Halloween Falls on a Saturday in Bourbonnais This Year. It's Also the Last Day of The Grove's Season.

On Saturday, October 31, the Howl-O-Ween pet parade at The Grove starts at 10 a.m. and finishes at noon. Trick-or-treating across the village runs from 5 to 8 p.m. that evening. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the two events share a day off work and school. In its fall lineup, the Village of Bourbonnais calls the pet parade the event where "the season wraps up."

That makes October 31 the end of The Grove's outdoor programming for 2026. The Village's next listed event there is a tree lighting on December 3. The next new thing on the local calendar opens at Perry Farm Park on Thanksgiving night. Between now and then, the last two weeks of October hold more events than any other stretch of the fall.

Saturday, October 31, From Morning to Night

The Village, the Park District and Olivet's theater program all have something on the calendar that day.

The Village's Howl-O-Ween page lists free admission, a pet parade, a puppy photo-op, a costume contest, pet-friendly vendors and refreshments for purchase. The page still says "More details coming soon." So far it lists no registration steps, contest categories or sponsor. According to the fall release, dogs dressed "in their Halloween best" can enter the costume contest, and a food truck will be there.

The scarecrows at Perry Farm have been up since the Park District's Fall Stroll & Scarecrow Festival on September 20. The Bourbonnais Township Park District keeps them on display through October 31. Halloween afternoon is the last chance to see them. The farm is a few minutes from The Grove, which leaves time between the pet parade and dusk.

The Grove Has Been Building Toward This Since September

The Village set out the full fall season in a September 16 announcement. It began with Lunchtime Bites & Beats on Festival Street, and the summer concert series ended on September 18 with The Blooze Brothers. In October came a Dinner & Movie on the Green showing Wicked: For Good on October 9. On October 11, the Village hosted what it called Kankakee County's first-ever Game Day at The Grove, with the Bears playing the Packers on The Grove's 16-by-20-foot screen.

From there, the season turns to Halloween. Two events come before the Saturday finale.

Wednesday, October 14: Safety Town Trick or Treat Spooktacular. It runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Safety Town, next to The Grove playground at 777 Stratford Drive. KANCOMM is a partner on the event, and first responders and community organizations will be there. On October 9, the Daily Journal reported that Bourbonnais police are inviting families to the free event, with trick-or-treating and first responders on site. Families with young children get a trick-or-treat run on a weeknight, well before the 31st.

Wednesday, October 21: Witches Night Out. The Village calls this "a brand-new fall event." It promises more than 30 Halloween and fall-themed vendors, readings, libations, a costume contest and acoustic music by Molly Adamson. The event page lists it as free and adults-only, 6 to 9 p.m., at The Grove, 700 Main St. NW. Brews & Boos will be for sale. The page doesn't name individual vendors or give parking details yet.

Saturday, October 31: Howl-O-Ween, then trick-or-treating. These are the two events in the table above.

Jakob Knox, Communications Manager for the Village of Bourbonnais, described the season in the release as a chance "to come together and enjoy The Grove throughout September and October." The season, as the Village planned it, starts and ends inside those two months.

Homecoming Lands in the Middle

Olivet Nazarene University's Homecoming & Family Weekend falls on October 23 to 25, the weekend between Witches Night Out and Halloween. ONU's theater production overlaps it. Metamorphoses opens at The Theatre at Sims on Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m. More performances follow on October 24, 29, 30 and 31. The show starts during homecoming and closes on Halloween, so the university's calendar connects the two weekends.

Here's the homecoming weekend as Olivet's announcement lays it out:

1. Friday, October 23. Chapel, plus women's and men's basketball. That afternoon, Matt Gerhard plays the Ovid Young Memorial Organ Recital at 1 p.m. in Centennial Chapel. Metamorphoses opens that evening.
2. Saturday, October 24. Class reunions, a Family Fun Zone and football at Ward Field with a 1 p.m. kickoff. That night, "Music from the American Songbook" plays at Centennial Chapel with general admission seating. The concert's event page lists 7:30 p.m. The news roundup lists 7 p.m., so check before you head out.
3. Sunday, October 25. A prayer breakfast closes the weekend.

Olivet links tickets and details from its pages. The alumni homecoming page says class reunions require a ticket. The pages don't list prices or say which events are open to the general public, so check each event's page if you don't have an alumni connection. The football opponent hadn't been named in the university's homecoming roundup at the time of writing.

After the Pet Parade, The Grove Goes Quiet Until December

Once the costume contest ends at noon on Halloween, The Grove has nothing scheduled until December 3. That's the date the Village lists for the free Rockin' Around the Tree Lighting, with details still "to come." The gap is just over a month. From June on, The Grove calendar has been full nearly every week, so a break this long stands out.

November still has yard work. Bourbonnais collects yard waste weekly on your regular garbage day from about April 1 through November 30, 2026. The Village's yard waste page doesn't post a separate leaf-vacuum route schedule. So the weeks after Halloween are the last of the season for curbside pickup of leaves bagged by the regular rules.

Perry Farm Takes Over at Thanksgiving

While The Grove is between seasons, the next community event moves north to Perry Farm Park. The farm hosted the Park District's A Night in Sleepy Hollow from October 8 to 10. That event sold timed 60-minute entries at $20 and included storytelling, a carriage ride and bonfire music. The farm's next event is new this year, and it's free.

A Light Walk at Perry Farm Park opens Thanksgiving evening, Thursday, November 26, and runs through January 3 at 459 N. Kennedy Drive. The Friends of the Bourbonnais Township Park District Foundation is presenting it. Visitors walk through a tunnel of lights, then past lit barns and displays made by local businesses, organizations, artists and families. Green Pro Services of Kankakee is the presenting sponsor and will assist with lighting the barn rooflines, electrical needs and installation.

Mike O'Shea, executive director of the Park District, explained in the Park District's announcement why this one is different from past events at the farm:

"We have held a lot of events at Perry Farm over the years, but we have never done anything quite like this. People know the farm and the barns, but seeing that area lit up at night will be completely different."

As of the Park District's September 18 announcement, display and sponsorship spots were still open to businesses, organizations, artists and families. Information is at friendsofbtpd.org/light-walk or 815-933-9905 ext. 1. Nightly hours and the list of displays will be announced closer to opening night.

The scarecrow displays at Perry Farm come down on Halloween, and the same farm hosts the next new event on the calendar, starting Thanksgiving evening.

A season like this shows up in everyday life in Bourbonnais, from a weeknight trick-or-treat at Safety Town to a free light walk at a farm many families have visited for years. These events are part of what Leanne Provost tracks when she helps clients price, buy and sell homes across the village. If you're weighing a move this winter or want to know what your home is worth, Leanne Provost offers a free consultation or an instant home valuation.