Mohawk Valley Almanac, September 2025
Holidays and Observations in September
September 1 Labor Day
September 7 Grandparents Day
September 9 Admission Day in California
September 11 Patriot Day
September 17 Constitution Day; Citizenship Day
September 15- October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month
September 21 International Day of Peace
September 26 American Indian Day (4th Friday, in some states same as Columbus Day); Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown
September begins the school year, after Labor Day for public and parochial elementary through high school, while most colleges and universities begin classes a week or two earlier. Labor Day is the last day of the New York State Fair, and the last long weekend of the summer season, a cultural end of summer, which officially begins on the autumnal equinox of September 22.
After a rather hot summer with more than average days over 90°F, the somewhat cooler days of September will be welcome to most people. The frequently free summer concerts in various regional city and village parks come to an end. However, there are regional fall festivals, many focused on regional agriculture of apples, pumpkins, garlic, and other fruits and vegetables of the agricultural harvest. Most of these are all day or weekend events, many with music.
\A Sample of Mohawk Valley Regional Festivals in September
September 13-14 Giant Craft Fair, Fort Klock, St. Johnsville September 13 Mohawk Valley Garlic & Herb Festival, Little Falls
September 20 Fall Festival, Fern and Arrowhead Parks, Inlet
September 20 Cream Cheese Festival, Lowville
September 28 Falling Leaves 5 K Road Race, Utica
September 27-28 Festa of Saints Cosmo and Damien, Utica
September 27-28 Remsen Barn Festival of the Arts, Remsen
As well as outdoor events, many theater and performing arts programs begin their winter season. These include concerts of jazz, folk and classical concerts at museums and colleges, touring large Broadway shows at the Stanley Theater in Utica and Capital Theater in Rome, and local theater productions in Utica, Rome and Ilion.
\For sports fans there are high school football games and the Syracuse Orange. Diehard ice hockey fans start counting the weeks and days until a new season begins for the AHL Utica Comets, Utica University Pioneers and various high school and college teams.
\As the weather turns cooler, the annual colorful extravaganza of red, orange, yellow and brown leaves begins, first in the North Country and the Adirondacks in September, then gradually moving south into the Mohawk and southern valleys later into September and October.
Get out and enjoy the generally pleasant weather and beginning of the autumn season.
In the Night Skies
On the pre-dawn horizon, Mercury can be seen, well below Venus and Jupiter early in the month. On the 17th and 18th, the crescent Moon is seen between Venus and Jupiter. On the 19th, the crescent Moon is near Venus and bright blue Regulus. Saturn reaches it’s opposition on September 21, with it’s rings seen almost as a straight line across the planet with a telescope. Neptune comes into opposition, best seen the night before it’s opposition on the 23rd with a telescope, magnitude 7.8. The Autumnal Equinox is on September 22, the official start of fall in the northern hemisphere.
Saturn comes into opposition on September 8th. With 30X or greater magnification, the rings should be visible. There is a partial lunar eclipse with only about 8% of the moon obscured on the 17th.
The autumnal equinox on September 22 at 8:44 A.M. this year as fall officially begins.
Full Harvest Moon, September 7
Rises 7:27 A.M., E Sets 6:12 P.M., W
Last Quarter Moon, September 14
Rises: 11:29 P.M., NE Sets 3:13 P.M., NW
New Moon, September 21
Rises 6:30 A.M., E Sets 6:52 P.M., W
First Quarter Moon, September 29
Rises 3:21 P.M., SE Sets 11:33 P.M., SW
September 22, 2024 Autumnal Equinox
Rising and Setting Times of the Sun, Moon, & Visible Planets
Sun
Waxing Crescent Moon Rises 7:35 A.M., E Sets 7:10 P.M., W
Mercury sets 7:17 P.M., W
Venus Rises: 4:32 A.M., E
Mars Sets 8:05 P.M., W
Jupiter Rises 12:56 A.M., NE
Saturn Rises 6:59 P.M., E Sets 6:45 A.M., W
