⏰4-11:59pm

Join Crawl With US for the ultimate Halloween Bar Crawl, where the spooky spirit and good times collide!

Oct 29

2024 Levitt Bloc Chattanooga Music Series

📍3500 Central Ave

RISE Chattanooga has been awarded a two-year Levitt BLOC Music Series grant of $30K in annual matching funds, for a total of $60K, to present a free outdoor music series in neighborhoods across the city in 2024 and 2025.