Kennywood still has Fall Fantasy Parade nights left, but the daily run is almost over. The official parade page and the park’s August 4 band poster both date the 76th season through Monday, August 17, then Saturday, August 22, then a bonus night on Sunday, August 23.
If you want a weekday 7:30 p.m. parade, Monday is the last one. After that, only the two weekend nights remain. WPXI’s July 29 report had the window ending August 22. The live official pages now add the August 23 bonus at 6:30 p.m.
- Remaining nights: August 13 to 17, then August 22 and 23.
- Start time: 7:30 p.m. most nights. August 23 starts at 6:30 p.m.
- After-4 ticket: $32.99 versus $74.99, valid August 1 to 22.
- Weather rule: Official poster says parades are weather permitting.
- Do not wait: Weekday 7:30 p.m. nights end Monday, August 17.
What is still on the calendar
Tonight still counts.
The official poster lists Thursday, August 13 bands from Bethlehem-Center, Ligonier Valley, McGuffey, Montour, Peters Township, Ringgold, Titusville, and Woodland Hills. Friday, August 14 names Allerdice, Beaver Falls Area, Boardman, Jefferson-Morgan, Knoch, Mars, Obama Academy, Pine-Richland, Port Allegany, and Shaler Area. Saturday, August 15 is one of the densest remaining nights, with Seton Hill University, Seton LaSalle, Serra Catholic, South Park, and more than a dozen other schools on the card.
Sunday, August 16 is the hometown-leaning night. West Mifflin Area, the University of Pittsburgh, Fox Chapel, Frick, Jeannette, Keystone Oaks, and North Allegheny are on that list. Monday, August 17 closes the daily block with Cony, Grafton, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, McKeesport, Norwin, Somerset Area, Southern Garrett, Union Area, and Valley. Then the poster jumps five days to Saturday, August 22, when Bentworth, Brownsville Area, Penn Trafford, Punxsutawney, Robert Morris University, Saint Francis University, and several other bands are listed. The same file marks Sunday, August 23 as a bonus night that starts at 6:30 p.m. and does not name bands.
That gap after Monday is the part late planners miss. A family that can only visit on a Tuesday or Wednesday next week will not find a parade on the official card. A visitor who can shift to Saturday, August 22 still has a 7:30 p.m. show. A visitor who can only do Sunday, August 23 should treat 6:30 p.m. as the start and recheck the live page, because the August 4 poster leaves that night’s lineup blank.
The poster footer says the band list can change and that parades are weather permitting. Do not treat a school name as a guaranteed appearance. Use it as a reason to pick a night, then confirm the same-day listing before you leave home.
Rain can cancel the march without canceling park admission.
How the after-4 ticket actually works
The official parade page sells a Fall Fantasy After 4 p.m. ticket at $32.99, marked down from a $74.99 gate comparison, for parade operating dates August 1 through 22. That ticket is the cleanest way to buy a parade-first visit if you do not need a full day of rides. It is not a night-only event ticket in the Halloween sense. You still enter a regular park day that is already underway.
Arrive after 4 p.m., ride what is open, and be on the midway before 7:30 p.m. The parade is included with valid admission. You do not buy a second wristband to watch bands and floats. Parking, food, and lockers remain extra. The same page attaches Kennywood’s Rainy Day Guarantee to those after-4 tickets, which matters because the poster already warns that parades can be held for weather.
The after-4 offer is listed through August 22. The official page does not print the same $32.99 language on the August 23 bonus night. If Sunday is your only date, do not assume the discount follows you. Buy only after the live ticket card shows that night, or pay the regular admission then in force.
A full-day ticket still makes sense if you want Thunderbolt, Jack Rabbit, or Phantom’s Revenge before the parade. Deep Arrival’s Kennywood planning guide is the right page for ride mix, historic-park layout, and how this National Historic Landmark sits on the West Mifflin bluff. Pair it with the Kennywood height-requirements page if children are in the group, because the parade does not change those posted minima.
What you are actually watching
Fall Fantasy is not a character cavalcade imported from a coastal resort. It is a local marching-band parade that Kennywood has run since 1950, timed to the week before school starts. Patch’s July 29 preview and WPXI both date this as the 76th year and quote general manager Ricky Spicuzza on the same point: the floats are built at the park by Kennywood carpenters and artists.
The official page says more than 130 high school and university bands perform across the run, alongside six in-house Mardi Gras floats. Named characters on those floats include Kenny Kangaroo, Parker the Arrow, Jeeters, and Santa Claus. Patch adds float names that match that roster: a Celebration Cake lead float, a Bourbon Street float, a Mardi Gras King float with Jeeters, and the closing Santa Claus float. Independent copy also describes a French Quarter block party at 7:30 p.m. The official page does not repeat the block-party label, so treat the parade start time as the load-bearing fact and the party language as local color.
Imagine a couple driving in from the eastern suburbs on Friday, August 14, with one teenager who wants Thunderbolt and one parent whose high school is on that night’s card. Their useful sequence is an after-4 ticket, one or two rides, a midway spot by 7:15 p.m., and a planned exit after Santa, not a second full-day ticket on Saturday unless someone still needs a coaster credit. The parade is the reason to go this week. The rides are the afternoon buffer.
WPXI and Patch also reported a Canine Stars stunt-dog show at the Garden Stage from August 5 through August 17. That companion show, if it is still listed, ends on the same Monday as the daily parade block. It is not a reason to skip the parade, and it is not a substitute if rain cancels the march.
What remains unknown
Monday is the last weekday 7:30 p.m. parade.
The official hours calendar was not readable from this desk’s fetch path, so do not infer that the park itself goes weekends-only after August 17 just because the parade card does. Recheck the live Kennywood hours page for the date you hold. A parade night can still sit inside a shorter operating day, and a non-parade day can still be open for rides.
August 23 is the other open question. The live official page and the band poster both call it a bonus night at 6:30 p.m. The poster does not name bands for that Sunday. If you are traveling only for a specific school, pick a night that already prints that school. If you are traveling for the tradition, August 22 is the last 7:30 p.m. card with a published lineup.
The July 17 wildfire-smoke closure that shut Kennywood, Sandcastle, and Idlewild for one day is not this stream. That was an air-quality shutdown. Tonight’s question is whether you can still catch a parade before the daily run ends.
| If you | What to do |
|---|---|
| Want a weekday 7:30 p.m. parade | Go by Monday, August 17. After that night, the daily card stops. |
| Can visit only after work | Buy the $32.99 after-4 ticket through August 22 and be on the midway by 7:15 p.m. |
| Need a specific school on the card | Match the official band poster, then recheck that night. Lineups can change. |
| Can only go Sunday, August 23 | Plan on 6:30 p.m. and do not assume the after-4 price or a named band list. |
| Are choosing between Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 | Use August 22 if you want the last 7:30 p.m. night with published bands. |
- Act this week: Weekday parade nights end Monday, August 17.
- Use after-4 through August 22: The $32.99 card is the parade-first ticket.
- Hold August 22 for a named lineup: That is the last 7:30 p.m. night with listed bands.
- Treat August 23 as a bonus: Start time is 6:30 p.m. Bands are not printed.
- Recheck hours and weather: Parades are weather permitting. Confirm the live calendar.
If you want Kennywood’s Fall Fantasy Parades, go by Monday for a weekday night or hold August 22 for the last 7:30 p.m. card. Sunday the 23rd is a shorter bonus, not a second copy of Saturday.
When do Kennywood Fall Fantasy Parades end in 2026?
Official pages date remaining nights through August 17, then August 22, then a bonus night on August 23 at 6:30 p.m.
What time does the Kennywood Fall Fantasy Parade start?
Most remaining nights start at 7:30 p.m. The August 23 bonus night starts at 6:30 p.m.
Is there a cheaper Kennywood ticket for parade nights?
The official parade page lists an after-4 p.m. ticket at $32.99 versus $74.99 for August 1 to 22. Confirm August 23 separately.
Are Fall Fantasy Parades included with regular admission?
Yes. The official page treats the parade as part of a valid park day, not a separately ticketed Halloween event.
What if it rains on a parade night?
The official band poster says parades are weather permitting. After-4 tickets on the parade page include Kennywood’s Rainy Day Guarantee.
