October 8 - 12, 2025
Save the date for our 58th Annual Autumn Glory Festival October 8 - 12, 2025!
More information will be added as we get closer to the event.
57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival Title Sponsor
Wednesday, October 9 - Sunday, October 13, 2024
The annual Autumn Glory Festival is a five-day celebration of autumn that celebrates the beauty of the local fall foliage. Additional information about the 2024 festivities will be added as we get closer to the event.
The Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage Area, a program of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, will once again offer their annual Turkey Trail, sponsored by The Garrett County Republican and NeuBeam Internet, which celebrates the event’s roots by promoting area turkey dinners served in our region. The Heritage Area will also have two new Fall Foliage Driving Tours highlighting some of the area’s most scenic spots to view our stunning Autumn leaves.
The Town of Oakland and the Greater Oakland Business Association will host the annual Autumn Glory Grand Feature Parade, sponsored by First United Bank & Trust, on Saturday, October 12, 2024
Garrett County’s annual Autumn Glory Festival landed in the international spotlight in 2007, when the popular travel website, MSN.com listed it tops among fall festivals in the world. In 2021, Travel & Leisure listed Oakland as one of the Best Small Towns in the U.S. to See Fall Foliage which led to a segment featuring Oakland and Autumn Glory on the Today show. Good Housekeeping has listed our Oakland, MD among the Top 50 Small Towns with the Best Fall Foliage; Travel & Leisure listed Oakland, MD as the number 2 Best Town for Fall Colors in America; and TripAdvisor selected Oakland, MD as one of 20 Best Fall Vacations in America for Seeing Autumn Foliage. Oakland was also selected by U.S. News and World Report as one of 50 Small Towns Across America with Gorgeous Fall Foliage and Readers Digest listed Garrett County as one of the 11 Road Trips That Showcase Stunning Fall Foliage You Need to Take This Autumn.
View the Official 2024 Autumn Glory Brochure
Want to know what’s happening during the 57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival? View the official brochure for a detailed listing of Autumn Glory Festival events happening from October 9 – 13, 2024. The brochure also includes a map of downtown Oakland and information on the Fall Foliage Heritage Driving Tours, Turkey Trail, Royalty Court and more.
Team One GMC is the title sponsor of the 57th annual Autumn Glory Festival.
Grand Feature Parade - Saturday, October 12, 2024
The Autumn Glory Grand Feature Parade, presented by the Town of Oakland and the Greater Oakland Business Association, will be held Saturday, October 12, 2024. Visitors gather to view regional bands, local professional and amateur floats, dance teams and dignitaries. The parade begins at 1 pm in downtown Oakland on Omar Street and runs down the length of 2nd Street, rounding Alder Street and then ending on 3rd Street near Fox's Pizza Den. Concessions are available on Green Street located across from Naylor's Hardware.
The Town of Oakland and the Greater Oakland Business Association are currently accepting applications for the 57th Annual Autumn Glory Grand Feature Parade, sponsored by First United Bank & Trust, at 1 pm on Saturday, October 12, 2024 in downtown Oakland. Register for the parade here.
If you have any questions about the parade, please contact the Town of Oakland or email autumngloryparade@gmail.com.
2024 Autumn Glory Parade Sponsors
2024 Fall Foliage Driving Tours
There is no better way to enjoy Autumn Glory than to travel our scenic byways and take in some of our beautiful historic spots and vistas throughout the county. Our two Fall Foliage routes provide participants with a guided-tour featuring some of our most stunning vistas and fabulous historic sites. Keep the camera handy and enjoy!
2024 Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner
The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce invites you to attend the Kick-Off Reception & Dinner, sponsored by Garrett Regional Medical Center, a proud partner of WVU Medicine, for the 57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. Meet Autumn Glory King Ben Lohr and Queen Kambria Kyle during the Cocktail Hour (sponsored by Silver Tree Marine, LLC) and bid on the one-of-a-kind canvas during the auction for the official Autumn Glory Photo (sponsored by M&T Bank). Congratulate the winner of the 2024 Golden Ambassador Award. Fall-themed centerpieces and decorations are sponsored by Middletown Valley Bank and Mlend. Following the dinner and program stick around for dancing courtesy of Dinner Entertainment sponsors Usource, Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations, and Taylor-Made Deep Creek Sales. The location of the Kick-Off Reception and Dinner is the McHenry Lodge at Wisp Resort.
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
- Deep Creek Spa & Billiards
InnerAction Media
Maryland Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance
Naylor's Ace Hardware
Polska Polish Pottery of DCL
Unique Décor
Verizon
2024 Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner Sponsors
2024 Official Autumn Glory Photo and Auction
The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce produces an official Autumn Glory Festival brochure that includes events around Garrett County. Each year a photo is chosen that represents Garrett County, Maryland’s natural beauty and focuses on an autumn theme featuring fall foliage/colors.
The photo from this year's Autumn Glory brochure cover will be blown up to 20" x 30" and printed on gallery-wrapped canvas. Attendees of the Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 will have the opportunity to commemorate the 57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival by bidding on this canvas to display in their own home or office. Only one canvas is available, though all Kick-Off Reception & Dinner attendees will receive a commemorative gift bag featuring the photo on a magnet and a postcard.
All auction proceeds are allocated toward tuition assistance for 2024 Autumn Glory King Ben Lohr and Queen Kambria Kyle.
57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival Photo Sponsor
Now Accepting Royalty Applications for the 58th Annual Autumn Glory Festival
Please help spread the word that the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce is inviting all those Garrett County students currently in their junior year of high school to submit an application for Autumn Glory Royalty, with fee, by Friday, April 25, 2025 for consideration. This year, we will be choosing a King and a Queen to represent the 58th Annual Autumn Glory Festival at a variety of events throughout the summer and fall of 2025 including: Grantsville Days Parade on June 27, 2025; Deep Creek Lake Lions Club Boat Parade on June 21; Accident Homecoming Parade on July 4; Kitzmiller Homecoming on July 26; Friendsville Days Parade on August 16; The Buckwheat Festival Parade on September 27; Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner on October 8; Fireman’s Parade on October 9; Banjo, Fiddle, & Mandolin Championships on October 10; Grand Feature Parade on October 11, and various other events as needed.
Both the King and Queen will receive an educational contribution. As part of the application, you are required to submit a 300-word essay on why you think you should be selected to be part of the Royalty Court. This is no longer an application fee. Interviews will be conducted by appointment in May 2025 and we hope to complete the process by June 1, 2025. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Nick Sharps at the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce by calling (301) 387-8745 or emailing nick@garrettchamber.com.
Click here to download the Royalty application.
2024 Autumn Glory Golden Ambassador
The Golden Ambassador is announced at the Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner. The title of "Golden Ambassador" is awarded by the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce to a person who has contributed to and supported tourism in Garrett County. The Golden Ambassador is selected by a committee of former Golden Ambassador winners. Only Chamber members may nominate fellow Chamber members for this prestigious title.
If you are interested in nominating someone for this distinction, please complete the Golden Ambassador Nomination Form. Please submit your completed nomination form to Sarah Duck by email at sarah@garrettchamber.com, fax at 301.334.8073 or mail, or drop off, your completed nomination to the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce located at 15 Visitors Center Drive McHenry, MD 21541 by 5 pm on Friday, September 6th.
For the purposes of this award only, Chamber members shall mean owners, employees and volunteers of a Garrett County Chamber member organization. Only one nomination form is required per nominee; multiple nomination forms for an individual will only be used for additional information about the individual but do not count as multiple nominations. The winner of Golden Ambassador title will be announced at the 2024 Autumn Glory Kick-Off Reception & Dinner held on Wednesday, October 9.
2024 Golden Ambassador Sponsor
2024 Autumn Glory Festival Turkey Trail
Celebrate the Autumn Glory Festival with a taste of local tradition. More than a decade before the Autumn Glory Festival became an annual event, a group of turkey growers organized and promoted community turkey dinners. “The turkey dinners were an on again-off again event until the Lions Club became involved in the 1960s,” said local historian John Grant. However, the idea of a large festival to attract visitors to the area remained popular and led to the start of the Autumn Glory Festival. Today, more than 50 years later, turkey dinners are still a favorite tradition of the festival celebration.
The Turkey Trail is an easy-to-use tool for visitors and residents to locate our county-wide dinners served at restaurants, churches, grocery stores and other organizations. The Turkey Trail flyer contains a map, contact information, hours of operation, cost and the delicious items that are included with each dinner. Turkey dinners around the area offer a variation of turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, vegetable, rolls and dessert. (Check flyer for specific offerings at each location). Click here to download the official 2024 Turkey Trail! Printed copies of the Turkey Trail flyer are also available at the Garrett County Visitors Center in McHenry.
Visit garrettheritage.com for more information.
57th Annual Autumn Glory Festival Turkey Trail Sponsors
