The NC Liver Mush Festival: Mush, Music & Mutts in Shelby brings together traditional food, modern brews and festive two- and four-legged friends. If you’re feeling brave, you can enter the Liver Mush Eating Contest. How much of the southern delicacy can you keep down? There’s also a chili cook-off for more mainstream palates. The main attraction for Fido is the Pet Festival. Pups can enter a costume contest and parade through town with other dapper dogs, outwit fellow mutts in musical sit, and show off their best flips in the trick contest. After all that fun, it’s time to cool off with a dog beer and watch the Shelby Police Department K9 Team perform some tricks of their own.

NC Liver Mush Festival: Mush, Music & Mutts will be held on October 19, 2024, in Uptown Shelby, NC. Book a weekend stay at Hampton Inn & Suites Shelby to really enjoy a full day at the fun festival.

The first Plymouth Fall Festival was held in 1956 to raise money for new playground equipment. Over the years, it has become a fall celebration that overtakes Plymouth’s downtown area. The weekend's events range from live music and bingo to a pancake breakfast and classic car show, but the crowds are there for the hotly contested Plymouth-Caution Optimist Club Pet Show. This is an interspecies competition, so your pooch will have to beat out cats, reptiles, fish, rabbits and rodents to win top dog honors. Categories include largest, smallest, shortest, tallest, longest and shortest ears and tail, most unusual, best costume and best trick. If he loses the best trick category to a fish, it might be time to take Fido to a trainer.

The Plymouth Fall Festival will be held in downtown Plymouth from September 6-8, 2024. Book a weekend stay at Hilton Garden Inn Plymouth and explore nearby destinations like Ann Arbor.

German Shepherds (and all other mutts) are welcome at Denver Oktoberfest. This joyful celebration of sauerkraut, brats and Bavarian brunch is an awesome excuse for you and your pooch to stuff your faces and party like it’s 1810 all over again. Don't miss the much-anticipated Long Dog Derby, held on an artificial grass racetrack to ensure the ultimate race conditions. All breeds, shapes and sizes are invited to cheer on the speedy wieners from outside the fenced-in area.

Denver Oktoberfest will be a party lasting two weekends, September 20-24 and 27-29, 2024. Rest and recover at the beautiful Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver, where four-legged guests are welcome with treats, beds and bowls.

Bring Fido’s camping chair and enjoy a couple of days’ worth of fun-filled activities on the poppin’ streets of Beaverdale, Des Moines. The Beaverdale Fall Festival and Parade includes a talent show, arts and crafts vendors, live music, beer, food vendors, and a gathering of classic cars. But the real reason why Beaverdale Fall Festival draws such a large crowd each year is because of the parade. Leashed dogs are welcome to “pawticipate” or view as a spectator.

Beaverdale Fall Festival will be held in Beaverdale, Des Moines, on September 20 and 21, 2024. Extend your visit to Iowa’s capital city with a stay at the Ramada Tropics Resort & Conference Center. While Fido’s in his room dreaming of his time on the podium, you can go for a dip at the hotel's indoor water park.

The Albino Skunk Festival in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is a pet-friendly celebration like no other. Loyal skunk-heads have been attending this mountain affair, located at Skunk Farm, since 1995. This backwoods bash offers a lineup of acoustic music, including sets from Americana, Folk, Alt-Country, Acoustic, Roots and Bluegrass artists. Several local craft vendors join in the fun, selling items ranging from tie-dyed shirts to jewelry and original art. The food is provided by local bakers, crab connoisseurs and Mexican food specialists. Dogs are welcome throughout the festival and in camping areas.

The Albino Skunk Festival takes place on Skunk Farm in Greer from October 2-5, 2024. If you don't feel like camping at the event, you can reserve nearby pet-friendly accommodations for the weekend at APT Suites Greenville Greer BMW.

Fall is marked by colorful foliage, and the Mont Sutton Fall Festival is the quintessential celebration of this awesome natural display. Located in Quebec, this gorgeous mountain town is known for its snow skiing. During the fall season, however, it welcomes thousands of visitors to enjoy stunning views of the brown, red and gold tapestry surrounding the Eastern Townships. Dogs and their owners are welcome to join two daily organized hikes to scenic overlooks, enjoy camping under the leaves, or even ride on the chairlift as long as Fido is comfortable in your lap.

The Mont Sutton Fall Festival will be held in and around Mont Sutton from September 14 through October 14, 2024. Stay in a chalet, studio or hotel room during this year’s festival at nearby Le Montagnard - Auberge/Hotel & Chalets.

One of San Diego’s preeminent seaside communities invites people and pets to enjoy fine wine and admire incredible artwork at the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival. Entering its 15th year in 2024, this celebration gives a platform to more than 150 artists from across the U.S. and Mexico. Marvel at the original paintings, sculptures, jewelry, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork and photography on display. Even if you can’t tell a Pugcasso from a Maltese, you can enjoy a glass of fine wine. The wine and beer garden boasts offerings from 40 international wineries, local craft breweries and distilleries. Fido will love the PUP RUFFreshment Station sponsored by Veterinary Specialty Hospital. The booth is stocked with treats, fresh water, a shaded area and even a slobbery kissing booth. Previous festivals matched 60 pups with their forever homes, and the canine experts at the booth can give you a rundown on the 15 adoption stations throughout the festival.

La Jolla Art & Wine Festival will be held on October 28 and 29, 2024. Enjoy a few more days in this picturesque West Coast city with a stay at La Valencia Hotel. This oceanfront hotel welcomes dogs and cats with treats, pet beds and bowls.

A glowing wall of jack-o'-lanterns towering 34 feet into the sky illuminates Laconia’s main street during the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival. This multi-day gathering sees more than 40,000 attendees take to the streets to marvel at the amazing pumpkin wall. Elsewhere in the festival, visitors can partake in pumpkin bowling, enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride and devour a pumpkin-based bite from one of 60 vendors in attendance. Fido will want to dress to impress because there will be trick-or-treating just for pets at Weirs Beach! Pumpkins are great for a dog’s digestion and can even aid in weight loss, so perhaps it is okay if you get a third helping, Fido. To get around Laconia during the festivities, hop on the WOW Trail. This multi-use trail links Lakeport to downtown Laconia and provides 4.25 miles of continuous pet-friendly pathway.

The New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival will be held in Laconia from October 22, 2024 through Halloween. Pack your bags and enjoy New Hampshire's pretty fall colors from the NASWA Resort. Located directly on Lake Winnipesaukee, its central location is ideal for festival-goers. The popular resort offers canine guests access to the water, dog treats, beds and bowls.

Scott’s Addition has fast become one of the hippest neighborhoods in Richmond, VA. Bring Fido to Scott’s Addition Pumpkin Festival, where you can try the area's famed local brews, listen to live bands perform and grab a bite from a variety of food trucks. Dogs and their owners are invited to dress up in their most inventive outfits to try and bag a prize in the annual costume contest. To enter, register between noon and 2 p.m.

Scott’s Addition Pumpkin Festival will be held on October 19, 2024. After the festivities, treat Fido to a night at The Jefferson Hotel, one of Richmond’s grandest pet-friendly properties.

Fido can breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that the Sheepdog and Dog Sports Competitions are fully booked for this year’s Rural Hill Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival. That doesn’t mean he can’t admire the highly trained athletes competing while he enjoys gourmet treats and browses the swag stalls. Trained dogs show what they can do in different levels of herding and agility trials, dock diving, and additional sports demos. There are many other activities to enjoy, too.

Rural Hill Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival will be held at Historic Rural Hill on November 2 and 3, 2024. Book a room at Country Inn & Suites by Radisson for a longer pet-friendly vacation in the outdoor hub of Huntersville, NC.