Taking Amtrak to Annual Festivals and Fairs

[GariYaMoshi]

Thought it would be helpful for future Amtrak trip planning to compile a list of annual festivals and fairs that are close to Amtrak stops. Here's some to start off the discussion:

Empire Builder/Borealis:
- St. Paul Winter Carnival (St. Paul) - late January - https://wintercarnival.com/
- Twin Cities Jazz Festival (St. Paul) - third Friday/Saturday of June - https://www.twincitiesjazzfestival.com/ (Bonus - festival within blocks of train station)
- Minneapolis Aquatennial (Minneapolis) - third week of July - https://www.aquatennial.com/
- Minnesota State Fair (Falcon Heights) - 12 days up to and including Labor Day - https://www.mnstatefair.org/

City of New Orleans:
- New Orleans Jazz Festival (New Orleans) - last week of April, early May - https://www.nojazzfest.com/
- Mardi Gras (New Orleans) - floating dates before Easter - https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

California Zephyr:
- Noir City Film Festival (Oakland) - late January - https://www.noircity.com/
- additional dates in other cities on Amtrak routes - see link

Texas Eagle:
- South by Southwest (Austin) - second week of March - https://www.sxsw.com/

 

[BlackDiamond]

Chicago has a number of festivals, seems to be something going on every month.

Chicago Festival Guide

The biggest being Lollapalooza in August.

Of course the Windy City is easily accessible by Amtrak from most parts of the country that have train service.

 

[como]

Missouri River Runner
1. Oktoberfest - Hermann https://visithermann.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-hermanns-2024-oktoberfest/
2. Missouri State Fair - Sedalia https://www.mostatefair.com/

 

[Trollopian]

Pennsylvania Farm Show! In downtown Harrisburg, two miles from the Amtrak station and easy to get to by transit or Uber or a hearty walk. Harrisburg probably has better Amtrak service than any other small city in America. You've already missed the 2025 farm show but mark your calendars for January 9-17, 2026.

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/farmshow/pa-farm-show.html

 

[Trollopian]

And the iconic Three Rivers Arts Festival in my hometown, June 5-8, 2025. Leave the car at home, chug in on the Pennsylvanian or the Train Formerly Known As the Capitol Limited (now the "Floridian") and walk to the festival, in its temporary Strip District home. (A permanent location is being built in the 8th Ave. Cultural District. For years, the festival took place at Point State Park, and I don't know the reasons for its move, but I speculate it was at least partly because the crowds trampled the grass and shrubs.) Yinz welcome.

https://traf.trustarts.org/

 

[PVD]

NYS has a seasonal stop at the NYS Fairgrounds outside of Syracuse that select trains stop at.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Missouri River Runner
1. Oktoberfest - Hermann https://visithermann.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-hermanns-2024-oktoberfest/
2. Missouri State Fair - Sedalia https://www.mostatefair.com/

Also known as the Party Train since most Psssengers are headed to/from these Celebrations, especially Octoberfest in Herman, and are usually feeling no Pain!

 

[Willbridge]

Lots of art events in Denver, plus:

National Western Stock Show. January 10-26, 2026. https://nationalwestern.com/
It was invented by a Union Pacific traffic man who wanted to build off-season ridership.


In Portland, the Rose Festival, of course: May 23-June 7. 2025. https://www.rosefestival.org/
Three big parades, include the Starlight Parade, which originated with electric light decorated streetcars. Watch for the modern streetcars in this video. There also is Fleet Week before the Grand Floral Parade.

After that, the Portland International Raceway features motorsports in 25 or more classes.
https://www.oregonscca.com/all-races

Amtrak Cascades is the Official Railway of the Portland Rose Festival.

And in Seaside, reached by Amtrak Thruway highway coaches from Portland Union Station, there's always something going on: https://www.seasideoregon.com/things-to-do-in-seaside/

 

[MARC Rider]

From Baltimore:

Maryland State Fair, last week in August, first week in September. You can reach the fairgrounds in Timonium by light rail from Penn Station.

 

[MARC Rider]

From Baltimore:

Maryland State Fair, last week in August, first week in September. You can reach the fairgrounds in Timonium by light rail from Penn Station.

Oh, yes, and how could I forget about Artscape, our local arts festival, which, up to this year, was always located in the neighborhood immediately around Penn Station. I mean, so close to Penn Station that access to the station was impaired for about 2 weeks around the festival. However, starting next year, they're moving it further downtown to the area around City Hall and under the Jones Falls Expressway, where they have the Sunday Farmers' market. I guess that means you'll need to take a bus to get from Penn Station to the festival site. They're also moving the date from the middle of July to Memorial Day weekend, so fairgoers will have less of chance of being broiled alive by the midsummer Mid-Atlantic sun.