First Day Of Fall 2019: Can’t-Miss Events In Alpharetta, Milton

ALPHARETTA/MILTON, GA — The fall equinox on Monday, Sept. 23, officially ushers in the new season and its promise of crisp air, show-stopping leaf displays and more sunny afternoons in college football stadiums. Fall is an especially exciting time of year in Alpharetta and Milton.

There are plenty of events to enjoy, including:

• Alpharetta Brew Moon Fall Fest, Sept. 28: Downtown Alpharetta comes alive for this annual beer fest with great food and beverages for purchase. Bring your own chairs or tables available for purchase.
• Scarecrow Harvest, Oct. 5: Over 100 scarecrows stand tall and proud along the streets of downtown Alpharetta, inspiring fall spirit! A family street party that continues into the night offers a farmer’s market, groovy music, quirky face painting, artsy activities and delicious food.
• Crabapple Fest, Oct. 5: The first Saturday in October in Milton means festivals, football, food and fun when you join us at Crabapple Fest! This arts festival featuring over 100 juried, local antique and art vendors, kids' activities, local musicians, fantastic food, and more, is brought to you by the City of Milton and Crabapple Community Association. Spend the day shopping for one-of-a-kind items and enjoying all Milton has to offer!
• Atlanta International Night Market, Oct. 4-6: Join the largest and most diverse NIGHT MARKET in the United States! With more than 75 nationalities represented in Metro Atlanta, this event showcases one of the greatest international communities in the world!
• Wire & Wood Alpharetta Music Festival, Oct. 11-12: Music will flow through the streets as talented artists perform their own songs with soulful melodies, magnificent vocals and expressive lyrics while interacting with the audience. Listeners will learn the stories behind each song and may recognize some of the tunes that are played by their favorite musicians. Selected as one of the Top 20 Events in October 2015 by the Southeast Tourism Society!
• Carvin' in Crabapple, Oct. 20: BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) and meet us at Broadwell Pavilion (12615 Broadwell Road) for Carvin’ in Crabapple from 2-5 p.m. We’ll have carving kits and painting supplies to create spooky or silly jack o’ lanterns for Halloween, pumpkin bowling, storytelling and more!
• Alpharetta Women’s Half Marathon and 5K Race, Nov. 2- 3: Pack your running shoes and join us for the Alpharetta Women’s Half Marathon & 5k. This women’s only half marathon & 5k will showcase a prize purse for the top female finishers in the half marathon.

The autumnal equinox isn’t a day-long event, but rather occurs at the exact moment the sun crosses the celestial equator. In Atlanta, fall officially arrives at 3:50 a.m. EDT.

We’re also coming up on the end of Daylight Saving Time, which officially ends on Sunday, Nov. 3, but that’s a while off.

SEE ALSO

• Fall Foliage Peak Map 2019: When Autumn Leaves Are Best In GA
• Fall Foliage Map 2019: When Fall Colors Peak Around The U.S.

The word equinox comes from the Latin words “aequus,” which means “equal,” and “nox,” which means night. That’s led to the perception that everyone worldwide sees the same amount of daylight and nighttime, but it’s not the absolute truth. To be precise, daylight lasts about 8 minutes longer than nighttime on the day of the equinox.

Here are five other things to know about the September equinox:

1. There’s no guarantee, of course, but the chances of seeing stunning aurora borealis displays increase after the fall equinox, according to NASA. Both the spring and fall equinoxes are good aurora seasons, but autumn produces a surplus of geomagnetic storms — almost twice the annual average.

2. Nobody alive has seen a rare Sept. 21 autumnal equinox, and only young people have any hope of seeing one barring any big shifts in life expectancy. It hasn’t happened on that date in many millennia, and it won’t happen again until 2092 and 2096.

The date of the September equinox varies. Usually, it’s on the 22nd or, as it is this year, the 23rd, but it can occur as early as Sept. 21 or as late as Sept. 24 (that hasn’t happened since 1931, and won’t again until 2303).

The reason: A year is defined as 365 days by the Gregorian calendar, but it takes the Earth 365 and ¼ days to orbit the sun. What this means is the autumnal equinox occurs about 6 hours later than it did the year prior, which eventually moves the date by a day.

3. Thank Canada for spectacular fall sunsets with more vivid with pinks, reds and oranges than at any other time of the year. The Weather Channel offers an explanation: Dry, clean Canadian air begins to sweep across the country, fewer colors of the rainbow spectrum are scattered by air molecules. That means the reds, oranges, yellows and pinks make it through for your sunset-viewing pleasure.

4. No matter where you are in the world, the sun will rise due east and set due west during the fall equinox (the same thing happens during the spring equinox). For the directionally challenged, it’s a good time for a reset. Go outside around sunset or sunrise, find a landmark and mark the sun’s location in relation to it.

5. Fall isn’t just a time for the human world to start buttoning things up outside. It’s rutting — or mating — season for deer, elk and moose, and males will battle it out by thrusting their antlers together until one of them gives up or dies. Swans, geese and ducks begin their migration south. Frogs burrow deep into mud holes to wait out the winter. Chipmunks retreat to their underground tunnels. Bears eat and drink almost non-stop as they prepare for hibernation. And, according to the Mother Nature Network, the male Siberian hamster goes through a huge biological change: Its testicles swell almost 17 times their normal size.