"This rendition of Haunted Trails will be more trick than treat." That line comes from the City of Colleyville's own 2026 event page. The next sentence says who the walk is for. The city recommends it for pre-teens and older because it is "catering this event to an older crowd."

That sentence also explains the rest of the season. Each city event between now and Thanksgiving has its own intended audience, and the city has said so in plain terms. The Harvest Festival runs its costume contest in three age brackets, starting with toddlers. Haunted Trails is set up for older kids. The Christmas Tree Lighting brings back the trunk-or-treat format for families who missed it in October. If you match the event to the child, the season works. If you treat the calendar as one list of outings, you end up bringing a four-year-old into a dark trail full of clowns.

Ten-Thirty on October 17 Belongs to the Smallest Costumes

The Harvest Festival is Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Main Street, and it's free. The city lists Trunk-or-Treat, games with prizes, a petting zoo, face painting and fall crafts.

The costume contest schedule shows who the morning is built for:

1. 10:30 a.m., ages 3 and under
2. 11:00 a.m., ages 4 to 7
3. 11:30 a.m., ages 8 and older
4. 12:00 p.m., pets

The youngest kids go first, at the hour when most toddlers are still at their best. By noon the contest has moved on to dogs. Families with a baby and a second-grader can see both age groups judged within thirty minutes and still have time for the petting zoo before lunch.

The Trunk-or-Treat is in the parking lot behind City Hall. Local Colleyville businesses and nonprofits hand out candy from decorated trunks, and the city will name a winning trunk at the event. Food trucks take cash or credit cards. Free parking is at the City Hall south lot and at City Park.

The Harvest Festival is the second family event on the city's October calendar. The Colleyville Fire Department Open House comes first, on Saturday, October 3, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Central Fire Station, with fire trucks, equipment and kids' games. National Night Out follows on Tuesday, October 6, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Heroes Park at City Hall, with free food, games, and SWAT and public safety vehicles to explore. The city opens both to residents of all ages. For preschoolers who like trucks, they're an easy warm-up for October 17.

The New Harvest Market Brings Glade Road to Main Street

The one new feature on the 2026 Harvest Festival page is the Harvest Market. The city says it is a "brand-new local market experience," organized with ART ALGEBRA, that brings together local makers, small businesses, food vendors and farmers. Vendor applications are open. No vendors have been announced yet, so the lineup is still to be determined.

The partner is a local business. ART ALGEBRA is a gallery and coffee bar at 1001 Glade Road, Suite 100, owned by Aashna Bharwani and Aatif Merchant. The Northeast Tarrant Record profiled it in July. The gallery curates handmade art sourced from South Asia and the Middle East, and it already runs monthly vendor pop-ups and kids' art classes.

This matters for the age question. Until now, the Harvest Festival was mostly built around young children: costumes, crafts, animals, candy. A market run by a gallery that hosts makers every month gives parents, grandparents and older siblings something to browse at the same event. It's still a little-kid morning, with more for the adults who come along.

October 29 Is the One Night the Nature Center Stays Open After Dark

Haunted Trails is Thursday, October 29, at the Colleyville Nature Center, 101 Mill Wood Drive. The grounds open at 6:30 p.m. with food trucks, a DJ and treats. The haunted walk runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and the city warns that zombies, witches and clowns will be out on the trails.

The setting is part of the appeal. The Nature Center's posted hours end 30 minutes after sunset, earlier than the 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours the city lists for most of its parks. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the Nature Center as day-use only and describes a paved, accessible entry trail that leads to unpaved nature trails, with ponds near the parking area. The city counts 3.5 miles of multi-use trails on the property. Most families only know these trails in daylight. On October 29 they'll see them in the dark. Wear closed-toe shoes, because the trail turns to dirt soon after the paved entry.

The older-crowd focus isn't new this year. The city's October 2025 notice also described an event designed for an older audience and recommended it for pre-teens and up. This is the second year in a row the city has aimed the walk at older kids. Families who decided last year that their children were too young may want to check again this year.

The walk works well for the age group that might feel too old for the Harvest Festival's 8-and-older contest but still wants a Halloween outing in town, two weeks before October 31.

The Season, Sorted by Age

November Puts the Trunks Back in the Lot

The Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration is Saturday, November 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall. Santa and Mayor Lindamood come down Main Street at 5:45 p.m., and the tree lighting follows.

One feature on the program brings the young-kid format back. The city lists Jingle Bell Junction, a Christmas-themed Trunk-or-Treat hosted by local businesses and organizations. The evening also includes balloon artists, photos with Santa, food trucks, choir performances, and a "magical mailbox" on the City Hall steps for letters to Santa. The city says Santa is bringing his reindeer. If your preschooler missed October 17, this is the second chance at a trunk-or-treat, with the same family-friendly setup and a tree lighting at the end.

The other 2026 change affects local groups. This year the Community Decorated Christmas Tree Display moves indoors, where it will be shown during the tree lighting, and winners will be announced that night. Applications are due November 2, with selections announced by November 3. Spots are limited, and Colleyville community groups get priority. A scout troop, PTA committee or church class that wants a tree has about a month to apply.

The Rest of the Ladder Is Run by Neighbors

Some of the season's best events for young kids aren't run by the city. First United Methodist Church of Colleyville holds its annual Holiday Extravaganza on Saturday, November 14, at 1000 Church Street, with a craft fair, food and a silent auction. The Colleyville Lions Club holds its 31st annual Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 5, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. at Crown of Life Lutheran Church, 6605 Pleasant Run Road. After 31 years, that breakfast is one of the longest-running holiday traditions on the Colleyville calendar.

For weekday mornings between events, the youngest kids may soon have a new indoor option along Colleyville Boulevard. Community Impact reported that Little Diggers plans to open in October at 5600 Colleyville Blvd., Suite J, with a sandbox of more than 1,200 square feet for children 7 and under. As of today, the company's website still lists Colleyville as "Coming Soon." Its general pricing is $5 for a half hour, $10 for an hour and $16 for two hours, though the company hasn't confirmed prices for the Colleyville location. Baskin-Robbins opened July 3 in the same center, Colleyville Towne Square, at 5600 Colleyville Blvd. Once Little Diggers opens, the two businesses will share one address. The City Hall block and this stretch of Colleyville Boulevard were also the center of the town's summer, as we covered in Colleyville's Summer 2026 Has Two New Centers of Gravity. For daytime ideas at the Nature Center before October 29, see our guide to spending a day outdoors in Colleyville.

At The Wall Team Realty Associates, we'll be at many of these Colleyville events this fall alongside our neighbors. If you're planning a costume, applying for a decorated tree, or deciding whether your fifth-grader is ready for Haunted Trails, you can find more on our Colleyville community page, and our team is always glad to talk about the town we call home.

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1. 1609 Cheek Sparger Rd, Colleyville (76034) | 5 bd, 7 ba, 14,476 sq ft
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