If you’ve been waiting for one of those weekends when Bartow County gives you way too many choices, congratulations.
This is it. 😂
October 23–25 has a little bit of everything: fall festivals, Halloween fun, Western activities, a pub crawl, live music, history, food, cultural celebrations and even an opportunity to learn how to throw an atlatl.
Because apparently this weekend Bartow County said:
Everybody find something to do.
So whether you’re looking for something with the kids, something without the kids, something spooky or just an excuse to get out of the house, here’s what’s happening around Bartow County this weekend.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
🍺 Halloween Pub Crawl — Downtown Cartersville
📍 Downtown Cartersville, GA
📅 Friday, October 23 & Saturday, October 24
If your preferred version of Halloween involves fewer hayrides and more adult beverages, Downtown Cartersville has you covered. 😂
The Halloween Pub Crawl takes place Friday and Saturday, with participating downtown locations offering a drink to ticket holders. There isn’t a set route, so you can make your way around downtown at your own pace.
This is one we’ve already picked as a Front Porch Pick, and I still think it’s one of the best grown-up options of the weekend.
Costumes and a designated driver seem like equally good ideas.
🇪🇺 2nd Annual Evening in Europe
📅 Friday, October 23
⏰ 6:00–9:30 PM
📍 Goodyear Clubhouse
Want something a little more dressed-up Friday night?
Evening in Europe offers appetizers, dinner, desserts, live music and an evening inspired by European food and culture.
Tickets are $75 and include dinner, one beer or wine and a raffle ticket.
Basically, Bartow County has given us both ends of the Friday-night spectrum:
European dinner or Halloween pub crawl.
Choose your fighter. 😂
👻 Farm of Fears
📅 Friday & Saturday nights
📍 88 Wynn Road SW, Cartersville
🎟️ General admission: $27
For the people who enjoy voluntarily paying money to have someone scare the daylights out of them…
Farm of Fears is running Friday and Saturday night. 😂
It’s an outdoor haunted attraction, so this is your spooky option for the weekend.
I personally believe adulthood provides plenty of free anxiety, but I respect the commitment.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
Saturday is where things get a little ridiculous.
You could legitimately start in the morning and keep going until nighttime.
🤠 West Fest
📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
📍 Booth Western Art Museum
West Fest brings a full day of Western-themed activities to the Booth, with family activities, demonstrations, entertainment and plenty to see around the museum.
And this isn’t just “walk around and look at Western art.”
Think more along the lines of Western music, art activities, train rides, face painting, steer roping, food and demonstrations.
If you’ve never been to the Booth, this would be a pretty fun excuse to finally go.
One important note for my fellow people who assume the dog can go everywhere: dogs aren’t allowed at West Fest this year because of the Birds of Prey program.
Apparently the birds have spoken. 😂
🐑 Sheep to Shawl
📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
📍 Bartow History Museum
While you’re downtown for West Fest, Bartow History Museum is hosting Sheep to Shawl, featuring traditional fiber arts.
Members of local spinning guilds will demonstrate wool spinning and dyeing and show how wool becomes handmade textiles. Regular museum admission applies, or admission is included with a West Fest wristband. Bartow History Museum
This is one of those activities I probably wouldn’t think to search for on my own, which is exactly why I like putting these lists together.
You never know what you’re going to find around here.
🚗 BCIDD Halloween Car Show & Festival
📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 8:00 AM–3:00 PM
📍 Southern Devil Harley-Davidson, Cartersville
Here’s another Saturday option I didn’t want to leave off the list.
The Bartow Center for Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Halloween Car Show & Festival combines a judged car show with live music, vendors, arts and crafts, food and games.
There are also Halloween costume contests for kids AND pets, plus a kids’ car show. Show-vehicle registration is $25, with judging beginning at 10 AM and awards at 3 PM. CarCruiseFinder.com
So if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to dress your dog like a taco and also look at hot rods…
Bartow County has apparently anticipated your needs.
😂
🎃 Cartersville Fall Festival
📅 Saturday, October 24
⏰ 4:00–8:00 PM
📍 Dellinger Park
🎟️ FREE
This is probably my top family pick of the weekend.
The second annual Cartersville Fall Festival will have live entertainment, inflatables, carnival-style games, kids’ activities, food vendors and arts-and-crafts vendors.
There’s also a Trick-or-Treat Trail, so bring the costumes.
Then, as things wind down, families can bring blankets and lawn chairs and stick around for a movie under the stars. Cartersville
And because admission is free, this is a particularly good option if you want to get the kids out of the house without turning a Saturday afternoon into a small financial crisis.
😂
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
And don’t spend all your energy Saturday, because Sunday has a couple of really interesting choices too.
💀 Día de los Muertos Intercultural Fest
📅 Sunday, October 25
⏰ 12:00–5:00 PM
📍 Downtown Cartersville, GA
🎟️ FREE
This one deserves a spot on the list.
Intercultural Fest’s Día de los Muertos celebration returns to Downtown Cartersville for its 10th-anniversary year.
The family-friendly festival celebrates Mexican heritage and Día de los Muertos traditions with a Catrina contest, traditional altars and ofrendas, live music, folkloric dancing, Mexican food, family activities and the Concierto al Cielo musical tribute. Eventbrite
I love seeing events like this downtown because they’re not just something to do—they’re an opportunity to experience traditions and cultures you may not encounter every day.
And admission is free.
🏹 Atlatl Throwing at Etowah Indian Mounds
📅 Sunday, October 25
⏰ 1:00–3:00 PM
📍 Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site
And then we have my “well, that’s different” pick of the weekend.
😂
Visitors can learn about the atlatl—an ancient projectile-throwing tool—and try their hand at throwing one on the range.
If you’ve already done the pumpkin patch, fall festival and haunted house circuit this year, this gives you something completely different.
Plus, you’re at one of the most historically significant places in Bartow County, so I’d absolutely leave enough time to explore the site while you’re there.
Rachel’s Weekend Game Plan
If I were sorting this by what kind of weekend you’re looking for, here’s where I’d start:
👨👩👧👦 Taking the kids:
Cartersville Fall Festival or West Fest
🍺 Adults’ night out:
Halloween Pub Crawl
👻 Give me Halloween:
Farm of Fears
🚗 Cars + Halloween:
BCIDD Halloween Car Show & Festival
🎨 Art + history:
West Fest + Sheep to Shawl
💀 Culture + food + music:
Día de los Muertos Intercultural Fest
🏹 We want to do something completely different:
Atlatl Throwing at Etowah Indian Mounds
Honestly, you could build a pretty impressive weekend without leaving Bartow County.
A Front Porch Rachel Thought
This is exactly why I started putting these weekend lists together.
It’s easy to say:
“There’s nothing to do around here.”
Meanwhile, this weekend we’ve got people throwing ancient weapons, dressing pets in Halloween costumes, spinning wool, watching birds of prey, trick-or-treating, celebrating Día de los Muertos, getting scared in the woods and wandering Downtown Cartersville with cocktails.
😂
Bartow County may not always announce itself loudly.
But there’s usually something happening if you know where to look.
So pick something you’ve never done before, grab somebody you like…
and go enjoy where we live.
Real Estate. Real Life. Rachel.
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