Lucky you. You just found NOOGAtoday’s Plan Ahead, a list of some of the biggest events to plan for that are taking place throughout Chattanooga each month.
Take out your calendar, grab your day planner, or text all your friends — these are the top events we recommend heading to this month. Psst: Don’t forget to bookmark this page and come back; we update our guide monthly.
(Don’t see anything you like? Check out our full events calendar.)
Festivals
3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival | Friday, Oct. 3-Saturday, Oct. 4 | Ross’s Landing | Free+ | Your favorite free bluegrass festival is back, bringing some of the biggest names in the genre, like The Brothers Comatose + The Travelin’ McCourys.
Apple Festival | Sunday, Oct. 5 | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | First Horizon Pavilion | Free+ | As the name suggests, this festival is all about apples — from sweet treats to candles, lotions, and more.
Chattanooga Pride Parade + Festival | Sunday, Oct. 5 | 1-8 p.m. | Ross’s Landing | Free+ | Celebrate love and the LGBTQ+ community with a parade, live music and performances, food trucks + more than 100 vendors.
Highland Park Porchfest | Friday, Oct. 10-Saturday, Oct. 11 | Times vary | Highland Park Neighborhood | Free+ | Kickoff this annual community music festival with pre-party vibes before heading to this downtown neighborhood to hear live music from over 15 artists using porches as stages.
Nooga Underground Film Festival 2025 | Saturday, Oct. 11 | 12 p.m. | Barking Legs Theater | $17+ | Get weird with wild films, cult classics, and outsider art at this celebration of killer cinema and Chattanooga’s counterculture.
Chattanooga Oktoberfest | Saturday, Oct. 11-Sunday, Oct. 12 | Times vary | First Horizon Pavilion | Free+ | Immerse yourself in Munich’s traditions with food, music, and brews — bonus points if you wear a costume.
Between the Bridges Arts Festival | Saturday, Oct. 18-Sunday, Oct. 19 | 10 a.m. | Coolidge Park | Free+ | Shop artwork from 50 local artists, including Scenic City Clay Arts’ Potter’s Alley + cheer on runners a part of the 7 Bridges Marathon.
Lookout Comedy Festival | Wednesday, Oct. 22-Saturday, Oct. 25 | Times vary | Locations vary | $13+ | If you’re looking for a reason to laugh, come out to this annual festival featuring headliners Trixx, Joe Zimmerman, Nick Murphy, and Casey Balsham.
Frazier Festival | Saturday, Oct. 25 | 12 p.m. | Frazier Avenue | Free+ | Celebrate fall with local makers, art, and shopping along Chattanooga’s NorthShore.
Wine Over Water | Saturday, Oct. 25 | 6-9 p.m. | Renaissance Park | $125 | This wine festival features curated tastings, bites from top chefs, and live entertainment along the Tennessee River.
Chattanooga Jazz Fest | Sunday, Oct. 26 | 11 a.m.-6 p.m. | Chattanooga Choo Choo | Free+ | A dynamic day of live jazz, blues, and funk featuring local musicians awaits you downtown.
Shows
Rainbow Kitten Surprise | Wednesday, Oct. 8 | 7:30 p.m. | Memorial Auditorium | $53+ | Freefall into a night of genre-blending sound and raw emotion on this “Thanks for Coming” tour.
Boy Named Banjo | Thursday, Oct. 9 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Songbirds | $28+ | A high-energy show packed with heartfelt lyrics, rich harmonies, and a fresh blend of Americana sounds.
Noah Reid: Live Again | Saturday, Oct. 11 | 8 p.m. | The Walker Theatre | $46+ | Catch the actor and music artist best known for his performance of Tina Turner’s “The Best” on “Schitt’s Creek.”
Travis Tritt | Friday, Oct. 24 | 8 p.m. | The Walker Theatre | $42+ | Don’t miss this Grammy Award-winning country legend as he brings his signature Southern rock sound to a night of fan favorites and timeless hits.
Macy Gray: On How Life Is 25th Anniversary Tour | Tuesday, Oct. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | The Walker Theatre | $49+ | Experience this artist’s soulful voice and timeless hits live as she celebrates her groundbreaking music career.
Seasonal
Spooky Paws Pet Parade | Saturday, Oct. 4 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Tennessee Riverpark | Free | Dress up your pets for this Halloween celebration that includes a parade, prizes, treats, and music.
Boo in the Zoo | Friday, Oct. 10-Friday, Oct. 31 | 4-8 p.m. | Chattanooga Zoo | $12+ | Families can enjoy trick-or-treat stations, costume contests, bounce houses, character meet-and-greets, and plenty of Halloween fun with animals.
Halloween Trail Fest | Friday, Oct. 10 | 6-11 p.m. | Enterprise South Nature Park | $7+ | Kick off the season with haunted trails, trick-or-treating, food trucks, bonfires, and more.
Halloween Pup Crawl | Saturday, Oct. 18 | 1-8 p.m. | Downtown Chattanooga | $30 | Bring your pup and your Halloween spirit for a festive crawl through downtown breweries, complete with drink specials, costume contests, and adoptable animals.
Frights & Pints | Thursday, Oct. 23 | 6-9 p.m. | Chattanooga Zoo | $21+ | It’s time to leave the kids at home for an adults-only night at the zoo with drinks, dancing, and fire performers.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” | Friday, Oct. 24-Saturday, Nov. 1 | Times vary | Barking Legs Theater | $30+ | Celebrate 50 years of Rocky Horror with an interactive mix of film, live shadow cast, wild costumes, and audience props — the final performance will be a neurodivergent/accessible showing.
Glitz, Ghosts & Gatsby Halloween Party | Friday, Oct. 31 | 8 p.m. | The Read House Hotel | $50 | Come dressed in your best Ghastly Gatsby attire for a roaring and haunting good time featuring cocktails, light hors d’oeuvres, and costume contests.
Hits96 Gravediggers Ball | Friday, Oct. 31 | 9 p.m. | Barrelhouse Ballroom | $18+ | Come dressed in your most spectacular and frightening costumes to enter to win cash prizes + participate in a free raffle offering items like concert tickets to Sabrina Carpenter.
Markets
Fall Flea | Saturday, Oct. 11 | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | Dirty Jane’s Antiques | Free+ | Head to this vintage and antique co-op for its annual market that brings even more vendors to its site.
Hocus Pocus Fall Market | Saturday, Oct. 11-Sunday, Oct. 12 | Times vary | Camp Jordan Arena | $5 | The Salem sisters are coming to the Scenic City bringing over 140 vendors, trick-or-treating, a petting zoo, and more to put a spell on you.
A Bewitched Bazaar | Saturday, Oct. 18 | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | Chattanooga Choo Choo | Free+ | From a vendor market to live tattooing and tarot readings, experience it all.
Family Fun
Ketner’s Mill Fair | Saturday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 5 | Times vary | Ketner’s Mill, Whitwell | $8 | Enjoy a weekend of Southern food, live music, wagon rides, handmade crafts, and more in a countryside setting about 45 minutes from Chattanooga.
Monster Bash | Friday, Oct. 10-Saturday, Oct. 11 | 6-8 p.m. | Creative Discovery Museum | $22 | Come play in your favorite kid-friendly costumes, create, and make memories that are s’more fun than you can handle.
Disney On Ice: “Mickey’s Search Party” | Thursday, Oct. 16-Sunday, Oct. 19 | Times vary | McKenzie Arena | $27+ | Watch beloved Disney characters come to life through ice skating, acrobatics, and stunts.
Fall Festival | Friday, Oct. 24 | 5-8 p.m. | Hamilton Family YMCA | Free | Celebrate fall with trunk or treat, food trucks, bounce houses, games, face painting, and more.
Fire Up The Fields | Saturday, Oct. 25 | 5:30-10:30 p.m. | Sculpture Fields at Montague Park | $10+ | This powerful celebration of art and community returns with a night of live music, food + drink vendors, and a giant sculpture that will be set on fire.
Harry Potter’s Park Adventure | Saturday, Oct. 25 | 4-8 p.m. | Warner Park | Free+ | Experience spellbinding fun with a live DJ, Harry Potter games, cornhole, food trucks, and free Halloween candy.
Have an event of your own you want to share with us? Follow these easy steps to add your events to our calendar:
- Go to our Events page.
- Click “Add Event” in the top right-hand corner.
- Make sure to include a link and fill out important information like the date, time, location, and price of your event.
- Click “Submit,” and you’ve just added an event to our website calendar.