DISPATCH #17 · TUE, OCTOBER 6, 2026 · NoCo · TUE HIGH 86°
Postcard from NoCo
Hi NoCo families. Halloween season starts this weekend. Saturday morning, kids can trick-or-treat from car trunks at the Loveland Police Department, then head downtown for the Pumpkin Festival when it opens at noon. Sunday, the Harmony Library in Fort Collins hosts a free costume swap, so outgrown costumes go to a new kid. Tickets for Treatsylvania, the trick-or-treat at The Farm in Fort Collins, go on sale Wednesday at 7am. Oh, the places you'll actually go.
JP & Alexis
Treatsylvania tickets go on sale — $9 per child
Wed 10/7 · 7am · online · for Treatsylvania at The Farm, 600 N Sherwood St, Fort Collins
Tickets open for Treatsylvania, trick-or-treating at The Farm on October 23 to 25, for kids 10 and under. Adults and siblings who aren't trick-or-treating get in free. Tickets are sold in advance only.
Halloween crafts at the Johnstown library — FREE
Tue 10/6 2pm to 4pm · Wed 10/7 4:30pm to 5:30pm · Thu 10/8 5pm to 6pm · Johnstown Library, 400 S Parish Ave, Johnstown
Three one-off Halloween crafts this week. Tuesday, drop in to the makerspace and build your own cryptid. Wednesday, kids make a Halloween flower bouquet. Thursday, families make Halloween fridge magnets together. Cryptid → · Flowers → · Magnets →
Kids Explore: Creepy Crawlies — FREE, registration required
Tue 10/6 · 4pm to 4:30pm · Farr Regional Library, 1939 61st Ave, Greeley
The library's monthly science and art session for kindergarten through 2nd grade. This month the kids learn about spiders. Details →
Halloween VR Showcase — FREE
Wed 10/7 · 6pm to 7:30pm · Old Town Library, 201 Peterson St, Fort Collins
Try the library's virtual reality headsets and explore haunted places. Ages 10 and up, so it works for tweens with a parent along. Registration is recommended; walk-ins are welcome if there's room. Details →
National Geographic Live: Chasing Monarchs — $29 to $38
Wed 10/7 · 7:30pm · The Lincoln Center, 417 W Magnolia St, Fort Collins
Photographer and National Geographic Explorer Jaime Rojo shows his photos and video of monarch butterflies and the people working to protect them. Open captions. Details →
Baby Rave at the Severance Library — FREE
Thu 10/8 · 10am to 11:30am · Severance Library, 5 Timber Ridge Pkwy, Severance
A drop-in morning of music, movement, and things to touch for ages 0 to 2. Come anytime; no registration. Details →
CSU Wind Symphony: "1876" — $5 under 18, $15 adults
Thu 10/8 · 7:30pm · Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St, Fort Collins
CSU's wind symphony plays a concert for Colorado's 150th birthday, about the state's history and the events that shaped it. All ages. Details →
Downtown Loveland Pumpkin Festival — FREE; pumpkin decorating $15
Sat 10/10 · noon to 5pm · 4th Street from Railroad Avenue to Jefferson Avenue, Loveland
Three blocks of 4th Street with a farmers market, live pumpkin sculpting, food trucks, and a family haunted house. The family costume contest is at 1 and the pie-eating contest at 3, for several age groups. A $15 decorating ticket comes with a big pumpkin and a kit. Details →
Windsor Community Recreation Center's 10th birthday — FREE
Fri 10/9 · all day · Windsor Community Recreation Center, 250 N 11th St, Windsor
Free admission to the rec center all day for its 10th birthday, with donuts at 7:30am, cookies at 3:30pm, and giveaways. Details →
Pumpkin painting at LINC — FREE
Fri 10/9 · 10:30am to 11:30am and 11:30am to 12:30pm · LINC Library Innovation Center, 501 8th Ave, Greeley
Two sessions of painting mini pumpkins, for preschoolers through high schoolers and their families. No registration; it runs while supplies last. 10:30 → · 11:30 →
Boyd Lake Trunk or Treat — state park pass required
Fri 10/9 · 5pm · Boyd Lake State Park, 3720 N County Road 11C, Loveland
Decorated car trunks with treats for kids, family giveaways, and educational games at the state park. Details →
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow — $15
Fri 10/9 7pm · Sat 10/10 7pm · Sun 10/11 1pm · Magnolia Theatre at the Lincoln Center, 417 W Magnolia St, Fort Collins
Debut Theatre Company, a youth theatre company, opens its fall show this weekend. Recommended for ages 5 and up. It runs again 10/16 to 17 and 10/23 to 24. Details →
Poudre FFA Fall Carnival — 50 cents a ticket, 5 for $2
Sat 10/10 · 9am to noon · Poudre High School large gym, 201 S Impala Dr, Fort Collins
The Poudre High FFA chapter runs 20 carnival games with prizes, made for ages 4 to 10. Each game takes 2 tickets. Details →
UWIF Fall Food & Craft Fair — FREE to attend
Sat 10/10 · 9am to 2pm, lunch 11am to 1pm · First United Methodist Church, 820 9th St, Berthoud
The church women's group's annual fair: more than 20 vendors with handmade crafts and baked goods, plus homemade noodles, kraut burgers, and a served lunch. The kraut burgers sold out fast last year, so go early. Details →
Trunk or Treat with Loveland Police — FREE
Sat 10/10 · 10am to noon · Loveland Police Department, 810 E 10th St, Loveland
Alternatives to Violence and the Loveland Police Department's third trunk or treat. Come in costume and bring a bag. Police, fire, and EMS vehicles will be there to explore, plus a photo area. The Pumpkin Festival downtown starts at noon. Details →
Fire station open houses in Greeley and Fort Collins — FREE
Sat 10/10 · Greeley 10am to 2pm, Fire Station 5, 4701 24th St · Fort Collins 10am to 1pm, Poudre Fire Authority Station 3, 2000 Mathews St
Both are for Fire Prevention Week. Greeley has fire truck tours, an inflatable fire safety house, hose spraying, a firefighter tug-of-war, food, and music. Fort Collins, next to Spring Park, has fire engine and station tours, kids' activities, and drawings. Greeley → · Fort Collins →
Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off & Fall Jamboree — FREE
Sat 10/10 · 10am to 3pm · Fort Collins Nursery, 2121 E Mulberry St, Fort Collins
Growers bring giant pumpkins to the nursery's 18th annual weigh-off for $8,250 in prizes, with weighing at about 11:30. The jamboree runs 10 to 2 with tractor hayrides from 11:30, face painting, pumpkin bowling, and food. Details →
FoCo Fall Fest — FREE; pumpkin painting costs a few dollars
Sat 10/10 + Sun 10/11 · 10am to 6pm · Old Town Square, Fort Collins
Two days of music on the Old Town and Walnut stages, craft and food vendors, a scarecrow scavenger hunt, inflatables, and pumpkin painting. Fort Collins Children's Theatre performs Sunday at 1. Friday 4 to 9 is a kickoff concert. Details →
Touch-the-Truck at Firehouse Subs — FREE
Sat 10/10 · 1pm · Firehouse Subs, 407 Pointe Plaza Dr, Windsor
Kids can explore a Windsor Severance Fire Rescue engine and meet local first responders, with free face painting and kids' activities. Details →
Fall'Oween at Cobblestone Corner — FREE
Sat 10/10 · 2pm · Cobblestone Corner Vintage Marketplace, 349 Massachusetts Ave, Berthoud
The vintage marketplace's third anniversary and Fall'Oween party, with about 150 vendors on two floors and a collage make-and-take. Details →
Bill Blagg: Family Magic — $32 and up
Sat 10/10 · 4pm · Lincoln Center Performance Hall, 417 W Magnolia St, Fort Collins
A touring magician's family show for all ages, a little over 70 minutes long. Details →
Kids Night Out: Sports Night — $20 per kid
Sat 10/10 · 6pm to 9:30pm · Chilson Recreation Center, 700 E 4th St, Loveland
A supervised drop-off night for ages 7 to 12: Nerf arena, soccer, floor hockey, and parachute games. Parents sign kids in and out, and dinner can be added. Details →
Fort Collins Circus Center Autumn Festival — FREE; mini aerial silks lesson $5
Sun 10/11 · noon to 3pm · Fort Collins Circus Center, 2536 Midpoint Dr, Suites A and B, Fort Collins
The circus center's 8th birthday: performances by students and coaches, music from School of Rock, and a free gymnastics and obstacle course for kids. The $5 mini aerial silks lessons need a sign-up ahead. Details →
Halloween Kids' Costume Swap — FREE
Sun 10/11 · 1pm to 3pm · Harmony Library Community Room, 4616 S Shields St, Fort Collins
Trade outgrown Halloween costumes for new-to-you ones, for toddlers through 5th grade. Drop off up to two bags of clean costumes at the Harmony front desk through 10/11. Leftovers go to charity. Details →
Fall Carnival and Resource Fair — FREE
Sun 10/11 · 1pm to 3pm · Family FunPlex, 1501 65th Ave, Greeley
Greeley's Adaptive and Inclusive Recreation program hosts carnival games, challenges, and pumpkin painting for all ages, plus a resource fair. Details →
NoCo Regulars
Timnath's farmers market and 2nd Sundays on Main are this Sunday. Timnath Farmers' Market (Sun 10/11, 10 to 2, Colorado Feed & Grain, 4138 Main St) · Fort Collins Farmers' Market (Sundays through November) · Larimer County Farmers' Market (Sat, Old Town Fort Collins, through October) · Greeley Farmers' Market (Sat, 7th St, through October) · Johnstown-Milliken Farmers' Market (Fri 4 to 8)
The NoCo Fall Stop #4: Anderson Farms
Fall Stop #4 is Anderson Farms in Erie, off I-25 at Highway 52. The Andersons have farmed in Colorado since 1911, started their pumpkin patch in 1997, and cut Colorado's first corn maze in 1999. Admission covers a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch, a 25-acre corn maze with a maze game made for ages 2 to 8, a play yard for kids under 48 inches, Tire Mountain, roller slides, a barrel train, jump pads, and farm animals. The corn maze is never haunted; the farm's haunted attraction is in a separate field. Kids 3 and under are free. This week, Wednesday and Thursday tickets are $18 with a timed entry, and the farm marks those as its least crowded days. Weekend tickets are $32 timed or $42 anytime, and the farm expects weekends to sell out, so buy online. Pumpkins cost extra, $3 to $20 by size. You can bring your own food, but not your dog. When we go, it'll be a Wednesday morning: the wagon ride first, then Tire Mountain.
Anderson Farms · 6728 County Road 3 1/4, Erie · closed Tuesdays · this week: Wed 10 to 6, Thu 10 to 10, Fri 10 to 11, Sat 9 to 11, Sun 9 to 10 · ages 4 and up: $18 timed Wed and Thu, $25 to $45 Fri, $32 to $50 Sat and Sun; 3 and under free · andersonfarms.com
Not up for the drive to Erie? There are patches in Fort Collins, Loveland, Johnstown, and Greeley too, and our guide has the hours and prices for each one.
The NoCo Foliage Forecast
Estes Park reaches peak color this week, with the Poudre Canyon expected to look its best this weekend, October 10–11. Around NoCo, the trees will take a little longer, with peak color expected October 24–25. This year’s drought means a softer, more muted display than usual.
Forecast data: explorefall.com. Updated every Tuesday through the season.
Community Corner
This week's question: what are your kids going to be for Halloween? Hit reply and tell us.
Got a family event on your radar? Add it at theplacesno.co/submit-event and it might land in an upcoming dispatch.
That's the week, NoCo. Saturday has the Pumpkin Festival in Loveland, FoCo Fall Fest, and a giant pumpkin weigh-off. Know a family with Friday off school? Forward this to them; that's how most people find us.
Be the parent who somehow always knows about this stuff.
JP & Alexis
Forwarded this from a friend? Get your own free dispatch every Tuesday at theplacesno.co.