Katonah's Halloween Falls on a Saturday This Year, and Most of It Stays Downtown

Halloween is on a Saturday in 2026. Katonah's daytime plans for October 31 start around one parking lot. The John Jay Homestead Farm Market runs that morning in Lot 2 at 190 Katonah Avenue, not on the Homestead grounds, because the Homestead is under restoration. Downtown on the same morning you'll find a candy walk through local businesses, a library book sale and a Halloween art studio at the Katonah Museum of Art. All of them open within about two hours of each other. In the afternoon there's a chamber concert at Caramoor at 3 p.m.

You can get through most of the day in costume without leaving the hamlet until mid-afternoon. The tight spot comes around midday, when the downtown events are all running at the same time.

Why the market is in Lot 2

The Friends of John Jay Homestead run this certified farm market, now in its 16th season. Its 2026 Farm Market page says that while the Homestead is under restoration, the market "will again be held in downtown Katonah Village, in Lot 2." The exit is at Katonah Art and Frame Shop. It's open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. This year's season was extended through November 21, which puts Halloween three Saturdays before the last market. Members get first pick from 9 to 9:30 a.m. The weekly lineup includes New York-grown produce, seafood, breads, organic meat and eggs, and artisan foods from dozens of vendors.

The restoration is at Bedford House, John Jay's home. The Homestead describes the project as preservation and restoration work, conservation and furnishing of the collection, and new interpretation. The plan is to reopen with 23 restored and furnished period rooms. The Recorder reported in May 2025 that the work includes a full roof replacement, exterior repairs to masonry, windows, doors and siding, interior restoration, accessibility improvements and an HVAC overhaul. The same report said construction would start in 2026 and that completion and reopening were expected in 2027. That was a projection at the time, not a set date. As of this month, the John Jay Homestead homepage still lists Bedford House as closed for historic restoration and the grounds as open for passive recreation.

So the restoration work up on Route 22 is what puts produce stands in the middle of the hamlet on Halloween morning. The farm stop and the trick-or-treat stops are a short walk apart this year.

How the morning overlaps

Here's how the times line up on Saturday, October 31:

All four downtown events are open from 11 a.m. to noon. That's the busy hour. The museum studio ends at noon, the CandyLand Walk ends at 1, and the market closes at 2.

If you want to do both the KMA studio and the candy walk, the times make the order easy. Start at the museum at 10, while the walk hasn't opened yet. You'll still have an hour of studio time before the walk starts at 11, and an hour of walk after the studio closes. The market opens earlier and closes later than either the studio or the walk, so produce shopping fits at either end, though the busiest stretch of a Halloween Saturday may not be the best time for it.

The library book sale runs until 5 p.m., later than anything else downtown. The library calendar describes it as an all-ages annual sale of "thousands of books that were donated and carefully sorted," held in the Meeting Room. Saturday hours at the Katonah Village Library are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so the sale runs for the whole open day. You can browse after lunch, once the costume crowd has moved on.

The CandyLand Walk is the part to book ahead

Petite Art Studio and the Katonah Chamber of Commerce host the Katonah CandyLand Walk. It's the only morning event with a set number of spots. The basics, from Petite Art Studio's CandyLand page:

• Cost and pickup: $5 for a bag and map, picked up at Petite Art Studio, 23 Valley Rd. #2.
• How it works: Children walk through downtown Katonah collecting candy and get a sticker for their map at each participating business.
• When: Arrive any time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Reservations: One bag and map per child. Reservations are non-refundable, and the walk happens rain or shine.
• Day-of availability: The studio says to reserve ahead, because only a limited number of bags will be available on the day of the walk.
• A stop along the way: The Bedford & New Canaan Magazine calendar listing says the walk includes a creepy storytime at Katonah Reading Room.

The walk has a two-hour window, and you don't have to start at 11. Families coming from the museum studio at noon still have a full hour to fill their maps.

The museum morning, and what's newly on view

The Saturday Open Studio: Halloween Edition at the Katonah Museum of Art is billed as a chance to "make art, have fun, and celebrate Halloween morning at the Museum." It's open to all ages and abilities. Prices include museum admission plus a $5 materials fee per child: $11 per child, $15 per adult and $9 per senior. Members pay $5 per child, and adults and seniors with a membership get in free.

Because admission is included, the studio also gets you into the museum's two new exhibitions, which opened October 18 and run through January 24, 2027. They are Intermittent Islands: Four Caribbean Women Artists and Sonja John: Balikbayan. An adult who brings a child to the studio can see both shows on the same ticket.

3 p.m. at the Rosen House Music Room

After the market closes, the day moves to Caramoor. The Evnin Rising Stars concert starts at 3 p.m. in the Rosen House Music Room. Tickets start at $35, and admission is free for ages 18 and under. At checkout, adult seats are listed at $30 or $45 plus a $5 fee, and child tickets are free.

The October 31 concert is the first of two Evnin Rising Stars afternoons. The second is Sunday, November 1, at 3 p.m. Caramoor describes the two concerts as the end of a weeklong residency of workshops, reading sessions and ensemble rehearsals. Young musicians then perform alongside their mentors: cellist Marcy Rosen, the program's artistic director, with violinist Soovin Kim and violist Dimitri Murrath. The program has run since 1992. This year's Rising Stars are Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, Stephen Kim, Julian Rhee, Laura Liu, Emad Zolfaghari, Andrew Byun, Annie Jacobs-Perkins and Albert Cano Smit.

On the Halloween program, Mozart's String Quintet in C Major, K. 515, and Janáček's String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters," come before intermission. Franck's Piano Quintet in F Minor follows. Admission is free through age 18, so a family can go from candy maps in the morning to a chamber concert in the afternoon without buying a ticket for anyone under 19.

After Halloween, the market keeps going downtown

The Lot 2 market doesn't end with October. Under the extended 2026 season it runs every Saturday through November 21, with the same 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours. The Homestead uses its e-news mailing list to share which vendors will be at the market each week. That's worth checking before the last few cold-weather Saturdays. The two KMA exhibitions stay up through January 24, and Caramoor's fall calendar continues with Aaron Diehl at the piano on Friday, November 6, at 7:30 p.m., and the Renaissance String Quartet on Sunday, November 15, at 3 p.m.

Part of what Harriet does is keep track of days like Halloween Saturday, when Katonah's institutions and small businesses all end up in the same few blocks. If you're new to town, or just want to talk about what's coming up in Katonah, Harriet Libov is happy to share what she knows. Let's Connect.