Three of Bedford's best-loved fall traditions finish within four days of each other this year. Joppa Hill Educational Farm holds its Fall Fair on Saturday, October 10. The Craftworkers' Guild Harvest Craft Shop at the Kendall House has its last day on Monday, October 12. The Bedford Farmers' Market sets up for the last time on Tuesday, October 13.
That puts the whole outdoor season into one long Columbus Day weekend, plus one Tuesday afternoon. After it, the fall calendar doesn't disappear. It moves about a quarter mile along Meetinghouse Road, from the Kendall House to the Bedford Public Library, and it changes from open-air to indoor programming for the rest of the month.
The four days that close the outdoor season
The dates line up as follows:
- Saturday, October 10: Joppa Hill Educational Farm Fall Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 174 Joppa Hill Road.
- Sunday, October 11: The Harvest Craft Shop's final regular Sunday, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kendall House, 3A Meetinghouse Road.
- Monday, October 12: The Harvest Craft Shop's closing day.
- Tuesday, October 13: The Bedford Farmers' Market's last outdoor date, 3 to 6 p.m. in the Murphy's Taproom parking lot at 393 Route 101.
None of these events planned to share a weekend. The farm picked its date, the Guild ran its shop for close to four weeks starting September 17, and the market's May 12 to October 13 season was published in the spring. They still end within days of each other. A household that puts off any one of them until "later in October" will find it has already closed.
Saturday belongs to Joppa Hill
The Fall Fair is the farm's biggest community fundraiser of the year. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with continuous live entertainment, tractor rides, visits with the farm animals, cider donuts, pumpkins, local vendors and artisans, food trucks, a kids' activity tent and games with prizes. The farm also promises "exciting NEW additions BREWing for 2026" without saying more. Admission is $45 for a family of up to six people, or $15 per person, and registration is through the farm's Eventbrite page. For a family of four or more, the family ticket costs less than individual tickets.
One scheduling detail matters for anyone who kept an old date in mind. The town's April 2026 trail document listed the Fall Fair as September 29. The farm's own events page, updated in September, gives Saturday, October 10, so that is the date to plan around. The same town document also listed a Halloween event at the farm on October 20, with October 21 as the rain date. The farm's events page doesn't list a Halloween event, so treat that date as tentative until the farm confirms it.
The trails under the fair got an upgrade this year
Fairgoers may notice a change past the fairgrounds. Joppa Hill Conservation Area covers 189.3 acres, and the farm leases 35 of them on the west side of Joppa Hill Road. A farm road and loop trail there connects to Amherst and the Pulpit Rock Conservation Area. In April the Town of Bedford asked contractors to bid on rebuilding three trail segments. The segments measure 510, 575 and 500 feet, and the first one continues into Amherst. The town's request stated the goal directly:
"The desired outcome is a trail surface suitable for strollers and wagons."
The work called for grading, 4 to 12 inches of crushed gravel, drainage features such as water bars and check dams, and a compacted final surface. On April 28, the Bedford Conservation Commission approved spending up to $30,675 and hired Country View Landscaping. Conservation Planner Kathleen Ports noted at that meeting that Amherst had chosen the same contractor for its connecting segment. At the June 24 Town Council meeting, the work was reported as scheduled for the week of August 17. The contract requires completion before December 31, 2026.
The timing was set by the farm's calendar. The preschool runs outdoors on weekday mornings from September through June, and the summer camp starts in late June. Crews therefore aimed for the short gaps when neither was in session, and the town said the work should not interfere with any scheduled farm event. No public notice has confirmed that the work is finished. If it went ahead in August as planned, the Fall Fair would be the first large public event on the rebuilt trails, and on October 10 a stroller or wagon loaded with pumpkins should have an easier ride toward Amherst than in past years.
Sunday and Monday at the Kendall House
The Harvest Craft Shop fills the historic Kendall House at 3A Meetinghouse Road with work from nearly 50 local artisans. It is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and ends on Monday, October 12. Because it runs only four days a week, the shop has fewer open days left than the calendar suggests. From today, September 26, it has eight open days remaining, including the holiday Monday.
The Kendall House stands on the same road as the library. That makes the closing weekend the handoff point, where Meetinghouse Road stops being the place for the craft shop and becomes the place for the library's October programs.
Tuesday, one last market
The Bedford Farmers' Market has spent the season in the Murphy's Taproom parking lot on Route 101, open Tuesday afternoons from 3 to 6. Vendors on the 2026 roster include Ledge Top Farms, Spiczka Farm, Fresh Start Farms and Woodman's Artisan Bakery. Neither the market's schedule nor the state's 2026 farmers market directory lists a winter or indoor session for Bedford. So as of now, October 13 is the last scheduled Tuesday of the year. Households that buy bread or produce there every week will want to stock up that afternoon.
After the 13th, the calendar moves to the library
Once the outdoor events finish, the Bedford Public Library at 3 Meetinghouse Road carries most of the month. One library event comes before the closing weekend. Its concert series, organized by the Friends of Bedford Library, brings pianist Laszlo Gardony and Stan Strickland on Sunday, October 4. The rest of the month looks like this:
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, October 4 | Laszlo Gardony and Stan Strickland concert | 2:30 to 4 p.m. |
| Friday, October 9 | Spooky Decoration Workshop for Teens | 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 24 | Bedford Boomers Model Railroad Club train show | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sunday, October 25 | Bedford Boomers Model Railroad Club train show | 1 to 5 p.m. |
| Monday, October 26 | Halloween Crafty Corner, ages 7 to 12 | 4 to 4:45 p.m. |
The model train show is the library's big event for the second half of the month. The Bedford Boomers Model Railroad Club is holding it open over two days two weeks after the fair, which makes it a natural next outing for families who enjoyed the tractor rides.
The stops that stay open after the season ends
Bedford also has a new year-round option this fall that it lacked a year ago. Market and Main at 7 Main Street added several tenants in 2026. CAVA's opening was set for March 13 in Suite 4. The Union Leader reported that Warby Parker would open on April 25. Wonder, a virtual food hall that lets customers combine menus from more than 20 restaurants, held a grand-opening ribbon cutting on May 28 at its first New Hampshire location. J.Crew Factory announced its Suite 7 store in June.
None of these depend on the weather or a season. On the Tuesday after the last market, for example, Wonder's mix-and-match menus are a short drive from Route 101 for a weeknight dinner. The farm, the Guild and the market all finish in the same four days, and these shops will still be open.
If the Kendall House rooms and Joppa Hill's fall light have you thinking about how your own home would photograph this season, Cheryl Zarella & Associates can walk through it with you and talk about timing, presentation and value. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we will build it around Bedford's calendar as well as the market's.
