What's Happening in Northern Nevada: Early-October Events

This is the latest in our weekly roundup of what's happening in Northern Nevada, written to show California transplants what life actually looks like after the move. Every event below was verified with its name, date, and location on this run. The week of September 28 through October 4 brings the first weekend of October, and Northern Nevada greets it with scarecrows, ghosts, steins, and a festival in every direction.

The Carson Valley: Coffin Races and Scarecrows

Circle Saturday, October 3 for small-town Nevada at its quirkiest. Main Street Gardnerville's Annual Coffin Races and Fall Festival runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Heritage Park in Gardnerville, folding in the Carson Valley Harvest Festival, the Scarecrow Festival from the East Fork Gallery, the legendary Slaughterhouse Lane Coffin Races, arts and crafts vendors, live music, and family activities. It's free-spirited, kid friendly, and very, very local, the kind of morning that explains why people fall for the Carson Valley.

Carson City: Ghosts, Wine, and a Whodunit

Carson City stacks three good reasons onto Saturday, October 3. The Carson City Ghost Walk leads its flashlight tour from Bob McFadden Plaza at the Third Street Stage at 7 p.m., local history with a proper chill down the spine. Earlier in the day, the Carson City Wine Walk wanders downtown from 1 to 5 p.m., with check-in from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Brewery Arts Center, a relaxed way to sample downtown after the summer crowds leave. And the Brewery Arts Center's Maizie Theater hosts "Prescription Murder," a live murder-mystery play, on Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3, at 7 p.m. Add the Grateful Dead tribute band Me and My Uncle at the Nashville Social Club's Swan Music Hall on Thursday, October 1 at 7:30 p.m., and the capital becomes the place to be all week. New to the city? Start with our Carson City neighborhoods guide.

Reno & Sparks: A Festival Weekend and the Last Saturday Markets

Downtown Reno turns into a music festival on Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3, when OffBeat Music Festival takes over the Brewery District, headlined by of Montreal with bands spread across the neighborhood's stages. If a free show suits you better, SPELLBINDERS, billed as the world's largest free festival of magic, fills the Pioneer Center stage at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.

October 3 is also the season's final Saturday for two favorite markets: the Village Shops Market runs 8 a.m. to noon at 1119 California Avenue in Reno, and the Local Harvest Market runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Outlets at Legends in Sparks. Not ready to say goodbye to market season? The Riverside Farmers Market at Idlewild Park keeps going on Sundays year-round, and the Sparks United Methodist Church market on Pyramid Way stays open Tuesdays into late October. Curious how the two cities fit your budget? Reno and Sparks cost of living has the numbers.

Lake Tahoe: Oktoberfest by the Lake

The headline up the mountain is Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson Resort on Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1900 Jameson Beach Road on the South Shore. Free to attend, with Bavarian music, food, vendors, and kid-friendly games, it's the lake's big fall send-off before the snow flies.

Mushroom lovers should find the Lake Tahoe Mushroom Festival at The Hangar Taproom and Kitchen in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, October 3, starting at noon. And for a classic Tahoe evening, A Liar's Cruise sails the Tahoe Gal out of Tahoe City from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday night, an on-the-water tall-tale tradition that fills up fast. This is what lake living looks like in the off-season, and our Lake Tahoe area guide shows the communities behind it.

On the Horizon

Two bigger dates are worth penciling in now. The Eldorado Great Italian Festival closes off Virginia Street in downtown Reno on October 10 and 11 with food, wine, and the famous grape stomp, and the Town of Genoa's Oktoberfest takes over Genoa Town Park on Saturday, October 17. Both are an easy day out from anywhere in the region.

Welcoming You Like a Neighbor

That's the first week of October here: scarecrows on a Gardnerville green, ghosts on a Carson City corner, and steins by the lake in South Tahoe. If you're researching the move from California, this is the rhythm you'd be buying into, and I'd love to help you find where you fit. Take a look at the community guide, browse homes for sale by area, or just reach out and we can talk it through over the phone.