Parke County Covered Bridge Festival – Mansfield

The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in Mansfield, Indiana, runs from October 10 to 19, 2025, featuring a bustling event with hundreds of vendors selling food, arts, crafts, and various goods in Mansfield Village, which is home to historic sites like the 1880s Mansfield Roller Mill and the Mansfield Covered Bridge. The festival celebrates the county’s 31 historic covered bridges and showcases fall foliage, authentic arts and crafts, and outstanding festival food.

The festival is Indiana’s largest, lasting 10 days starting the second Friday in October and is countywide, encompassing 9 festival communities each with its own specialty. Mansfield Village specifically offers a lively atmosphere with many vendors daily from 9 am to 6 pm. Activities include exploring historic covered bridges and mills, shopping handcrafted goods, enjoying local food specialties, and participating in community events spread across the county.

Typical schedule highlights include:

• Daily vendor markets open 9 am to 6 pm at festival headquarters on the Rockville courthouse lawn and in Mansfield Village.
• Access to historical sites like the Mansfield Roller Mill, featuring authentic milling machinery.
• Opportunities to visit all 31 covered bridges and associated festival locations, including Black Covered Bridge Route.
• Community-specific events such as chicken and noodle dinners, apple butter making, and historic town tours in other Parke County communities.

The festival was founded in 1957 to promote and preserve the county’s rich history of covered bridges, and it continues to attract visitors annually for its unique combination of history, crafts, food, and beautiful autumn scenery.

In summary, the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival offers a vibrant, family-friendly event filled with cultural heritage experiences, shopping, eating, and outdoor exploration, with a roughly 10-day schedule of continuous vendor presence, historic site visits, and community-run specialty activities across multiple towns within Parke County. Mansfield Village serves as one of the lively hubs within the county-wide festival.