This Small Town in Wisconsin is the Cutest Halloween Town I’ve Ever Seen

Each year after school starts, I begin the hunt for the best fall festivals in the Midwest. Harvest is pretty much our middle name around here, so come September and October, you’ll find endless local, seasonal activities. You really can’t go wrong with the quintessential apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and flower fields. But, unpopular opinion - if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  

I knew it was time for something new when my tweens rolled their eyes at the mention of jumping pillows and corn mazes…again! Unsurprisingly, they have outgrown some of the best fall fun. So I tried to divert to haunted houses, and noticed a lingering twinkle of terror in their eyes. And Oktoberfest- bewilderment. Kids and a beer garden? Maybe not so much. There must be something else, something for the in-between tweens, too big for this and too young for that.

When Is the Beaver Dam Downtown Fall Festival?

That’s when I discovered witches' dances and casket races, presented in a charming, tiny city in Southern Wisconsin. Just a road trip away, Beaver Dam held some serious promise as the perfect Halloween town. They have an annual tradition, only a few years old, named the Fall Downtown Fest. It happens for one day only, every October on the Saturday before Halloween (this year it’s on October 25th).

We bundled up on a very chilly morning to arrive in Beaver Dam at the start of a full day of events. The Downtown Fall Fest launches with a farmer’s market and vendor show before easing into an all-out street festival. Block after block is filled with food trucks and art experiences, choreographed dances, scavenger hunts, stage performances, and trick-or-treating. Every local wears a costume, yet nothing horrific or overly sumptuous is in sight. Family and team costumes are a big thing, creating thematic groups circling through the crowds. Think Mario Brothers, the Adams Family, a family of monarch butterflies, t-rexes, and even M & Ms.

New Fall Festival Traditions: Witches’ Dances and Casket Races

At scheduled intervals, all festival goers line up on the curbs, sitting on hay bales for bleachers, to watch one of the main attractions: witch dances. City speakers blast spooky beats into the city center, luring pointy hat performers into hip-swaying dances with their broomsticks. Ladies of all ages, from giggling toddlers to grinning grannies, participate, creating a sweet and silly tradition shared between many generations.

After that, it’s time for cider donuts, street murals, pumpkin bowling, face painting, and harvest crafts while the town gets ready for the grand finale. It begins with the clunkety clunks of someone pushing a pile of “junk” down the alley, a group of co-workers shouting cryptic instructions from storefront to streetside, and then clusters of waddling costumes streaming in from every direction. 

At long last, a hush falls over the crowd as go-karts fashioned into caskets pile up at the starting line of the main thoroughfare. Then the quick blast of an airhorn catapults the town into giggles as the costume-clad run full speed behind their contraptions, like bobsledders in full action. These are the casket races. It trumps anything I’ve seen thus far as a Halloween tradition - and yes, my tweens were as transfixed as I was. 

Beaver Dam: Best Local, Fall Festival for Families

Later, I learned the casket races teams are representatives of local, independent businesses. A mix of owners, employees, and enthusiasts who make utter fools of themselves for a good cause. Awareness, community, tradition - the little bits of society we’re craving and desperately missing. It still exists in Beaver Dam, unassumingly original in its quest to make Halloween a warm and fuzzy family affair. 

If you’re like me, desperately seeking something wholesome and unique this fall, maybe a last-ditch effort to stay connected with your tweens for one more Halloween? Beaver Dam is where it’s at.

Feeling inspired? Try planning your own trip using Only In Your State’s itinerary planner.