Kids paint pumpkins in the family area at the Bend Fall Festival in 2009.

Grab your blanket scarves, knitwear, a cup of your favorite autumnal coffee drink and head downtown this weekend for all the fall vibes you could hope for with the 2021 Bend Fall Festival.

While some things might look a little different due to the pandemic, the festival still promises the quintessential festival feelings Bendites have come to expect. The outdoor festival kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday and features markets, local artists, businesses, vendors, music, food and other fun.

The festival’s aptly named Harvest Market, located on Minnesota Avenue between Tin Pan Alley and Lava Road, brings local in-season fruits and vegetables from local growers as well as baked goods, spreads, CBD-infused beverages and more.

On Wall Street between Greenwood and Franklin avenues, you’ll find both local and regional artists showcasing and selling their work, as well as doing some demonstrations in the Art in Action Avenue in Brooks Alley. There, blacksmiths, steamrolling printmakers — as in using an actual steamroller — and sculptors will show just how they do that. Plus, release your inner artist by painting your own pumpkin or drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Artists you’ll find along the promenade include Tyler Haas Designs, Hiker Booty, Little Pine Artistry, Megan Marie Myers Art, Amejko Artistry, Painted Desert Art and much more. On the north end of the street, local businesses will also be set up at booths, offering information on their services. If art wasn’t enough, head to the Soul Collective on Oregon Avenue for clothing, accessories and other trinkets to satisfy your shopping urges.

Families aren’t left out, either, with the Family Play Zone, located on the east side of Oregon Avenue and Bond Street. Kiddos can jump around in bounce houses, get their faces painted or get a balloon animal until 5 p.m. both days of the festival. At noon on Saturday, they can run off some steam with the Kids Harvest Run at Troy Field. Split up into three age groups, children 3-10 can run the course then have the chance to earn some prizes and a get pumpkin to paint back at the Play Zone. It’s a $7 registration fee per runner, and you can sign up online at bendticket.com or through the festival website.

Music this year features mostly local acts showing off their chops on the stage, located on the west corner of Bond Street and Oregon Avenue, where you can grab a tasty bite while enjoying some sweet tunes. The exception to the unofficial “locals only” showing is Diggin’ Dirt, the seven-piece Humboldt County, California, soul-funk band closing out the festivities on Saturday night.

Those tasty bites come courtesy of this year’s food vendors, which include local dumpling and kebab food carts Dump City and The Bob, plus Island Noodles MT, Qualiserve, Masa Empanadas and Famous Kettle Korn to quench any craving. You’ll find food vendors on both Oregon and Minnesota avenues, with gourmet food and drink vendors set up on the latter street. Don’t forget to wash it all down (if you’re over 21) with brews from Deschutes Brewery, AVID Ciders, wine from Elixir Wine Group or a cocktail made from Crater Lake Spirits which can be found on Minnesota Avenue.

With so much to do this weekend and a perfectly seasonable weather forecast, step out to the festival and step into fall.

What: Bend Fall Festival

Where: Downtown Bend between Greenwood and Franklin avenues and Brooks Street and Lava Road

When:

Saturday, Oct. 2

11 a.m. — Festival opens

11:30 a.m. — Third Seven 

1 p.m. — Pete Kartsounes

2:30 p.m. — Erin Cole-Baker Band

4 p.m. — Slade & The Hatchet 

5:30 p.m. — Leadbetter Band

7 p.m. — Diggin’ Dirt

8:30 p.m. — Festival closes

Sunday, Oct. 3

11 a.m. — Festival opens

11:30 a.m. — Cascade School of Music

Noon — Kids Harvest Run

1 p.m. — The Silvertone Devils

2:30 p.m. — Superball

4 p.m. — Tony Smiley

5 p.m. — Festival closes

Cost: Free, $7 per child for Kids Harvest Race

Contact: bendfallfestival.com