Bring a Zucchini, a Dull Knife and a Can of Soup: Ferndale's Fall Happens at 2007 Cherry Street

Ferndale has events nearly every weekend between Oct. 10 and Thanksgiving morning, and almost all of them take place at Pioneer Pavilion Community Center, 2007 Cherry St., or in Pioneer Park around it. Most of these events also ask you to bring something. That might be a zucchini to race, a costume to trade, a dull kitchen knife, a bag of garden seeds or a can of food. Seen together, the fall calendar works less like a list of shows and more like an exchange among neighbors that runs for about seven weeks out of one building.

The Ferndale Downtown Association's Oktoberfest opened the season at the Pavilion on Oct. 3. Here is what comes next.

Oct. 10 is one long day with the same dancers at both ends

The day starts early. The Zombie Fun Run is free, open to all ages and run by the City's Parks, Recreation and Trails Advisory Board, known as PRTAB. Check-in is at 9 a.m., the Kids' Shuffle starts at 9:45, and the main run starts at 10. Everyone registers, starts and finishes at the Pavilion. The City's fall and winter 2026 newsletter says runners can do one, two or three laps, which makes it easy for a household to sign up together even if everyone runs at a different pace.

The Ferndale Witches dancers open the run and then perform again later that day at the Harvest Festival.

This is the third year for Ferndale Community Services' Harvest Festival, and it's free. The cultural fair covers Día de los Muertos and cedar weaving in the Lummi tradition. Local nonprofits run family activities, and there's live music and singing, plus face painting and pumpkin painting. Fresh chowder and Indian food are free for everyone while supplies last. The festival asks you to bring two things, both optional. One is a zucchini for the race, no wider than 4 inches. The other is a costume to swap at the costume exchange. With Halloween three weeks away, a household can trade last year's costume for a different one at no cost.

Four Tuesdays left to learn the dance

The witches who open the Zombie Run are not a hired troupe. The Ferndale Record reports that the witch dance first went viral in 2016, when a German dance troupe dressed as witches performed it as a flash mob. PRTAB brought it to Ferndale this year, with credit to Colleen Harper. Lessons began Sept. 8 and continue every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Pioneer Pavilion through Oct. 27. They're free and open to all ages. The event listing says each session runs until 7:30 p.m. and that you need to register with the City.

The schedule works out neatly. According to the Record, dancers who attend four practices, or enough to feel comfortable with the routine, can perform in Pioneer Park Village during Halloween trick-or-treating. As of Oct. 3, there are exactly four Tuesdays left: Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Someone starting this week can still make four practices before Halloween.

After the Oct. 6 practice, there's a broom-making get-together at FrinGe Brewing. The City has details on its Ferndale Witches Dance page.

Oct. 18: the Share & Repair Fair wants your broken things

The idea of trading a costume at Harvest Fest grows into a full afternoon eight days later. The RE Store hosts its Share & Repair Fair at Pioneer Pavilion on Sunday, Oct. 18, from noon to 4 p.m. It combines a fix-it fair, a clothing swap and a skill share, and the organizers' invitation is to bring something broken, things you don't use or a question.

Repair stations listed for this year:

• Knife sharpening
• Leather conditioning
• Jewelry repair
• Toy repair
• Bicycle repair
• Instrument repair
• Textile mending
• DIY resources from the Whatcom County Library System
• An upcycling craft activity for kids

Small appliances aren't on the list, so a toaster with a frayed cord probably won't get fixed this year. There is an "Ask an Expert" table with home repair and building professionals, and the organizers suggest bringing photos and even sound recordings. A recording of a gurgling drain or a squeaky stair could be the most useful thing to bring.

The swap tables take hand tools, art supplies, pantry staples, garden surplus and garden seeds. Clothing works differently. Clothes for the swap have to be dropped off at designated locations before the event, so a closet cleanout needs to happen before Oct. 18, not that morning.

Oct. 24: 35 years with Minamiboso, starting with pumpkins

The following Saturday, the Pavilion hosts the 35th anniversary of Ferndale's sister city relationship with Minamiboso, Japan. The event is free, open to all ages and presented in partnership with the City of Ferndale. It runs from 1 to 4 p.m. The program includes:

• An opening delegate ceremony
• Displays on the history of the Ferndale Sister City Association and Minamiboso
• The association's Literacy and Growing Program
• Japan-themed books from the Whatcom County Library System
• A "Make Your Mascot" pre-event
• "Peoples of Ferndale" performances under the "Cranes of Peace"
• A large free raffle and an anniversary gift for attendees while supplies last

The event listing describes the program as running "from pumpkins where it all began" to the delegate ceremony. The listing doesn't explain what the pumpkins were. If you'd like the story, the history displays that afternoon are the place to hear it from the people who tell it.

Oct. 31: trick-or-treating from cabins dating to the 1800s

Halloween happens at the oldest part of the park. Pioneer Village is a group of late-1800s cedar-slab pioneer houses moved in from sites around Whatcom County. The Whatcom Old Settlers Association bought the cedar tract in 1901 and began moving pioneer buildings there in 1935. The City took over the property as a public park in 1972, and the Ferndale Heritage Society formed in 1993 to help manage the cabins and open them to the public.

The Ferndale Chamber's annual Trick or Treat runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Local businesses hand out candy around Pioneer Village, including from the porches of the historic log cabins, and there are games and prizes. Pets aren't allowed inside Pioneer Park for this event, though service animals are always welcome. This is also where the witch dancers who finished their four Tuesdays will perform.

November keeps the same address

Night of Hope, the fundraiser for Numan Children's Home, comes to Pioneer Pavilion on Nov. 7 from 4:30 to 10 p.m. The evening includes dinner, live music from the classic rock band BlindFate, auctions, a dessert dash and dancing. Money raised will go toward a passenger van to take children in rural Ethiopia to school, medical appointments and activities.

That same Saturday brings the season's only major Ferndale event away from the Pavilion. Daughters of Norway holds its 26th annual Nordic Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ferndale Events Center, 5715 Barrett Road. There will be Nordic music and dancing, Nordic gifts and crafts, a Scandinavian bakery and the Norsk Kafé. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and younger. You can go to Nordic Fest during the day and Night of Hope in the evening.

The season ends back on Cherry Street on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, with the Ferndale Kiwanis Turkey Trot. Registration opens at 8 a.m. for a 9 a.m. start, or you can register online. Runners choose a 5K route or a one-mile route. Adults pay $20. Kids under 15 and pets are free and don't need to register, so the dog that has to stay home on Halloween can come along on Thanksgiving. Organizers strongly encourage donations of nonperishable food. All proceeds go to the Ferndale Food Bank and the Ferndale High School senior scholarship funds. The exchange that began with a costume swap in October ends with a can of soup on Thanksgiving.

Check the public hours before you go

The City's online calendar lists Pavilion bookings by facility reservation, which usually includes setup time. Those blocks are longer than the hours organizers publish:

• Harvest Festival: The City calendar shows 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ferndale Community Services lists the festival as noon to 5 p.m.
• Share & Repair Fair: The City calendar shows 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The RE Store lists noon to 4 p.m.
• Witch dance practice: The City calendar shows 6 to 8 p.m. The event listing gives 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Showing up at 10 a.m. for Harvest Fest means waiting two hours for the chowder.

Living near Pioneer Park makes it easy to get to all of this, and the seasonal traffic on Cherry Street is worth knowing about if you're thinking about a home nearby. If you'd like to talk through which parts of Ferndale put you within walking distance of the Pavilion, or what fall in town looks like from a particular street, Christine Rasmussen is glad to share what she knows. Let's Connect.