The Conner Prairie Headless Horseman Festival is a fun family festival with tons of entertainment, games, food vendors, a corn maze, slides, and a special hayride where guests get to run into the Horseman himself. There is also a hot air balloon you can ride (weather permitting).
2023 DATES:
October 5-8, 2023
October 12-15, 2023
October 19-22, 2023
October 26-29, 2023
Location: Conner Prairie
13400 Allisonville Rd
Fishers, IN 46038
Website: https://www.connerprairie.org/explore/things-to-do/headless-horseman/
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This post documents my experience on October 21, 2023.
Festival Intro
The Conner Prairie Headless Horseman Festival is a family festival that runs from 6-10 pm on weekend evenings through the month of October. The festival offers rides, food vendors, a variety of entertainment and attractions throughout the grounds and a corn maze that’s been voted one of top 10 corn mazes in America in years past.
There is also a very popular hayride that features the Headless Horseman himself.
Hayride tickets are sold separately and do sell out quickly, so plan ahead if you wish to see the Headless Horseman in his animated form…
…otherwise, you could always see him at the Midway as a photo op.
For first timers, I do recommend checking out the map near the entrance, if only to familiarize yourself with the locations of all the attractions…
…because, while some areas, like the Midway, were easy to spot…
…the Corn Maze could be overlooked once the sun set.
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Food Vendors
Near the pavilion, which provided plenty of tables for eating…
…and a stage for entertainment…
…there were food trucks and stands that offered everything from BBQ and burgers…
…to flavorful bao bun selections…
…while the Prairie Grill offered everything from pretzels and popcorn to pizza and duck wontons.
There were also snacks, drinks for guests of all ages…
…and plenty of dessert treats…
…which sometimes came in the form of some warm mochi donut balls…
…perfect during a cool autumn evening.
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Attractions
When entering the festival, the first attraction to catch your eye was definitely the Midway…
…with a spinning apple ride, pumpkin bounce houses…
…and games of strength, of aimed tosses…
…and of miniature putts.
Along the outer borders of the festival were The Perilous Plunge slides…
…where riders slid down on innertubes…
…an enormous corn maze filled with illuminated walkways, scenes and various scares…
…and a smaller short maze without all the scares or long line.
Elsewhere on the grounds, there was The Bizarre Bazaar…
…where a wall of family memories…
…had a little twist about it…
…the Scarecrow Patch…
…filled with all types…
…a fortune telling “machine”…
…who gave fun and witty answers (1 per guest)…
…a pumpkin headed creature who really got around…
…an incredible playground that was nearly impossible to pull your kid from…
…and a hot air balloon you could ride in…
…weather permitting.
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Entertainment
If all the above-mentioned attractions weren’t entertainment enough, guests could head down to the main stage…
…for shows ranging from story-telling performances to magic shows.
But, no matter what your age…
…you shouldn’t miss the marionette show…
…as these characters told the story of how Ichabod met the Headless Horseman…
…and it was wonderfully memorable.