Find something out of ordinary for fall fun

Looking for something more exciting than pumpkin spice, Oktoberfests and leaf-peeping to shake up your plans this fall?

Consider adding one of these audacious autumnal experiences to your calendar: a squirrel cook off in Arkansas, ukulele festival in Florida, caterpillar races in North Carolina or the annual wife-carrying contest in Maine. For the month of Elktober, you’ll find randy elks bugling their mating calls in Colorado. Or perhaps you’d like to turn your feet purple at a winery grape-stomping event.

Here’s a random sample of fall fun around the country from classics to events that are just a little bit wacky.

YUMMY YUMMY

• World Championship Squirrel Cook Off, 8th Street Market, Bentonville, Ark., Sept. 16, www.squirrelcookoff.com.

• Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, Santa Fe, N. M., Sept. 27-Oct. 1, www.santafewineandchile.org.

• Wild Mushroom Celebration, Long Beach Peninsula, Oct. 1-Nov. 15, www.wildmushroomcelebration.com.

• Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bardstown, Ky., Sept. 11-17, www.kybourbonfestival.com.

• World Chicken Festival, London, Ky., Sept. 21-24, http://chickenfestival.com (celebrates Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders, featuring chicken fried in the world’s largest skillet).

• National Shrimp Festival, Gulf Shores, Ala., Oct. 12-15, www.myshrimpfest.com.

• Truck Stop Food Truck Rally, Welton Street, Denver, Sept. 30, www.truckstoprally.com.

• PA Bacon Fest, Easton, Pa., Nov. 4-5, http://pabaconfest.com.

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

• Woolly Worm Festival, Banner Elk, N.C., Oct. 21-22, www.woollyworm.com (two days of races featuring more than 2,000 woolly bear caterpillars).

• Narrowsburg Honey Bee Fest, Narrowsburg, N.Y., Sept. 23, www.narrowsburghoneybeefest.com.

• Estes Park Elk Fest, Estes Park, Colo., Sept. 30-Oct. 1, www.colorado.com/events/estes-park-elk-fest.

• Alpaca Festival, Buck Brook Alpaca Farm, Roscoe, N.Y., Sept. 23, https://sullivancatskills.com/event/national-alpaca-day-festival.

• Buffalo Roundup, Custer State Park, S.D., Sept. 29, http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/events/buffalo-roundup/default.aspx.

• Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium, Springfield, Mo., opening Sept. 21, www.wondersofwildlife.org.

• Trailing of the Sheep Festival, Ketchum and Hailey, Idaho, Oct. 4-8, www.trailingofthesheep.org (includes parade of 1,500 sheep).

WACKY AND WONDERFUL

• American Wife Carrying Championship, Sunday River Resort, Newry, Maine, Oct. 7, www.sundayriver.com/events-and-activities/events-calendar/north-american-wife-carrying-championship.

• Strummin’ Man Ukulele Festival, Panama City, Fla., Oct. 13-15, www.standrewsukes.org.

• Purple Foot Festival, Casa Larga Vineyards, Fairport, N.Y., Sept. 17, www.casalarga.com/events/purple-foot-festival (grape stomping).

• Susan B. Anthony corn maze, Stokoe Farms, Scottsville, N.Y., opening Sept. 23, http://kfdm.com/news/offbeat/corn-maze-at-stokoe-farms-honors-susan-b-anthony (maze depicts Anthony, the women’s rights activist who lived in nearby Rochester, honoring 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in New York).

• Return of the Pumpkin People, Jackson, N.H., throughout October, www.jacksonnh.com/event/1233/Return-of-the-Pumpkin-People (displays of pumpkins dressed as people).

• Pumpkin Nights, in Twin Cities, Minn.; Auburn, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Oct. 13-Oct. 29, www.pumpkinnights.com (walking trail featuring hundreds of hand-carved, lit-up pumpkins).

• Appalachian Mural Trail, towns along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Va., www.muraltrail.com (murals tell stories of communities along the parkway).

CLASSICS

• Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, Cincinnati, Sept. 15-17, www.oktoberfestzinzinnati.com.

• Cranberry festivals: Warrens, Wis., Sept. 22-24, www.cranfest.com, and Wareham, Mass., Oct. 7-8, http://admakepeace.com/eventstoursfunctions/calendarofevents/cranberryharvestcelebration-october78.

• Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, N.M., Oct. 7-15, www.balloonfiesta.com

• Circleville Pumpkin Show, Circleville, Ohio, Oct. 18-21, www.pumpkinshow.com.

• Bridge Day, New River Gorge, W.Va., Oct. 21, https://officialbridgeday.com (participants leap, float and rappel from bridge).