Waxhaw's fall festival will not come back this year. The Town of Waxhaw canceled Autumn Treasures, planned for Saturday, Oct. 10, because of forecast weather from Hurricane Isaias. Its notice dated Oct. 9 said that the number of people and the logistics involved meant the festival will not be rescheduled. That makes Saturday, Oct. 24, the biggest fall day left on the town calendar. Its events are lined up so that one ends roughly where the next begins, from a 10 a.m. art show on a farm south of town to the last downtown ghost tour.
What the canceled festival was also supposed to start
Autumn Treasures was more than a street festival this year. The Downtown Waxhaw Association's Haunted History Tour page still says tickets "go on sale Saturday, October 10 during Autumn Treasures." The festival was meant to launch the tours, and the tours are the smallest-capacity event of the season.
The tours are billed as Waxhaw After Dark. They come from a partnership between the Downtown Waxhaw Association, the Waxhaw Historic Preservation Commission and Waxhaw Community Theatre. Costumed storytellers play characters from Waxhaw's past and walk groups through more than 135 years of local history and legend. The program is expanding in 2026 to four nights: Friday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 24; Friday, Oct. 30; and Saturday, Oct. 31. Each night has four evening departures, and each walk lasts about 60 to 75 minutes.
Tickets are $20, and each tour is capped at 16 people. Four nights of four tours works out to 256 spots for the whole season. Check-in is at the Duncan McDonald House, 115 McDonald Street, and tours leave right on schedule. The association lists the departure times differently on two pages. The tour page shows 6:30, 7, 8 and 8:30 p.m. The Fright Night page shows 7, 7:30, 8:30 and 9 p.m. Confirm your time on the ticket page before you leave the house.
Saturday starts on a farm on Sims Road
The day opens about 10 minutes south of downtown at Barnful of Art at Fox Farms, 7505 Sims Road. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., admission is free and parking is on site.
More than 40 artists will set up inside and around the barn to show, sell and demonstrate their work, including:
- painting, pottery and sculpture
- jewelry, fabric art and basketry
- woodturning and leatherwork
Mikel Frank and Barbara Ellis start a large abstract-painting demonstration at noon. Fifty quilts will hang along the outer fences of the 155-acre property. Three food trucks will be there all day, and a silent auction will be held in memory of Jim Black, whom the listing calls a beloved member of the Waxhaw community.
The listing ends by sending visitors downtown. It suggests a stop at Fright Night after the art show. The art show closes at 5 p.m. and Fright Night starts at 4, so the two overlap by an hour. You can leave Sims Road mid-afternoon and arrive downtown while trick-or-treating is in full swing.
Two farm stops fit the same morning or early afternoon:
- The Hunter Farm is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. during its fall season, with a pumpkin patch and wagon rides.
- The Union Exchange lists its pumpkin patch open Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Weekend visits in October need a vehicle-pass reservation, which costs $5 per vehicle.
Downtown, 4 p.m. onward
Fright Night runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Downtown businesses hand out candy, decorate their storefronts and compete in a decorating contest. Music, food trucks and the Haunted History Tours follow. Several parts of this year's event are new or have moved. Here is the route in order, using the Downtown Waxhaw Association's Fright Night page:
- Trunk or Treat, 4 to 6 p.m., W. North Main and N. Church Street. Waxhaw United Methodist Church is bringing its Trunk or Treat into the middle of Fright Night this year, with decorated trunks and extra candy.
- Candy Ladder Challenge, 4 to 6 p.m., 318 E. South Main St. Ladder Bokss, one of downtown's newest fitness studios, has kids try a ladder climb for a treat and a prize. It also lets people see inside a business many residents may not have visited yet.
- Community Costume Contest, 4 to 6 p.m., 113 E. North Main St. Staci Howell State Farm Insurance's annual contest has moved this year to a spot near the pedestrian bridge. The association says the new location has more space and is easier to reach.
- Carnival of Shadows, 4:30 to 7 p.m. This is new this year. It is a short scare trail with live scare actors, kept PG for younger kids. Admission is free. Optional donations go to Action For Good's The Market, an effort to open a free grocery store for senior veterans in need.
- Halloween Block Party, after trick-or-treating, E. North Main Street. Live music, entertainment and food trucks.
- Haunted History Tours, evening, check-in at 115 McDonald Street.
The costume contest is split into time slots by age. Families with more than one child can plan around the schedule:
| Time | Category |
|---|---|
| 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. | Ages 5 and under |
| 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. | Ages 6 to 10 |
| 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. | Ages 11 and up |
| 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. | Groups and families |
Winners are announced at the end of each slot. Carnival of Shadows stays open an hour after trick-or-treating ends. A family that spends 4 to 6 p.m. on the candy route still has time to walk the scare trail, eat at the block party and make a later tour departure.
Why Fright Night carries more this year
In a normal year, Fright Night and the ghost tours would be the second half of a fall season that Autumn Treasures opened. This year the festival is gone, and the storefront contest gives the downtown blocks a reason to stay busy past Saturday night.
Voting on the decorated storefronts runs online from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31, 2026. Fright Night sponsor Comporium is putting up cash prizes of $500, $250 and $100. The association will announce the winners and the Pumpkin King Trophy on Nov. 3. Shoppers along North Main and South Main can judge the displays all week, not only during a two-hour trick-or-treat window.
The ghost tours come back the following Friday and on Halloween night, so the last downtown walks happen on Oct. 31, with contest winners named three days after that.
The rest of the season, in order
Fright Night is the center of the season, but several events around Waxhaw fall on the days around it:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Haunted History Tours, first night | Duncan McDonald House, 115 McDonald St. | $20 |
| Fri., Oct. 23, 4 to 8 p.m. | Farm Friday with Cameron Moore, music, food trucks, pumpkin patch | The Hunter Farm | See farm site |
| Fri., Oct. 23, 6 to 9 p.m. | Final Friday Night Bonfire Concert | The Union Exchange | $5 per vehicle |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Barnful of Art, Fright Night, Carnival of Shadows, tours | Fox Farms and Downtown Waxhaw | Free, tours $20 |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Autumn Market Fest | The Union Exchange | $5 per vehicle |
| Fri., Oct. 30, doors 6 p.m. | Nightmare on Newtown, 21+ | Pine View Barn, The Union Exchange | $15 |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to noon | Waxhaw Farmers Market | 27283 Waxhaw Pkwy. | Free to browse |
| Sat., Oct. 31, evening | Haunted History Tours, Halloween night | 115 McDonald St. | $20 |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Last day of fall season | The Hunter Farm | See farm site |
| Tue., Nov. 3 | Storefront contest winners announced | Downtown Waxhaw Association | n/a |
A few details are worth knowing before you go. The Union Exchange Autumn Market Fest on Sunday is the closest thing on the calendar to the festival Waxhaw lost. It has local vendors, live music from 11:30 to 4:30, ice cream from The Waxhaw Creamery, catch-and-release fishing, farm animals, walking trails and fire pits with s'mores. Nightmare on Newtown, the following Friday, features the live band Crystal Aria and a costume contest. Tickets are priced in tiers, and the cheapest ones sell first. The Hunter Farm's Farm Friday on Oct. 23 adds adult beverages and pumpkin-patch access to its live music.
Halloween morning at the farmers market on Waxhaw Parkway and Halloween night on a ghost tour downtown close out the month. After that, the Town's calendar moves on to the Veterans Day ceremony at the Military Wall of Honor on Nov. 11 and the downtown holiday lighting on Nov. 21, with the official tree lighting at 5:45 p.m.
Days like Saturday, with a free art show on a 155-acre farm and a costume contest on East North Main, are a big part of why Waxhaw homes appeal to buyers. If you are starting to wonder what your own place near those streets would be worth in today's market, Tanaya Ewell can put together a calm, no-pressure picture for you. Get a Free Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
