Find the best fall festivals in Dallas-Fort Worth

Addison Oktoberfest, GrapeFest, and Plano Balloon Festival are just the beginning.

DALLAS — The first day of fall is still a week away. But after this record-breaking summer, the 80s and 90s are feeling down right autumunal. And even though it's not quite sweater weather yet, it is fall festival time. Between now and Thanksgiving's Turkey Trots and Black Friday sales, there are almost 10 weeks to fill with funnel cakes, pumpkin patches, folk dancing, cover band concerts, and -- of course -- the State Fair of Texas.

Start the season off on the right still-sandal-shod foot with this weekend's festivals: Addison Oktoberfest celebrates German tradition with beer, pretzels, and oompah music. Grapevine's GrapeFest is the "Southwest's largest wine festival," but has activities for kids, too. Plano Balloon Festival has balloon glows, balloon launches, and fireworks. Autumn at the Arboretum's more than 50,000 pumpkins, squash, and gourds are used to decorate the grounds and construct Cinderella's Pumpkin Village.

Photo by Alexandra Olivia

Crowd surrounds Nammi Vietnamese food truck at the food truck festival.

Fests for foodies: Greek Food Festival of Dallas offers fare by the meal and a la carte, plus performances by pop singer Constantine Maroulis. Downtown Plano Feastival has its own American Idol -- local musician Tim Halperin -- plus food from Collin County restaurants and an Official National Chili Cookoff Event. Oak Cliff's Blues, Bandits, and BBQ moves to Lake Cliff Park and to October in search of cooler temperatures. Taste of Greenville Avenue's new base at Energy Square will house booths from more than two dozen area restaurants. ~~Winter Food Truck Festival gives local mobile eateries a home for a day outside Sigel's near Old Town.~~ The following weekend, return to Old Town for Chile Pepperama, which has food vendors, a chili cook-off, and live music.

Fun for families: At Western Days Festival, get a taste of Lewisville's history through country music, gunfights, trick ropers, and the national tamale-eating championship. Dallas Green Festival's activities and displays will help families make their carbon footprints a size smaller. Visitors to Butterfly Flutterby can watch live butterfly releases and a parade of children and pets in butterfly costumes. Frontier Fall Fest is a harvest celebration with chances to bob for apples, thresh wheat, and make dolls using corn husks. During the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival, visit the chuckwagon camp, watch rodeo exhibitions, and hear country music and cowboy poetry.

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Patrick Breing takes a photo of wife Emily and son Thomas with pumpkins at Taste of Greenville Avenue.

Get cultured: Japanese Fall Festival will have performances, games, food, and demonstrations by organizations such as AnimeFest and Crow Collection of Asian Art. Formerly called Jazz by the Boulevard, the Fort Worth Music Festival's diverse offerings include Marcia Ball, Lucero, and Meat Puppets on Friday's lineup and Dawes, Kirk Whalum, Telegraph Canyon, and Tatiana Mayfield on stages Saturday. More than 240 visual arts will have works on display at Cottonwood Art Festival, which also has a children's area called ArtStop for when the kiddos get tired of looking and not touching. More than a dozen nations will be represented at Fiesta Latinoamericana through music, dance, flags, and crafts. WorldFest's scope is global, showcasing some of the many cultures we have in Dallas-Fort Worth through performances and displays.