September in Boise and the Treasure Valley is the busiest month on the calendar, with the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic, the 72nd Art in the Park, Boise Pride, the Hyde Park Street Fair, two Oktoberfests, three corn mazes opening, and a 25th-birthday Bug Day at the Idaho Botanical Garden, plus much, much more!
Here is everything happening across Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle, Garden City, Kuna, and Star this September. Events are listed in chronological order.
Scott Spencer Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic
Ann Morrison Park, Boise
September 2nd to 6th, 2026 | Launches 7:15am to 9am
Fifty-plus hot air balloons lift off just after sunrise and the whole thing is free to watch. Kid’s Day brings free tethered rides Wednesday, and Friday’s Nite Glow adds a ticketed Inflatable Fun Zone for the festival’s 35th anniversary.
First Thursday in Downtown Boise
Downtown Boise, Boise
September 3rd, 2026 | Live art 3pm to 7pm
Galleries and shops stay open late, Idaho Fine Arts Academy students paint live on the Grove Plaza, and the Boise Art Museum goes pay-what-you-can from 10am to 7pm.
Kuna Stampede Rodeo
Crooked 8 Event Center, Kuna
September 3rd to 5th, 2026 | Gates 5pm, rodeo 7pm
Kuna’s 74-year-old rodeo runs three nights for the first time, with mutton bustin’, a kids zone, vendors and food, and a different theme and beneficiary each evening.
Fall Flights at the World Center for Birds of Prey
World Center for Birds of Prey, Boise
Opens September 4th, 2026, Fridays to Sundays through October 31st | Doors 10am, show 11am
Owls, falcons, hawks and vultures fly free over a sagebrush amphitheater while a handler narrates. The show runs 45 minutes, close enough to feel the air move, and tickets are online only and include Interpretive Center admission.
Idaho Shakespeare Festival: The Heart of Robin Hood
Idaho Shakespeare Festival Amphitheater, Boise
September 4th to 27th, 2026 | 7:30pm Tuesday to Saturday, 7pm Sundays
This one closes out Idaho Shakespeare’s 50th anniversary season. David Farr’s Robin Hood retelling is fast, funny and physical, and a good one to bring people who think they don’t like Shakespeare. Bring layers for when the sun drops.
Idaho Meat & Tater BBQ Fest & Car Show
Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park, Meridian
September 5th, 2026 | 10am to 4pm
A KCBS-sanctioned barbecue competition hosted by the Meridian Lions Club, which means the teams competing are the real deal. There’s also a car show on the lawn, a kids zone, beer garden, food trucks and live music, all free to attend.
Boise Comic Arts Festival XIV
Boise Centre, Boise
September 5th & 6th, 2026 | Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm
Boise Public Library’s free comics festival takes over the Boise Centre with Artists’ Alley, a cosplay contest, panels, workshops, indie comics and manga. No ticket, no registration, and a good one if you have a kid who draws.
Celebrating 50 Years of Caldwell Airport and 1st Annual Fly-In
Vertical Venues, Caldwell
September 5th, 2026 | 10am to 4pm, gala 6:30pm to 11pm
Caldwell Executive Airport opened in 1976 and the hangar venue on its grounds is throwing it a 50th birthday party. Expect Idaho aviation businesses, a vendor fair, Big Daddy’s BBQ, live music and paid helicopter rides, with the daytime portion free and a ticketed gala that evening.
Sunnyslope Wine Festival
Ste. Chapelle Winery, Caldwell
September 6th, 2026 | 12pm to 5pm
About 20 Snake River Valley wineries pour in one place with live music, food trucks and artisan vendors. Tasting tickets are $55, designated drivers get in for $25, and a shuttle seat is $10 from the Kleiner Park lot behind The Village at Meridian.
Warhawk Air Museum Opens for Labor Day
Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa
September 7th, 2026 | 10am to 5pm
The Warhawk is normally closed Mondays but opens for Labor Day at $5 general admission, down from the usual $20. It’s a genuinely excellent WWII and Vietnam-era collection with a deep Idaho veterans’ oral history archive.
Opera Idaho 26|27 Season Kickoff
The Egyptian Theatre, Boise
September 10th, 2026 | 5:30pm to 7pm
A free open house previewing Opera Idaho’s “Unraveled” season with refreshments, backstage tours and live preview performances. It’s a low-commitment way to find out whether opera is your thing. Registration requested.
9/11 Miles of Remembrance
Ann Morrison Park, Boise
September 11th, 2026 | Gates 5pm, ceremony 5:45pm
Mission43’s 5K marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and the organization’s own 10th year. Run, walk, ruck or handcycle it along the Greenbelt, with a Field of Flags, food, music and guest speakers.
World Village Festival
JUMP, Boise
September 11th & 12th, 2026 | Friday 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 10am to 10pm
Idaho’s cultural communities take over JUMP for two days of dance, music, storytelling, poetry, art, film and food from around the world. It’s free, all ages, and in its first year on the JUMP campus.
Ten Mile Farms Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch Opening Day
Ten Mile Farms, Meridian
September 11th to October 31st, 2026 | Mon to Fri 4pm to 9pm, Sat 10am to 9pm, closed Sundays
A young Meridian fall farm opens its second season with a corn maze, hayride, barrel trains, straw bale slides, a corn pit and pick-your-own pumpkins. Note that Friday is an evening-only day here.
Art in the Park
Julia Davis Park, Boise
September 11th to 13th, 2026 | Fri & Sat 10am to 8pm, Sun 10am to 5pm
Boise Art Museum’s flagship festival hits its 72nd year and is still the biggest open-air art show in the region, with 240 juried artists, live music at the Gene Harris Bandshell, food vendors and a children’s art tent, free to walk through. Go Friday morning if you actually want to buy something.
Lowe Family Farmstead Opening Day
Lowe Family Farmstead, Kuna
September 12th to October 31st, 2026 | Mon to Thu 4pm to 9pm, Fri & Sat 10am to 9pm, closed Sundays
Idaho’s original corn maze, formerly The Farmstead and now in Kuna, opens its 30th-anniversary fall season with the MAiZE, hayrides, a pumpkin patch, flower field, jumping pillows, ropes course, pig races and cow train.
Shindig Farms Straw Maze & Pumpkin Patch Opening Day
Shindig Farms, Nampa
September 12th to October 31st, 2026 | Mon to Thu 4pm to 9pm, Fri & Sat 10am to 9pm, closed Sundays
Idaho’s largest straw maze plus a 15-variety pumpkin patch, wagon ride, ziplines and giant slides. Admission is $15 on weekends, $13 most weekdays, and $9 on Cheap Tuesday.
Boise Fall Festival
Expo Idaho, Boise
September 12th, 2026 | 10am to 4pm
An artisan market with live music, food trucks, pumpkin photo ops, inflatables, a jumping pad, face painting, a petting zoo and a cider tasting garden. Admission is $5 at the door, kids 10 and under free.
42nd Annual Harvest Classic
Liberty Park, Nampa
September 12th, 2026 | 1-mile 9am, 2-mile and 8K 9:30am
Nampa Parks & Rec’s long-running fun run, with an 8K run or wheelchair race, a 2-mile run or walk, and a non-competitive 1-mile anyone can join. Entry is $15 for ages 12 and under and $30 for everyone else, going up after September 8th.
Space Day
Nampa Civic Center, Nampa
September 12th, 2026 | 10am to 2pm
The Children’s Museum of Idaho fills the Civic Center with planetarium shows, robotics demos, space trivia, rockets and talks from working scientists and engineers. Admission is by donation.
Party at the Pen Show
Old Idaho Penitentiary, Boise
September 12th & 13th, 2026 | Saturday 10am to 5:30pm, Sunday 10am to 4:30pm
Billed by its organizers as the Northwest’s largest vintage motorcycle show, staged inside the prison yards and cell blocks. Inside you’ll find tattoo artists working in the maximum security block, an 1800s tintype photographer, vendors, food and a Saturday night concert. Tickets from $30, kids under 12 free.
Juniper Market at The Village at Meridian
The Village at Meridian, Meridian
September 12th, 2026 | 12pm to 8pm
The traveling artisan street fair sets up along the Village walkways for an afternoon and evening of local makers, small businesses and handmade goods.
Nuestra Herencia, Nuestra Tierra
Idaho Hispanic Community Center, Nampa
September 13th, 2026 | 12pm to 5pm
The Idaho Hispanic Foundation opens Hispanic Heritage Month with a free bilingual celebration with food, cultural performances, music, artisan vendors, and a bike giveaway, bike rodeo and helmet fitting for kids.
VSN Backyard Bash & Car Show
Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene, Meridian
September 13th, 2026 | 11am to 2pm
A free family block party with a car show capped at 200 entrants, live music, bounce houses, shaved ice and ice cream trucks, and a free BBQ lunch. It’s $20 to enter a car, which includes lunch and a T-shirt.
Meridian Art Week
Downtown Meridian, Meridian
September 13th to 19th, 2026
A week timed to National Arts in Education Week and built around the Art Drop, where people hide handmade pieces around downtown for strangers to find and keep. The Initial Point Gallery and the city’s public art collection are free to visit the same week.
Taste of Idaho
Idaho Center Plaza, Nampa
September 15th, 2026 | 5pm to 8pm
The Nampa Chamber’s harvest celebration, with live music, a beer and wine garden, and dishes built from locally sourced Treasure Valley ingredients. Tickets are $50 for members, $60 for everyone else.
Adaptive Evening at the Zoo
Zoo Boise, Boise
September 17th, 2026 | 6pm to 8pm
An after-hours evening designed for people with disabilities and their families, with stations built around varying degrees of sensory input, including artifact exploration, guided zoo time, up-close animal encounters and art activities. $10 per person, aids free, registration required.
23rd Annual Indian Creek Festival
Indian Creek Plaza, Caldwell
September 18th & 19th, 2026 | Friday 6pm to 9pm, Saturday 7am to 5pm
Caldwell’s signature free festival, built around the creek the city famously uncovered. Expect a fireman’s breakfast, classic car show and cruise, Chalk the Block, a first-responder tug-of-war across the water, and the crowd-favorite cardboard kayak race.
Eagle Jazz & Blues Fest
Multiple venues, Eagle
September 18th & 19th, 2026
Fifth year for the festival, themed “Grassroots & Grooves.” The Friday kickoff at Heritage Park Gazebo and Saturday morning’s Jazz at Eagle Saturday Market are both free, with ticketed evening sets at The Schnitzel Garten, the Hilton Garden Inn and Olive and Vyne.
Hyde Park Street Fair
Camel’s Back Park, Boise
September 18th to 20th, 2026 | Fri 4pm to 9:30pm, Sat 10am to 9:30pm, Sun 10am to 7pm
Running since 1979 and still the most Boise event on this list, with nearly 200 craft, nonprofit and food booths, two stages of music, and “the dome” for workshops and dancing, all to benefit the North End Neighborhood Association. Parking is genuinely terrible, so walk or bike.
Boise Pride Festival
Ann Morrison Park, Boise
September 18th to 20th, 2026 | Fri 5:30pm to 9pm, Sat 11am to 9:30pm, Sun 10am to 5pm
Idaho’s largest LGBTQ+ event returns for its 37th year as “Louder Than Fear.” Trixie Mattel headlines Friday’s ticketed performance area, Saturday closes with fireworks at 9pm, and the Pride Parade steps off through downtown Sunday morning. Saturday and Sunday are free with a suggested $10 donation.
Bug Day: Celebrating 25 Years
Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise
September 19th, 2026 | 12pm to 5pm, last entry 4pm
The Garden’s most popular kids’ event turns 25 with more than 20 learning stations, microscopes, an Ask an Entomologist table, carnivorous plants, a silent disco and a 30-foot treehouse slide. Admission is $17 for adults and $13 for youth 3 to 12, and it includes the Woodland Wonders sculpture exhibition.
Boise Scottish Heritage Festival & Highland Games
Expo Idaho, Boise
September 19th & 20th, 2026 | 9am both days
Highland athletics like the caber toss and stone put, plus pipe bands, Highland dance, clan tents, Scottish food and vendors. Tickets run about $12 a day or $20 for a two-day pass, with a 21-and-over Céilidh kicking things off Friday night in Meridian.
Art by the River
Star Riverhouse, Star
September 19th & 20th, 2026 | Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm
A juried fine art and craft show open only to Idaho producers, set on the green beside the Boise River, with over 100 artists and crafters, food trucks, live music and a beer and wine garden. Sixth year, and service animals only per city ordinance.
Eagle Gazebo Concert Series Finale
Heritage Park, Eagle
September 24th, 2026 | 6:30pm to 9pm
Stef and the Groove closes out the City of Eagle’s free summer concert series. Bring a blanket and a chair, and there are food trucks and a wine vendor on site.
Potato Days
Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park, Meridian
September 25th to 27th, 2026 | Friday from 5pm
Idaho’s official potato celebration expands to three days, with loaded baked potatoes, mashed, tots, fries and potato soup, plus live music, a beer garden, lawn games and a vendor village, all free to attend. A second weekend runs October 2nd through 4th at the Idaho Botanical Garden.
St. Luke’s FitOne
Idaho State Capitol to Ann Morrison Park, Boise
September 26th, 2026 | Half marathon 7:15am, 10K 7:30am, 5K 9:30am
The valley’s biggest annual run and the most family-friendly one. Kids 12 and under register free with a registered adult, the half-marathon course passes the Capitol, the Boise Depot, the Old Pen and the Botanical Garden, and everything finishes at Ann Morrison with food, booths and live music.
Walk to End Alzheimer’s in the Treasure Valley
Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park, Meridian
September 26th, 2026 | Registration 10am, ceremony 11am, walk 11:30am
A non-competitive 1-mile walk that opens with the Promise Garden ceremony, where every participant carries a flower in a color reflecting their connection to the disease. There’s no registration fee, though they do ask for a personal donation.
Old Boise Oktoberfest
Old Boise Historic District, Boise
September 26th, 2026 | 2pm to 10pm
The Old Boise Merchants Association turns 6th and Grove into a German street party for the afternoon and evening, with live entertainment, food and bier. It stays family-friendly despite the beer.
Oktoberfest at the Nampa Civic Center
Nampa Civic Center, Nampa
September 26th, 2026 | 3pm to 9pm, cornhole from 4pm
Marking 19 years, in partnership with the Idaho Veteran’s Chamber of Commerce, with a brat eating contest, stein holding competition, German outfit contest, a new cornhole tournament and live music from Jace Kempke. Finish a Downtown Nampa Beer Passport and you get $5 off at the door.
Touch-a-Tractor at Lowe Family Farmstead
Lowe Family Farmstead, Kuna
September 26th, 2026 | Farm open 10am to 9pm
Burks Tractor brings in tractors of all different shapes and sizes for kids to touch, learn about and explore. It’s included with regular farm admission.
Southwest Idaho Dahlia Society Annual Dahlia Show
JUMP, Boise
September 26th, 2026 | 10am to 5pm, awards 3pm
One of the region’s largest dahlia displays, judged under Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers rules, with a junior section for growers 16 and under. It’s free to attend and free to enter, and bouquet sales benefit the Idaho Foodbank.
Open Streets Boise
Catalpa Drive, Boise
September 27th, 2026 | 12pm to 5pm
The Boise Bicycle Project closes Catalpa Drive to cars for an afternoon and fills it with biking, walking, skating, local food, art, live music and family activities. It’s free, and the third one after Latah Street in 2024 and Ustick Road in 2025.
Woodland Wonders
Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise
Through September 30th, 2026 | Garden open 9am to 5pm, last admission 4pm
Twenty-one larger-than-life woodland creature and botanical sculptures by artist Huelani Mei, scattered through the grounds. It’s the Garden’s first traveling exhibition, included with general admission, and gone after the 30th.
Boise Art Museum Fall Exhibitions
Boise Art Museum, Boise
Open all September
Three shows are up all month: Common Threads, a century of American quilts from Karen Taber’s private collection; Passage, large-scale charcoal work by Hong Chun Zhang; and James Lavadour: Land of Origin, which opened at the end of August.
See you out there!
