While Autumn may be rife with harvest fairs and festivals, the events I found sing to a slightly different tune.

On September 23, the Center for Italian Studies here at the university will hold a Concorso d’Eleganza: A Celebration of Italian Automotive Excellence, in which various Italian car and motor clubs will display their metallic forms of the country’s culture. While it would be easy to focus on the beauty of the cars themselves, I’ll look to focus on the owners, and what drives them–pardon the pun–to own such fantastic pieces of engineering. The event will run from 10am to 1pm.

Rather sooner is the fourth anniversary of Fashion’s Night Out, on September 6, from 6-11pm in locations throughout New York City. Models, designers, artists and laypeople will intermingle at special events throughout the evening, dedicated to celebrating the diversity of fashion not only in New York, but around the world. The wide variety of people attending, as well as the background of the city itself, will provide more subject matter for photographs than I could ever imagine.

However, provided my efforts to get to Manhattan fail, Port Jefferson is holding their annual Scarecrow Competition on September 21-23, during which time contestants will build and erect their scarecrows in locations around the village. Many family moments and team efforts will make for a heartwarming and personable piece. But only if I can’t get to the city, which I’m not saying I won’t.