Leavenworth welcomes the fall season with annual Autumn Leaf Festival Sept. 25-27

LEAVENWORTH — Leavenworth’s longest running celebration, the Washington State Autumn Leaf Festival, will return Sept. 25-27.

Since its conception in 1964, the Autumn Leaf Festival has celebrated visitors, the community, and the turning colors of fall leaves in downtown Leavenworth.

“It's a big tradition in the town. It's something that everyone looks forward to. It’s just one of the things that everyone has a great memory of, whether it’s from when they were a child or if they're new to town,” said Jessie Swider of the Autumn Leaf Festival Association.

The Grand Parade will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on Sept. 26, led by grand marshal Henry Hettick, a longstanding leader in the arts and theater community, and featuring this year’s Royal Lady of the Autumn Leaves, Jenny Evans.

Evans spent the summer representing Leavenworth in festivals and parades hosted by cities across the Pacific Northwest. Now, many of those hosts will join the Royal Lady in the Front Street procession, with the annual Autumn Leaf Festival marking the end of a successful parade season. 

Swider said one of the parade’s highlights is the wide participation of high school marching bands. Because other parades occur during summer break, Swider said this element is unique to Autumn Leaf and Wenatchee’s Apple Blossom Festival.

“The band kids always seem to have a great time too, because they get to run around town afterwards and have a little fun,” said Swider.

However, those traveling across town during the parade should be aware of detours and delays. A portion of US-2 will be closed to traffic from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Chumstick Highway to Mill Street for the parade. According to the city, all traffic will be detoured, with anticipated congestion and longer-than-normal wait times.

While the Grand Parade is a heavily anticipated highlight of the festival, Autumn Leaf festivities will be occurring throughout the weekend. The festival will feature live music at the Gazebo on Saturday and Sunday, as well as crafts and games for kids.

Several other downtown community events will take place concurrently, including the Leavenworth Farmers Market, Lions Club pancake breakfast, Friends of the Library Used Book Sale, and Village Art in the Park.

During the weekend, Swider says the Autumn Leaf Festival Association will host a tent near the gazebo, where visitors can find event information, pick up 2026 festival collector’s pins, and find vintage pieces. According to the association’s website, pins can also be found at A Book for All Seasons, A Paw Above, Candle Connection, the Hat Shop, Leavenworth Willkommen Center, Mountain Country Corner, Nutcracker Haus, the Little Bavarian and the Wood Shop.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media