Over a single weekend, October 10 and 11, the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center is showing four Halloween films. Each one is pitched to a different audience, at a different price, with different rules about who comes and who drops off. The rest of the month follows the same pattern. Each event has a clear audience, and the Town of New Castle organizes most of the ones built for children.
This changes how a family plans the month. Picking the right event for each person in the house matters more than fitting everything into one weekend.
| Date | Event | Where | Organizer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 & Sun., Oct. 11 | Fright Night Rewind | Chappaqua PAC, 480 North Bedford Road | Town of New Castle |
| Every Saturday | Chappaqua Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Train Station Circle, Allen Place | Chappaqua Farmers Market |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | EV Car Show, 8:30 a.m. to noon | Chappaqua Train Station | Sustainability Advisory Board |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | Be the Light: Community Bonfire, 7 p.m. | Town Recreation Field | Community coalition |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Ragamuffin Parade, 12:30 to 4 p.m. | Chappaqua Train Station | New Castle Recreation & Parks |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Downtown Chappaqua Trick or Treat | Downtown Chappaqua | Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce |
The PAC Weekend Shows How the Month Works
Chappaqua PAC lists the Town of New Castle as the organizer of all four Fright Night Rewind screenings. Each one is aimed at a different part of a household.
- Hotel Transylvania, Saturday, October 10, 4 to 6 p.m., $5. It's billed as family-friendly and followed by a Haunted Mini-Maze. The PAC says the maze will stay lit and the decorations won't move, for the sake of its youngest guests. It recommends the maze for ages 8 and up, at parents' discretion.
- The Ring, Saturday, October 10, 8 to 10 p.m., $5. The mini-maze follows this one too, and beer and wine are for sale.
- Hocus Pocus, Sunday, October 11, 2 to 4 p.m., $5. The PAC calls it a Halloween favorite for the whole family and offers the maze again.
- The Sixth Sense, Sunday, October 11, 7 to 9 p.m., $15. This is a drop-off program for middle schoolers. Drop-off starts at 6:30 p.m. and pickup is by 9 p.m. The PAC notes the PG-13 rating, warns of frightening themes and scenes, recommends parental discretion and says students are supervised.
The Sixth Sense costs $15, three times the $5 charged for the other screenings, and it's the only one with supervised drop-off. The PAC is offering an evening out to two groups at once: middle schoolers who get a scary movie with their friends, and parents who get two and a half hours to themselves. The Saturday-night Ring screening, with beer and wine for sale, works the same way for a different crowd. Many families can split up across these four screenings and never sit in the same theater.
Fright Night runs only this weekend. The PAC's events listing shows no more screenings later in the month. The next thing on its calendar is a separate Bostyx event on October 24.
Saturdays Belong to the Station
The film weekend has a set audience for each showing. The Saturday mornings around it are open to everyone. The Chappaqua Farmers Market runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Train Station Circle on Allen Place. The market says 2026 is its 16th year. The Town calendar lists it every Saturday in October and November.
The October 3 vendor list gives a good picture of what a fall Saturday there looks like:
- Produce: Mead Orchards, Caradonna Farm, Fresh Meadow Farm, Obercreek Farm, Orchard Hill Organics, Stars of the Meadow and Tivoli Mushrooms
- Baked goods: Bien Cuit, Noble Pies, DoughCo Bagels, Heathcote Bakery, Knot of this World Pretzels, Red Barn Bakery, Wave Hill Breads, Butter + Bow, Bohemian Baked and Mayfield Farm
- Prepared food: Grumpy Dumpling, Mel's Pierogies, Villa Emilia Empanadas, Mama Hu's Sushi Bakes, SMOK'D, SOUPERNATURAL and Bonnes Saveurs
- Drinks: Cano Coffee, Fairy Juice Bar and Manor House Sangria
- Specialty: La Trafila Pasta, Doc Pickle, MOMO Dressing, The Lentil Hub and The Copper Faucet Soap Company
The Town's Take It or Leave It Shed is open the same mornings, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. To find it, take the first left into the station parking area from South Greeley Avenue.
On October 17, the Town's Sustainability Advisory Board adds an EV Car Show at the station, also from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The flyer lists a Cadillac Lyriq, Chevy Equinox EV, Rivian R2, Tesla Model 3 and Model X, Toyota bZ4X, Polestar 2 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. It also promises children's activities and conversations with owners. The show runs during market hours, so one trip covers coffee from Cano, a pie from Noble Pies and a look at the Rivian R2.
The market's About page says it holds a Halloween Dog Parade and Costume Contest in October. No 2026 date has been posted yet, so check the market's site before dressing up the dog. A 2026 job posting from the market for paid on-site assistants says they're needed every Saturday "from May til mid December." That points to outdoor Saturdays continuing well after Halloween, though no last date has been announced.
Sunday, October 18: An Evening With a Different Purpose
Halloween isn't the reason for every gathering this month. Be the Light: Community Bonfire takes place Sunday, October 18, at the Town Recreation Field, 198 South Greeley Avenue. Its hosts are the Town's Committee for Mental Resilience, the HGHS SADD chapter, the HGHS Mental Wellness Club, Morgan's Message, Chappaqua Library and Break the Hold.
The organizers describe it as a free evening, open to all, focused on mental health awareness, suicide prevention and hope. Families are welcome. Music and a food truck start at 7 p.m. and speakers begin at 7:15. The bonfire is lit at 7:45, with candle-lighting and a time of remembrance, and an ice cream truck comes afterward. The event depends on the weather. Two of the hosts are high school clubs, so teenagers are helping run this evening as well as attending it.
Sunday, October 25: The Parade for the Youngest
The Ragamuffin Parade is the month's event for the youngest children. New Castle Recreation & Parks runs it at Chappaqua Train Station. Lineup is at 12:30 p.m., the parade steps off at 1 p.m., and activities continue until 4 p.m. The rain date is November 1. The poster promises a DJ, inflatables, crafts and costumes.
The parade has been at the station for a long time. Patch coverage from 2011 called it a longstanding New Castle tradition. It noted that 2011 was the third year it was held in the train station parking lot, after earlier years in the Town Hall lot. The Town hasn't published a route or costume contest rules for this year. Arriving at 12:30 for lineup is the only timing families need.
The parade also brings the station's Halloween role full circle. The same lot hosts the market and the shed on Saturday mornings and the EV show on October 17. On October 25, it fills with costumed children.
Friday, October 30: Downtown Takes a Turn
The Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce organizes the last event of the month, its annual Downtown Chappaqua Trick or Treat, on Friday, October 30. Participating merchants hand out candy in two windows, from noon to 2 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m. Costumes are encouraged for kids of all ages, and there's no registration. Families just bring a candy bag and walk through downtown. Desires by Mikolay will offer a giveaway for moms, first-come, first-served while supplies last.
The Chamber's flyer invites children to visit their favorite "BOO-tiques" but doesn't list which shops are taking part. Families can tell which stores are participating once they get to King Street and North and South Greeley.
The Town runs the film weekend, the EV show and the parade. This is the one Halloween event run by the downtown business owners, held on their own sidewalks. The day after, October 31, falls on a Saturday, and the farmers market is scheduled at the station that morning as usual.
If you're working out how this month's events fit your own family, or you just want to compare notes on which Fright Night showing you picked, I'm always glad to talk about the town. Maura McSpedon has spent years helping families settle into Chappaqua and the towns around it. Let's Connect.
