Events

The Little Grassy Get Down at SIU Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center is a family-friendly music festival featuring mostly original acoustic Americana music from around the Midwest. 

October 9, 2026: Pet Parade, Bike Parade, Glow-in-the-Dark events, and a Festival Photo Contest October 10, 2026 (Main Festival Day): Over 37 vendors, gospel music in the morning, parade, historical fluorspar mining lecture, fluorite mine dig pile, car/truck/motorcycle show, must-see live music performances, Bandy’s Powerwheel derby, demonstrations, face painting, and Read more

The Little Grassy Get Down at SIU Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center is a family-friendly music festival featuring mostly original acoustic Americana music from around the Midwest. 618-453-1121

The Kincaid Mounds Archaeological Site was a large Native American town occupied from AD 1050 to 1450. During this time, a dozen large and many small mounds were built. The site is a National Historic Landmark and Illinois Historic Site and, part of which is under the management of the Read more

Discover how to create a bat-friendly garden by supporting dark skies, planting native species, preserving trees and snags, and removing invasive plants. This program also includes a bat box review and explores how citizen science can help monitor and protect local bat populations. Join Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator Kim Rohling Read more

One of the best mountain bike festivals in the midwest. at Camp Ondessonk located in Ozark, Illinois right in the middle of the beautiful Shawnee National Forest. 618.622.1693

Plan your week of Saluki spirit! From parades to tailgates, contests to campus traditions, don’t miss a moment of the action, check out the full

SIU Homecoming/Carbondale Halloween Festival, we will be shutting down the strip once more! This year, we’ll be bringing a full festival style to our iconic downtown strip for this perfectly aligned SIU Homecoming/Carbondale Halloween celebration with carnival games, food trucks, vendors, and two alternating stages with a robust lineup of Read more

Annual Fort Massac Encampment -Ft. Massac State Park, Metropolis. 10am to 5pm daily. Military and civilian craft activities and demonstrations. Both days begin with a post of colors. Highlights include mock battles and tactical demonstrations, voyagers, traders, craftsman, children’s games, music and period food and dress. Free admission. 618-524-4712

Each fall, vultures soar and glide over Makanda and the surrounding areas and signal the beginning of fall and the arrival of the incredible fall colors of Makanda and southern Illinois. Vulture Fest features live music, food, shopping, and art by local artists for purchase (618) 457-0360

Green Earth's Pumpkin Glow will once again be delighting visitors with our magical nighttime hike! Stroll through the woods at night to view over 750 jack-o-lanterns and witness the ethereal beauty that is this region's original ?Pumpkin Glow. You won't want to miss it! Children 17 & Under - Free Read more

The full moon that appears in October is called the Hunters Moon, so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. Like the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon is also particularly bright and long in the sky, giving hunters the Read more