Are you ok, Fuquay? We’ve reached the part of the year when “let’s go look at some trees” becomes a legitimate activity. If a mountain drive is on your October list, the fall foliage map lets you search a destination and check estimated peak color. Pick your stretch of the Blue Ridge and see when the trees are expected to put on their show.
Closer to home, First Friday gets downtown moving tonight, Celebrate Fuquay-Varina takes over Saturday, and Aviator has an evening of Oktoberfest music. There’s also a costume contest for dogs which I’m sure your pup is looking forward to.
First time here? Welcome in. Every Friday, we send the best things to eat, drink, hear, and do around Fuquay-Varina. Know someone who’d be into it? Send them this: subscribe here.
— First Sip Fuquay Team
THE SHORT LIST
Start Here: Your Weekend Lineup
If you only read one thing this week, make it this. The biggest stuff happening across town this week:
Celebrate Fuquay-Varina Festival | Saturday, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM: Free carnival rides, more than 50 artists, food trucks, local beer, live music and a sticky bun contest downtown.
First Friday | Friday, 5:00-9:00 PM: Historical trolley tours, live performances, jack-o-lantern cookies and late hours across both downtown districts.
Friday Night Scoops & Hooves | Friday, 5:30-7:00 PM: Fat Cat Ice Cream, rescued goats and lawn games at Smith Farm Goat Sanctuary. Admission is $10.
Wag-O-Ween | Saturday, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM: Adoptable dogs, trainer demonstrations and a costume contest at Aviator.
Naylor Family Farm Fall Season | Sunday, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM: A seven-acre maze, pumpkin-patch hayride, animals and more than 20 farm attractions.
SATURDAY
🎡 Downtown gets six hours of rides, art and sticky buns
Image Credit: Celebrate FV
Celebrate Fuquay-Varina Festival | Downtown Fuquay | Saturday, October 3, 10:00 AM-4:00 PM
Celebrate Fuquay-Varina fills downtown with more than 50 artists on Raleigh Street, eight food and drink trucks, free carnival rides, a rock wall, museum tours, the King BMX Bike Show and an interactive dinosaur production. The Beer Garden Stage opens with Mayor William Harris playing trumpet at 11:00 AM, followed by a sticky bun contest at noon and Crush at 1:00 PM.
Arrive close to 10:00 if the Artist Village and kids’ rides are the priority. The beer garden begins serving at 11:00, and the Downtown Social District opens at noon. Parking is listed at Centennial Square, Falcon Park, the Community Center and unaffected downtown streets. Town events are pet- and smoke-free, so the dog will need to sit this one out.
FRIDAY
🚃 The trolley + history lessons
Image Credit: Century21
Fuquay-Varina Downtown Association First Friday | Downtown Fuquay-Varina | Friday, October 2, 5:00-9:00 PM
October’s First Friday runs through both downtown districts with a free trolley from 5:00-9:00 PM. Former Mayor John Byrne will lead historical tours between 6:00 and 8:00, with stops outside the FVDA office on Raleigh Street and at Quaint Plaza. Downtown Varina adds the Bright Lights Choir from 6:00-6:30 and Eric Manning from 6:00-8:00 in the East Broad Street lot.
On the Fuquay side, Stick Boy has jack-o-lantern cookie decorating from 5:00-8:00. The Arts Center stays open until 8:00, with artist Maureen Scullin at the gallery from 6:00-7:30. Start with cookies or the gallery, catch a trolley tour around 6:00, then finish with the outdoor music in Varina. That is a respectable amount of downtown movement without once negotiating Main Street parking twice.
SATURDAY
🐶 Aviator adds a costume contest for dogs
Image Credit: wagoween.org
Wag-O-Ween 2026 | Aviator Brewing Company | Saturday, October 3, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM
CARA and the US Dog Coalition and Rescue are bringing the second annual Wag-O-Ween to Aviator with adoptable dogs, rescue groups, vendors and K-9 trainer demonstrations. The dog-costume contest includes prizes for Most Creative, Best Human and Canine Duo, and the highly relatable Did Not Want to Wear It, But Still Cute award.
Dogs are encouraged to attend, and costumes are strongly encouraged. The four-hour schedule makes this an easy early stop before shifting downtown for the final stretch of the Celebrate festival. Just remember that Celebrate is pet-free, so doing both requires a trip home between events. Your dog may consider that the most sensible part of the plan.
SUNDAY
🎃 This farm pass includes a pumpkin and a seven-acre maze
Image Credit: Naylor Family Farm
Naylor Family Farm Fall Season | Naylor Family Farm | Sunday, October 4, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM | $24 ages 3+; ages 2 and under free
Naylor Family Farm’s fall pass covers more than 20 attractions, including a seven-acre corn maze featuring Spookley the Square Pumpkin, a 30-minute shaded hayride, a pumpkin from the patch, petting areas, a retired Bell helicopter, a 120-foot pirate ship and the Jump Barn. This is not a pumpkin stand with three hay bales near the register.
The farm recommends allowing most of the day, and Sunday’s 10:00 AM opening gives you eight hours to work with. Tickets are $24 for ages 3 and older; children 2 and under enter free with a paying adult. Animal feed, gem mining, the apple cannons and the Super Mega Slide cost extra. Arrive in the morning if the maze, hayride and included attractions are the main objective, then decide how much additional money the apple cannon deserves.
LIVE TUNES
🎶 Your Weekend Music Calendar
Image Credit: The Watchmen
Friday, October 2
Bright Lights Choir at East Broad Street Parking Lot - Friday, 6:00-6:30 PM: A half-hour First Friday performance before the evening’s longer set begins.
Eric Manning at East Broad Street Parking Lot - Friday, 6:00-8:00 PM: An outdoor Downtown Varina performance; bring a lawn chair if you plan to stay.
2Digh4 at Aviator TapHouse - Friday, 7:00-10:00 PM: Americana, country, pop and rock at the Varina depot.
The Watchmen at Aviator Ready Room Stage - Friday, 7:00-10:00 PM: Americana on the brewery campus’s indoor event stage.
Twilight & Vinegar at Aviator Pizza Pub - Friday, 7:00-10:00 PM: Rock during the Pizza Pub’s dinner-hour slot.
The Regulators at Aviator Hangar Bar Stage - Friday, 8:30-11:30 PM: Rock in Friday’s latest confirmed local time slot.
Saturday, October 3
Music with the Mayor at Celebrate FV Beer Garden Stage - Saturday, 11:00 AM: Mayor William Harris opens the festival performances on trumpet.
Crush at Celebrate FV Beer Garden Stage - Saturday, 1:00 PM: The festival’s main afternoon band takes over after the sticky bun contest.
RAAD OG at Aviator Amphitheater - Saturday, 3:00-6:00 PM: An outdoor rock set that finishes as the Oktoberfest band begins.
Oak City Polka Kings at Aviator Amphitheater - Saturday, 6:00-9:00 PM: Three hours of live Oktoberfest music outside.
Carolina Revival at Aviator Pizza Pub - Saturday, 7:00-10:00 PM: Rock and country at the Pizza Pub.
Christian Family at Aviator TapHouse - Saturday, 7:00-10:00 PM: Rock at the TapHouse, separate from the brewery-campus stages.
Mixtape at Aviator Hangar Bar Stage - Saturday, 9:00 PM-12:00 AM: Saturday’s latest confirmed start runs through midnight.
Sunday, October 4
Joe Conroy at Aviator TapHouse - Sunday, 2:00-5:00 PM: Country music in an afternoon slot.
Open Mic at Oaklyn Springs Brewery - Sunday, 2:00-5:00 PM: Local singers and songwriters rotate through originals and covers.
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THE REST
Honorable mentions for the week
Triangle Oktoberfest | Cary, Friday, 5:00-10:00 PM; Saturday, 12:00-8:00 PM: Bavarian food, more than 65 beers, the King Guys Oktoberfest Brass Band, stein hoists and Wiener Dog Races.
Drinking Habits | Apex, Friday and Saturday, 7:30-9:00 PM; Sunday, 3:00-4:30 PM: Reporters go undercover at a convent with a secret wine operation. Tickets are $12-$18.
A Haunting in Holly Springs | Holly Springs, Saturday, 7:30 PM: A locally staged comedy-mystery about a retired rock star and his haunted mansion. Tickets are $20; recommended for ages 13 and older.
UNC vs. Notre Dame at McWally’s | Saturday, 12:00 PM: The No. 3 Fighting Irish visit Chapel Hill, with the game on McWally’s large screens.
Coffee with a Cop | Wednesday, 9:00-10:00 AM: Meet Fuquay-Varina police officers at Target, ask questions and have coffee. Admission is free.
Sip & Spin: Bring Your Own Vinyl Night | Thursday, 6:00 PM: Bring a record and join the queue while a DJ spins guest selections at Track Record.
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