Labor Day weekend gives us one last chance to soak up all that the season has to offer as we bid a fond farewell to summer. Marking the season’s unofficial end, the first weekend in September generally means three days jam-packed with events and activities. We squeeze in as much as we can until we turn our sights to fall fun. Carve out some time this Labor Day weekend for a visit to the Kipona Festival in Pennsylvania, one of the summer’s best events.

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Start a new or continue a treasured tradition with a visit to the Kipona Festival, a popular annual event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that dates back to 1916 and draws more than 70,000 visitors each year.
Facebook/Visit Hershey & Harrisburg
It's considered one of the best festivals in PA.
Celebrating its 108th year in 2024, the three-day event, which will be held at Riverfront Park, will run from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, 2024.
Facebook/Visit Hershey & Harrisburg
Billed as a multicultural celebration, the Kipona Festival boasts a full menu of fun for the whole family. One of the highlights of the weekend is the Native American Pow Wow.
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
The Pow Wow will include, among others, a flutist, a storyteller, Aztec dancing, Iroquois social dancing, and intertribal drumming and dancing. Stop by City Island for the Pow Wow.
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
The start time for the 2024 Pow Wow has not yet been announced.

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Join the multicultural celebration near Market Street, too, where you can check out a variety of performers. Those who participated in 2023 included McGinley Irish School of Dance, the Trinidad and Tobago Baltimore Steel Orchestra, and the African Diaspora Initiative, among others.
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
The full schedule of events and activities will be released in mid-August.
The weekend festival typically features plenty of kid-friendly activities, such as face painting, carnival games, balloon animals, mobile escape rooms, magic shows, and a bubble festival.
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
If you've never been to a Bubble Festival, you're in for a real treat. Some of the bubbles are massive, measuring up to 70 feet. This is one of those Pennsylvania festivals you'll want to visit year after year.
Carve out plenty of time to check out the many vendors who will be selling a variety of goods. Food vendors will serve everything from cheesesteaks to crab cakes.
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
Sunday evening typically caps off with a spectacular fireworks display over the Susquehanna River at 8:15 p.m. For the best views, head to Riverfront Park.
The free-admission festival will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday (Labor Day).
Facebook/Explore Harrisburg
View a full schedule of events on the official website of the Kipona Labor Day Festival. Or, stop by the Facebook page of this Pennsylvania festival.

Have you been to the Kipona Festival in Pennsylvania? What did you think? Will you go again this year? Let us know in the comments! While you’re in town, plan a trip to this old-growth forest, a natural wonder in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

All of that exploration means only one thing: You’ll be doing a whole lot of walking. Wear a pair of comfy shoes on your adventures.

Perhaps The State’s Best Hidden Treasure, Hardly Anyone Knows This Incredible Old Growth Forest Exists In Pennsylvania

 

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More to Explore

Summer In Pennsylvania

Beth Price-Williams | June 09, 2024

What are some of the best things to do in Pennsylvania in summer?

Pennsylvania’s Kipona Festival is an idyllic, fun way to bid farewell to summer, but there’s so much to do during the hottest season of the year that it’s sometimes difficult to decide where to begin. Why not start with some of the best things to do in Pennsylvania in summer? Here are a few:

  • Spend a day soaking up the sun, flying a kite, or cooling off in the waters of Lake Erie at one of Presque Isle State Park’s 13 sandy beaches.
  • Ride down Meadow Run Natural Waterslides at Ohiopyle State Park, also home to Cucumber Falls, Ohiopyle Falls, and Jonathan Run
  • Treat yourself to an old-fashioned beach day at Mount Gretna Lake & Beach, a paid admission attraction that features a sandy beach, tubing, picnic tables, and a snack bar.
  • Build a sandcastle on the beach at Parker Dam State Park.
  • Spend an evening stargazing at Cherry Springs State Park, which boasts the darkest skies on the Eastern Seaboard.

What are the best summer day trips in Pennsylvania?

Even if we don’t have time for a summer vacation, we can still pack a ton of fun into a single day on one of the best summer day trips in Pennsylvania, including:

  • Stroll along a wooden boardwalk to the breathtaking Dingmans Falls.
  • Explore Chanticleer Garden, a fairy tale garden in Wayne.
  • Visit Parker, PA, the smallest city in America.
  • Take a scenic train ride aboard the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe.

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