Fall Events in Savannah, Georgia: 2026 Guide

Ask anyone why they are visiting Savannah, and you will get one of two answers: the azaleas in March, or the Christmas lights in December. Mention fall, and you usually get a shrug. That shrug is the best-kept secret in the whole city, and after 16 years leading tours through every season Savannah has, I am letting you in on it: fall is when this place actually feels like itself.

The humidity finally breaks. The sidewalks stop feeling like a sauna and start feeling like, well, sidewalks. And somewhere between the last note of the Jazz Festival and the first bite of Thanksgiving turkey, the city throws itself one long, rolling autumn party. Beer gardens, ghost stories after dark, a banana-suited baseball team and enough seafood to make you question ever leaving – All in about ten weeks.

If you want the real stories behind the squares, minus July’s swampy heat or December’s shoulder-to-shoulder sidewalks, lace up your walking shoes and join me for a Historic Savannah walking tour. I will keep you in the shade, and by the end you will know exactly which festival is worth crossing town for that week, and which one is really just an excuse for a cold beer. Spoiler: sometimes it is both.

Key Fall Dates: 2026

Here is the season at a glance, so you can pin your trip around what matters most to you.

Hover a highlighted date, then click an event to jump to its write-up below.

September through December is Savannah’s busy season.
Cooler, drier weather, fall festivals, and Christmas parades bring the crowds out early, and tour times fill up fast.
Availability is limited this time of year, so don’t miss out.

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September: Jazz Festival, Labor Day, and the Last of the Heat

September in Savannah still wears a little of summer’s humidity, but you can feel the city start to shift gears. Locals come out of their air-conditioned hiding spots, the farmers markets fill back up with fall greens, and the calendar picks up fast.

Labor Day Beach Bash (September 6)

Out on Tybee, the unofficial end of summer gets a proper send-off with live music at the pier and a fireworks show over the water. If you are staying downtown, it is an easy 20-minute drive out and a good excuse to see the beach before the season turns.

Savannah Jazz Festival (September 18-20)

This is the month’s headline act, and it does not cost you a dime to enjoy most of it. Forsyth Park fills with blankets and lawn chairs as jazz musicians from around the country, plus a fair share of homegrown talent, take the stage across three days. Get there early for a spot under the oaks. Shade is worth more than front row on a Savannah afternoon.

Villain Arts Tattoo Festival (September 25-27)

A little different from the norm, this annual convention brings artists from across the country to the Convention Center. Even if you are not walking out with new ink, the artwork on display is worth the wander.

Savannah Oktoberfest Bar Crawl (September 26)

If steins and lederhosen sound more like a night out than a family outing, this pub crawl runs from 4 to 10pm out of Stafford’s Public House. Think of it as round one, since the bigger, family-friendly Oktoberfest doesn’t hit Plant Riverside until October.

Round out the month with a Saturday morning at the Forsyth Farmers’ Market, where you will start seeing the season’s first pecans, tree-ripened satsumas and mandarins of the Georgia citrus season alongside the usual greens.

October: Oktoberfest, Bananas, and a Little Bit of Spooky

If September eases you into fall, October throws the door wide open. This is the month the whole city seems to be at some kind of festival, and Savannah leans hard into its haunted reputation once the leaves start to think about turning.

Banana Ball Playoff Weekend (October 1-4)

The Savannah Bananas return home for the playoffs, and even if you cannot snag a ticket to Historic Grayson Stadium, the watch parties and pop-up events happening across the city mean you do not have to miss the fun entirely.

Tybee Island Pirate Festival (October 8-11)

Bandanas and eye patches are basically the dress code for this one. Expect live music, food, and enough “arghs” to last you until next year.

Savannah Greek Festival (October 8-10)

Now in its 75th year, this is one of Savannah’s longest-running cultural celebrations. St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church throws open the Hellenic Community Center for three days of homemade Greek food, pastries, live dancing, and church tours, with free admission all three days. Go hungry. The souvlaki line moves fast, but the baklava line does not. 

Oktoberfest at Plant Riverside (Weekends, October 3-11)

Down on the river, Plant Riverside District trades its usual glow for steins, pretzels, and live oompah bands most weekends this month. It is free to attend, family-friendly, and a great spot to grab a beer with a river view while the sun goes down.

SCAD Savannah Film Festival (October 24-31)

Close to 50,000 people descend on the city for this eight-day event hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design. Student filmmakers compete for top honors while well-known directors and actors mingle right alongside the crowd. Keep an eye on the schedule, because you never know who you might spot getting coffee on Bull Street that week.

Where’s Noble Bones? A Bone-Chilling Scavenger Hunt (Saturdays in October)

Wormsloe Historic Site turns its moss-draped grounds into a family-friendly Halloween hunt every Saturday this month. Given that Savannah is regularly ranked one of the most haunted cities in America, a little scavenger hunt under the live oaks feels about right for the season.

Wag-O-Ween (October 24-25)

My personal soft spot on this list. Local dogs dress in costume and make the rounds to Savannah businesses for treats, water, and plenty of attention, all in support of Renegade Paws Rescue. Bring your own pup if you have one along, or just come for the parade of costumes.

Once the pets have had their turn, Savannah leans all the way into its reputation as one of the most haunted cities in America. This is the stretch where the city stops being subtle about it.

Trick-or-Treat on River Street (October 26th)

Shops and restaurants along the water open their doors for an afternoon of candy with a river view. Trick-or-treating begins at 2:00pm and concludes at 5:00pm. Posters will be displayed in all participating establishments. It is an easy, low-key way to let the kids show off their costumes before the sun goes down and things get a little more serious.

Bonaventure Cemetery After Hours (October 30 – November 1)

For the crowd that wants an actual chill down the spine, Bonaventure opens for special after-hours tours right around Halloween itself. Reservations disappear fast, so do not wait until the week of to book.

And if you really want the full ghost story treatment, a Ghost tour is one of the best-known ways to hear Savannah’s darker legends after dark. I stick to historically accurate horror stories on these tours.  

November: Seafood, Half Marathons, and Turkey Trot Season

By November, the heat is truly gone. Mornings turn crisp, the crowds thin out just enough to feel comfortable, and the run-up to Thanksgiving gives the whole month a homey, harvest kind of energy before the Christmas lights take over.

South Georgia State Fair (October 29 – November 8)

Carnival rides, funnel cake, and livestock shows on the edge of the city. It runs right through the first week of November and makes for a classic fall outing if you have kids in tow, or if you just have a soft spot for fair food the way I do.

Tybee Island Seafood Fest (November 8-15)

A full week of the island celebrating what it does best. Restaurants roll out seafood specials, and the festival day itself brings a shrimp-peeling contest, live music, and enough oysters to make you rethink dinner plans for the rest of your trip.

Shalom Y’all Jewish Food Festival (November 8)

Congregation Mickve Israel opens up Monterey Square for a beloved annual celebration of Jewish food and culture, complete with live entertainment and activities for the kids. It is one of those events that shows off just how many communities have shaped Savannah’s table over the centuries.

Free Admission Day at Fort Pulaski (November 11)

Just like the free entrance day I mention in the summer guide, Fort Pulaski waives its usual fee for Veterans Day. It is one of the best-preserved Civil War-era forts in the country, and a crisp November morning is a fine time to walk the grounds.

Savannah Southern Half Marathon (November 14)

Runners wind through Forsyth Park and Daffin Park in what is one of the prettier fall race routes you will find anywhere. Even as a spectator, the energy at the starting line is worth the early wake-up call.

United Way Turkey Trot (November 26)

A Thanksgiving morning tradition through Daffin Park and the Ardsley Park neighborhood is a great way to get kids to burn off that holiday energy. The race and costumes is a nice way to see a quieter, more residential side of the city.

Turkey Trot Scavenger Hunt (November 27)

For the day after Thanksgiving, Wormsloe hosts a family-friendly scavenger hunt that gets everyone out of the house and walking off the leftovers among the historic tabby ruins and oak avenue.

Once the Christmas Market lights come on at Plant Riverside in late November, we are officially into holiday territory, and that is a whole different story covered in my winter events guide. 

Fall Weather and What to Wear

Fall in Savannah is a slow, welcome cooldown rather than a sudden switch. Pack in layers and you will be set for most of it.

• September: Highs still near 87°F, with humidity lingering. Light fabrics and a water bottle are still the rule.
• October: Highs drop to a pleasant 79°F. This is peak walking-tour weather, so bring a light jacket for the evenings.
• November: Highs settle around 68°F, with cool mornings. A sweater and comfortable shoes will do you just fine.

For a full month-by-month breakdown, see my visitor’s guide to Savannah’s weather.

Final Thoughts

Fall in Savannah shows you the actual life here: front porches decorated with pumpkins, beer gardens overflowing with tourists and locals and a finish line of a half marathon nobody trained quite hard enough for. The air finally cools off, the festivals come one after another, and there is a homegrown, harvest-time feeling to the whole season that is hard to find anywhere else in the South. 

So whether you are chasing jazz through Forsyth Park, raising a stein at Oktoberfest, or working off Thanksgiving dinner on a scavenger hunt through the moss, fall is worth building a trip around. The events bring you into town, but the stories are what make you fall for the place. So put on your finest bowtie, optional but always encouraged, and book a Savannah Dan walking tour today. I will fill in everything the festivals leave out.