October is a month full of celebrations worth celebrating, both well-known and not so-well known. 

American Cheese Month

October has been set aside by the American dairy industry to recognize, well, the American dairy industry. The U.S. has as strong and rich of a history of fromage as France or Italy. Celebrate with some locally-made cheese, or even some of those delicious, square slices of pasteurized process cheese food, otherwise known as “American cheese.”

Bat Appreciation Month

Halloween doesn’t happen until the end of the month, but the whole of October is for studying and appreciating all the different kinds of bats. It’s a great time to crack open a book and learn something about the misunderstood (but still creepy) flying creatures.

Class Reunion Month

Most high school reunions take place in the summer, so alumni can head back home and make a mini-vacation of it. The rest seem to happen in October—as part of the festivities surrounding “Homecoming,” along with the big game and the big dance.

Eye Injury Prevention Month

Really, every month should be “Eye Injury Prevention Month,” but October makes perfect sense—pointy leaves are falling from the sky, it’s raining and hailing more, and then there are all those Trick-or-Treaters with their pirate swords and fairy wands. Look out for your eyes, people!

Feral Hog Month

October is the time to celebrate wild pigs…but October is also officially “Eat Country Ham” month. (Make of that what you will.)

Italian-American Heritage Month

In light of changing cultural attitudes about Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, many cities have phased out their annual Columbus Day celebrations. There’s also this observance, which expands and rebrands Columbus Day to recognize the historical contributions of Italian-Americans.

Great Books Week (first full week of the month)

If you’re looking for a great book, well, you’re in the right place. Might we recommend some, oh, we don’t know, the 30th annual edition of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader?

Give Wildlife a Brake! Week (last week of the month)

In early November, most of the country switches off of Daylight Saving Time and back into Standard Time. That means it gets darker a bit earlier, so this event was created to get people think about being more aware of animals, both domesticated and wild, during the last few days of October.