If you grew up in the 1980s, you might remember spending a Saturday afternoon at a fall festival, checking out the games, wandering past the food booths and convincing your parents to buy you one more treat before heading home. And while the activities were fun, the food was a pretty big part of the experience.
Of course, not every fall festival looked the same. Some were held at local schools or churches, while others took over entire fairgrounds for the weekend. In apple-growing towns, you might even catch the smell of fresh cider being pressed or pies coming out of the oven.
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Elsewhere, there might be a chili cook-off underway, sausages sizzling on the grill or a church bake sale with tables full of homemade goodies. You could easily spend more time deciding what to eat than enjoying the games.
So, what was on the menu 40 years ago? We took a look back at fall festivals from the 1980s to see what people were eating. You might be surprised by how many of these foods are still festival favorites today. See how many you remember—you may just have a new cooking or baking project this week to recreate your own favorite fall festival food.
The Quintessential 1980s Fall Festival Menu
Menus varied by region, but these were some of the foods you might have found at a fall festival in the 1980s.
Sloppy Joe
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If you grew up in the 1980s, you probably remember sloppy Joes from your school cafeteria. They were also a handy option for community gatherings and fundraisers because you could make a big batch without spending much money. Ground beef simmered in a sweet, tangy tomato sauce was spooned onto hamburger buns, usually with enough filling to spill out the sides.
Sloppy Joes had been around long before 1986, but Hunt’s Manwich, introduced in 1969, made the sandwiches even simpler to prepare. Just brown the beef, add the canned sauce and stir. For anyone feeding a hungry crowd, that was a pretty good deal.
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Roasted Corn on the Cob
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You could usually smell the roasted corn before you spotted the stand. Whole ears of corn were cooked over a hot grill, sometimes right in their husks, then peeled back and slathered with butter. A little salt was all they really needed, especially when the corn was fresh and sweet from the late-summer harvest. And if you got an ear with a few charred kernels, even better.
Corn season was winding down by the time many fall festivals rolled around, so roasted corn was a chance to enjoy some of the last fresh ears of the year. It was also one of the more affordable things you could pick up at a food booth, especially compared with some of the bigger meals. And unlike a plate of food, you could eat it while waiting in line for the next game or attraction.
Fresh-Pressed Apple Cider
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If you attended a fall festival in apple country during the 1980s, there was a good chance you’d find fresh cider for sale. Some orchards even had old-fashioned cider presses running, so you could watch the apples being crushed and squeezed into juice. The cider was cloudy, sweet and a little tart, with a stronger apple flavor than the clear, filtered juice at the grocery store.
You could pick up a jug to take home or enjoy a cup while wandering around the orchards. And with fresh apple fritters, homemade pies and other baked goods often on sale nearby, it was hard to leave with just a cup of cider. It’s no wonder apple harvest festivals were such a popular fall outing.
Frito Pie
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At some fall festivals in the 1980s, particularly in the Southwest, you could find Frito pie on the menu. Despite the name, there wasn’t any actual pie involved. Instead, vendors piled hot chili, shredded cheddar cheese and chopped onions over Fritos corn chips, sometimes serving the whole thing right in the bag. It wasn’t particularly neat to eat, but it certainly beat trying to balance a plate while walking around the festival.
Frito pie had been popular for decades, and it made sense for outdoor celebrations where people wanted something warm and filling. The chili softened some of the chips underneath, while the ones on top stayed crunchy. If you were hungry after spending the afternoon checking out the booths, this was a pretty satisfying choice.
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Homemade Chili
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Chili cook-offs were having quite a moment in the 1980s, and it wasn’t unusual to find one at a local fall festival. You could wander past rows of simmering pots, with cooks hoping their recipes would impress the judges. Some made thick, Texas-style chili with chunks of beef and no beans, while others favored ground beef, tomatoes and kidney beans. The amount of heat was another matter entirely, so sampling a few different recipes could be an adventure.
Of course, you didn’t need a cook-off to enjoy homemade chili at a festival. A bowl topped with shredded cheddar, diced onions and a few saltine crackers was plenty satisfying, especially when the weather started turning chilly. And if you were really hungry, you could always go back for seconds.
Apple Dumplings
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Apple dumplings were another reason to visit apple country in the fall. Alongside the usual pies and turnovers, you could find whole apples wrapped in pastry, baked with cinnamon, sugar and a generous pat of butter. The apples softened in the oven, and the butter and sugar turned into a syrup that collected around the crust. They weren’t dainty desserts. One dumpling could take up most of a plate.
Depending on the recipe, they might come with a splash of cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or extra syrup spooned over the top. The combination of warm apples, flaky pastry and melting ice cream was hard to beat on a chilly fall afternoon.
Funnel Cake
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Funnel cakes weren’t an everyday dessert, which made getting one at a fall festival that much better. You could watch the vendor pour batter into hot oil in a bunch of messy loops, then flip the whole thing until it turned golden brown. A few shakes of powdered sugar later, you had a fried treat that barely fit on its paper plate. The crispy pieces around the edges were one of the best parts, although the thicker, softer sections were pretty good too.
Powdered sugar was the classic topping, but some stands offered strawberries, whipped cream or cinnamon sugar. Of course, the more toppings you added, the harder it was to eat while walking around. You’d probably end up with sticky fingers and powdered sugar on your shirt, but at least you’d have a funnel cake.
Why Traditional Autumn Comfort Food Hit Different Back Then
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Back in the ’80s, you couldn’t look up a festival’s food vendors ahead of time or scroll through photos to see what everyone was eating. You had to show up and see what was cooking. Maybe you’d spot a long line at one stand and decide to find out what the fuss was about. Or you’d walk past something that looked good, check how much money you had left and make a mental note to come back before heading home.
What you found also depended on where you lived. Apple-growing towns had their harvest celebrations, while school and church festivals often sold food to raise money for local programs. And once the festival packed up, you might have to wait until the following fall to get your favorites again. Today, grocery stores start stocking pumpkin-flavored everything while it’s still hot outside. Back then, the arrival of fall gave you something to look forward to, including what was on the menu.
Final Thoughts
Was the food actually better back in the ’80s? Maybe, maybe not. But I’d love to go back for an afternoon, see what everyone was lining up to eat and find out which treats were worth going back for seconds.
Related: 12 School Cafeteria Lunches We Honestly Secretly Crave As Adults
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