In Elk River, October Moves From Thursday Afternoons Downtown to Saturdays on the Farm
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Since mid-August, Elk River's downtown has had a weekly routine again. The Elk River Farmers Market came back downtown on Thursday, August 13, after the King Avenue parking lot construction finished. That Thursday routine ends for the year on October 8. The Oliver H. Kelley Farm is open to the public on Saturdays this fall, with one added Friday, so October's weekly rhythm moves out to the farm on Kelley Farm Road.
Most of the month makes sense once you see that shift. The two biggest family events, downtown's Trick or Treat and the farm's Halloween party, run on different days of the week and fall eight days apart. Everything else sits around the week when the market closes and harvest season at the farm peaks.
The market switched to fall hours in early September. It now runs Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., an hour shorter than before, and the city says the outdoor season ends Thursday, October 8. That leaves two Thursdays in October: October 1 and October 8. If you've been planning to stock up on squash, apples or anything else you want to keep through the fall, those are your last two afternoons to do it downtown this year. The city's Farmers Market page has the current details.
The city has already scheduled what comes the next day. The Halloween Décor Tour map goes live on Friday, October 9, and stays up through Halloween night. Homes had to register by Thursday, October 8, the same day as the last market. So when the market winds down, the decorated-house map takes over as the city's self-guided October activity, and you can use it any evening for three weeks.
Before the market closes, the first Saturday of the month brings the city's other big shopping event. The Fall Makers Market is Saturday, October 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with more than 80 vendors at The Yard in the Furniture and Things Community Event Center. It isn't downtown, and it overlaps the farm's Saturday hours, so October 3 is the one day this month when both calendars ask for the same hours.
Under the Minnesota Historical Society's 2026 fall schedule, the Oliver H. Kelley Farm's regular public hours are Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It's closed to the public on other days. School tours fill Tuesday through Friday through the first week of November. The one weekday exception in October is Friday, October 16, added for Harvest Days.
That makes Harvest Days the farm's biggest public weekend of the month. It runs Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 15788 Kelley Farm Rd. MNHS describes it as the last days of harvest: finishing the field work, putting produce in the root cellar, making corn husk dolls, and taking a tractor ride through the woods to see the fall colors. One part is new this year:
"New this year: Come see how to dye fabric the natural way using things harvested from our garden. For an extra $5 you can try the process out for yourself and take it home with you."
MNHS's site banner also says the historic house is open, and the farmstead page describes going inside to help with household chores. Neither page says when the house reopened, so check before your visit if the house is the reason you're going.
Two paid classes are scheduled around Harvest Days:
Junior Chef runs Thursday through Saturday, so a Friday or Saturday session puts a young baker on the farm during Harvest Days. And since the class includes full-day farmstead access, the morning class and the afternoon harvest activities happen at the same place.
October's two big family events follow the same split. Downtown's takes a Friday afternoon, and the farm's takes the last Saturday.
Downtown Trick or Treat is Friday, October 23, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., for kids 12 and under. Local businesses and organizations hand out treats along the route. The city's list of extras is longer than most downtown trick-or-treat events offer:
The city credits the Downtown Elk River Business Association and Spikes and Houles with making the event happen. The participating-business map is set to post in mid-October. Groups from outside downtown that want to take part had until October 1 to contact DERBA, so tomorrow is the deadline if you've been meaning to sign up a group. With the fire show at 5:30 p.m. and the event ending at 6:00, the last half hour is the part to plan around if you want to see it.
Eight days later, Halloween on the Farm runs Saturday, October 31, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. It includes trick-or-treating and seasonal treats, plus something no downtown storefront can offer: chicken jack-o'-lantern carving. A craft station in the visitor center has kids making Halloween buttons. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the farm's event is on Halloween itself, during its usual Saturday window, with the evening still open for trick-or-treating at home. The Décor Tour map stays up through that night too.
The two events don't compete for the same afternoon. Downtown takes a Friday when the farm is closed to the public. The farm takes a Saturday after downtown's event is over.
Here's how the dates look on one calendar:
Laid out this way, the first eight days of the month are mostly downtown and city events, and the farm carries the rest. The week of October 8 through 17 holds both the last market and the farm's biggest harvest weekend.
Downtown's calendar doesn't go quiet for long. DERBA lists its Tree Lighting Ceremony with the City of Elk River on Thursday, November 19, as the start of the holiday season, followed by Small Business Saturday downtown on November 28.
Next year, the streets themselves may become the downtown story. A Star News summary of the city's 2026 projects said the larger Downtown Redevelopment Plan was slated for 2027, with street, sidewalk, utility and curb improvements on Main Street and Jackson Street. That's a plan, not a posted construction schedule, and dates like these tend to shift. For now, the lot on King Avenue is finished and the October calendar is set.
At Minnesota Home Girls, we follow Elk River's calendar the same way you do, one Thursday market and one Saturday at the farm at a time. If you're filling in your October and also starting to think about where your household might be a year or two from now, we're happy to talk it through on a weeknight or weekend, with no pressure and no timeline you didn't choose. Contact Us whenever you're ready.
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