Belmont's Halloween falls mostly on one day. On Saturday, October 24, 2026, three different hosts run three different events at staggered hours. The pet costume parade fills Stowe Park in the morning. Daniel Stowe Conservancy's ticketed Bootanical takes over the garden from mid-morning into the afternoon. Downtown's free BooFest picks up at 2 p.m. and runs until 7.
The next morning, the Belmont Farmers Market holds its last Sunday of the 2026 season in the same park. If you want to plan October around one weekend, it's that one. Here's how the Saturday lays out, hour by hour:
- 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Howl-O-Ween Pet Costume Parade & Contest, Stowe Park, 24 S. Main St.
- 10:00 a.m. to mid-afternoon Bootanical: Stowe at Sea, Daniel Stowe Conservancy, 6500 South New Hope Road
- 1:30 p.m. Free guided docent tour, Garden Pavilion at Daniel Stowe
- 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Pickin' on the Porch, Trailhead Store porch at Daniel Stowe
- 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. BooFest, Stowe Park, with the kids' costume contest at 3:30 p.m.
9 a.m. at Stowe Park, Leashes First
The day starts with dogs. Historic Belmont's listing for the annual Howl-O-Ween parade says it starts at 9 a.m. The route winds through Stowe Park and ends at the amphitheater, and judges award first and second prizes for costumes.
It's free to watch. Entering the parade means registering, either online through Eventeny or on the day. The listing shows a cost of $11 without saying exactly what it covers. The money goes to a county agency, not to the event itself:
All registration fees and proceeds from the event benefit Gaston County Animal Control and Enforcement.
The parade wraps up at 10:30 a.m. Bootanical opens across town at 10, so the two overlap by half an hour. If your morning includes both a costumed dog and costumed kids, that half hour is the part to plan.
10 a.m. at the Garden, Which Has Gone Nautical
This year's Bootanical theme is "Stowe at Sea." The Conservancy describes a family Halloween celebration with pirates and sea creatures. The ticketing page fills in the rest. There's a live pirate entertainer, a balloon animal or temporary tattoo, free nature play, ocean-themed crafts and activities, and seasonal drinks. Food trucks and Big Leaf Café treats are on site. Scarecrow Hollow, the Adventure Trail, the Prairie Castle Playground and Lottie, an interactive squid made from recycled materials, are all open. Face painting costs extra.
Unlike the rest of the day, Bootanical is ticketed:
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | $18.95 |
| Senior | $16.95 |
| Child, ages 2 to 12 | $10.95 |
| Child under 2 | Free |
| Member adult or child | Free |
The two sources disagree on closing time. The Conservancy's event page lists 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the ticketing page says 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Under either one, Bootanical winds down right around when BooFest starts downtown. Anyone hoping to do both should check with the Conservancy before deciding when to leave the garden.
Staying past the costume crowd has its rewards. The free Saturday docent tour leaves from the Garden Pavilion at 1:30 p.m. Pickin' on the Porch has free live music on the Trailhead Store porch from 2 to 4 p.m., weather permitting. The Garden Pavilion also has the Visual Harvest Art Show, a juried show of regional 2D and 3D art put on with the Gaston County Art Guild. It opened October 4 and runs through November 15.
2 p.m. Back Downtown for BooFest
BooFest is the free half of the day. Downtown Belmont lists it for 2 to 7 p.m. at Stowe Park. The event FAQ says the rides are free, food, artisan and game vendors will be on site, and the kids' costume contest starts at 3:30 p.m. The City's Eventeny listing adds touch-a-truck and candy for trick-or-treaters. Historic Belmont's listing adds carnival rides, performances by local organizations, face painting and balloon twisting.
The food truck list is long enough to plan dinner around. The FAQ names 15 trucks:
- Savory: Chubby's Barbeque, Dumpling Girls, Supernova Spuds, Rolling Flavor Grill, Bunns Hotdogs, Two Chicks and a Truck, Never Seen This
- Sweet and cold: Scream Ice Cream, Kona Ice of Gaston County, Sunset Slush of Lake Wylie, Frios Gourmet Pops, Little Annie Gourmet Waffles, Frank's Place Kettle Corn
- Drinks: Big Time Boba, The Traveling Sip
None of the BooFest materials mention a road-closure schedule. The FAQ promises free public parking. Downtown Belmont's parking page, last updated in 2025, lists six free lots plus free street parking on Main, Mill, Airline and Glenway streets.
The event materials mention candy for trick-or-treaters. They don't say where it will be handed out or describe a shop-by-shop route through downtown businesses.
Sunday Morning, the Market Closes Out
Stowe Park gets one night off before the farmers market sets up again. The market runs on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., April through October. Downtown Belmont lists October 25 as the last date of the 2026 season.
So the last big downtown festival and the last market of the season land less than a day apart, in the same park. After October 25, Stowe Park has two more dates on the downtown calendar this fall. Hocus Pocus screens on October 31, and the Veterans Celebration is on the upper field November 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday Night Live, Belmont's summer concert series, ended in July. Its 2026 lineup has no October dates.
The Rest of October Hangs Off That Weekend
Most of the month's other Halloween-themed events cluster around the weekend before and the Friday after the big Saturday. A few are free and a few are ticketed:
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9, 6 to 8 p.m. | Date Night Series: The Spirits of Lost Hollow | Daniel Stowe Conservancy | $60 |
| Sat., Oct. 10, 8 a.m. | Jeepers Creepers Race, third annual, costumes encouraged | The Village at Stowe | Varies |
| Sat., Oct. 10, 7 to 9 p.m. | Movies in the Park: Hotel Transylvania | Stowe Park | Free |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 9 to 11:30 a.m. | Keep Belmont Beautiful's Big Sweep fall cleanup | Stowe Park | See listing |
| Fri., Oct. 23, 6 to 8 p.m. | Vino in the Village, six fall wines from 3 Keys Distributing | The Village at Stowe | $75 |
| Sat., Oct. 31, morning | Cars + Coffee: Trunk-or-Treat | Garden Pavilion lot, Daniel Stowe | Free |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 7 to 9 p.m. | Movies in the Park: Hocus Pocus | Stowe Park | Free |
October 10 is the closest thing the month has to a second Halloween Saturday. It opens with a costumed race at the garden and ends with a family movie downtown. Halloween itself also falls on a Saturday this year, with the trunk-or-treat car meet at Daniel Stowe in the morning and Hocus Pocus in Stowe Park that night. The Conservancy's listing gives two different time windows for the car meet, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in one place and 9:30 to 11 a.m. in another, so confirm before you decorate a trunk.
The Downtown Piece That Isn't Ready Yet
Food Truck Alley is Belmont's planned lot for food trucks downtown. Gaston Alive's August 18, 2026 update put the lot behind The Everyday Market at 7 South Main Street. It said the lot has room for seven trucks, was already striped and had power in place, and that parking was still to be determined. That update gave no opening date and named no trucks, and it is the latest one we found.
One downtown addition is open in time for the costume shopping. Woodson's Toys, a toy and baby shop on North Main Street, held its grand opening on August 28. It took over the space that used to be Bliss Gallery.
If you're planning around this year's events or just keeping track of how downtown Belmont is changing, Wishon Group follows the calendar all year, from the first market Sunday to the last. Let's Connect, and we'll tell you when Food Truck Alley finally opens.
