Autumn Festivals Snap Into Place

October brings a chill in the air to most parts of the country and with it a glorious fall foliage scene, celebrated with special events and festivals. October is also for cultural programs and, best of all, Halloween.

Foliage Viewing

Topping the list of fall’s foliage events is Vermont’s “Northeast Kingdom Fall Foliage Festival,” Oct. 1-6. This is a progressive celebration rotating in six Vermont scenic towns: Walden, Cabot, Plainfield, Peacham, Barnet and Groton.

The festival moves from town to town with foliage viewing tours, church suppers, bazaars, exhibits and pageantry. Some visitors follow the entire festival, others can join at any time. There are charges for dinners and bazaar items, but the foliage viewing is free.

For brochures on next year’s festival, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Falls Festival Committee, P.O. Box 38, West Danville, Vt. 05873. For more information, call (802) 563-2472.

Victorian Week

“Victorian Week” in Cape May, N.J., combines fall foliage viewing with things Victorian, Oct. 5-14. Guests can take self-guided tours of the many wonderful Victorian homes. There’s even a stained-glass tour. Also antique and craft shows and a sing-along. Plays are staged at the Victorian Theater, and at the end of the week there is a glorious Victorian dinner. For more information, call (609) 884-5404.

Festival 2000

A brand-new event, “Festival 2000: Sights and Sounds of the Next Generation,” will be held in San Francisco, Oct. 6-28. Billed as “America’s First Multicultural Festival of Contemporary Arts,” about 50 events are planned with 200 performances by 1,000 regional and national artists. Some events are free. Others charge. For more information, call (415) 864-4237.

Best of Halloween

Halloween events are for all ages to enjoy. For example, in Milwaukee, Wis., “Halloween Hauntings” take place Oct. 19-20, 25-27, 30-31 at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where a ghoulish guide, who tells spooky stories, leads visitors through dark exhibit halls in which exhibits seem to suddenly come alive. Cost: adults, $4, children, $2. For more information, call (414) 278-2791 or (414) 278-2702.

Insomniac Tours

In Baltimore, there’s a “Halloween Insomniac Tour,” Oct. 27-28. Visitors are taken deep into the catacombs of Westminster Presbyterian Church, the resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. At graveside, a toast is made to Poe. Tours also go to Shot Tower and other city sites, where black magic is performed and lots of ghosts entertain. For more information and ghost schedules, call (301) 653-2998.

Cervantes Festival

Down Mexico way, the 18th-annual “International Cervantes Festival” in Guanajuato will be held Oct. 15-30. This major cultural event is one of Latin America’s most extensive arts offerings, with programs taking place citywide. This year, 30 countries are participating.

Music, theater, dance and other events will be held at the Teatro Juarez, Jardin de la Union, Teatro Principal, University Auditorium, Teatro Cervantes, an open-air esplanade and at Teatro de Minas. For more information, contact the Mexican Government Tourism Office, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 224, Los Angeles 90067, (213) 203-8191 or (800) 262-8900.

Styrian Autumn

Overseas there’s “Styrian Autumn,” in Graz, Austria, taking place Oct. 4-28. This avant-garde arts festival, with its theme of “Mobility--The Third Way,” is divided into four parts: No Music, No Theater, No Museum and No Places. “No” actually means “yes.”

The festival’s music programs will be highlighted by orchestra concerts and chamber music and electronic pieces by Jannis Xenakis, Peter Etvos, Philippe Manoury, Gosta Neuwirth, Michael Jarell, Morton Feldman and Giacinto Scecsi. Tickets cost from $5 to $15 for Musikportokoll, Oct. 4-7. Details: Musikportokoll, ORF, 20 Marburgerstrasse, A-8042, Graz, Austria.

For more information, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office, 11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2480, Los Angeles 90025, (213) 477-3332.

Sicilian Opera

A new opera festival for Italy, the Sicilian Opera Festival in Taormina, will be held Oct. 10-21. Opera performances are at Taormina’s 4th-Century Greek Theater overlooking the Ionian Sea.

The amphitheater will be the setting for “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” Verdi’s “Sicilian Vespers” will also be offered, and the State Opera Chorus of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, will give concerts, based on choral works from Italian operas, Oct. 11 and 18.

Tickets cost from $32 to $305. Details: Festival dell’Opera Siciliana a Taormina, 117 Via Cavour I-90133, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

For more information, contact the Italian Government Travel Office, 360 Post St., Suite 801, San Francisco 94108, (415) 392-6206.