This Week at Wright-Patterson: HalloWings, Troops & Treats & a Fresh Look at November.
By Jason White
This edition is fresh for October 21, 2026, and the base's biggest stretch of the fall is now in motion. Kitchen Bingo at Wing's lands tonight, the Great Pumpkin Palooza fills Turtle Pond Thursday, the Zombie Chase 5K loops Bass Lake Friday alongside Retiree Appreciation Day and the USO's Day of the Deployed, and the free WPAFB Pumpkin Chuck launches pumpkins behind the National Museum on Saturday, October 24. If you have not plugged in yet, this is the week that makes it easy.
There is also genuinely useful news for families this week that goes beyond pumpkins. The Force Support calendar is now set through the holidays: HalloWings on October 30, Troops & Treats at the National Museum on Halloween, a Holiday Hand Woven Decoration Workshop on November 2, Plane Talks honoring Veterans Day on November 7, TRICARE Open Season running November 9 through December 8, the Turkey Trot on November 19, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Prairie Trace Golf Course on December 3. The news behind the news matters for families deciding where to buy too: the first Child Development Center delivered this fall is filling waitlists, a second is under construction in Area A, and the base keeps investing in the services that make a PCS easier. In this edition: the wrap on the week of October 21 through 24, the Halloween stretch and a full November look, base news for relocating families, the newcomer programs I tell every incoming family to use first, and the archive of everything that has already wrapped.
This Week at the Base: Bingo Tonight, Pumpkins at Turtle Pond & the Zombie Chase
The Force Support lineup this week is a newcomer's dream because every night is free, family friendly, and low pressure. Tonight, Wednesday, October 21, 6 to 8:30 p.m., brings Kitchen Bingo to Wing's Bar & Grille, a relaxed evening of games and dinner that is a genuinely easy way to sit down next to someone new and start talking. Then Thursday, October 22, 4 to 8 p.m., the Great Pumpkin Palooza fills Turtle Pond with a pumpkin carving and decorating contest, trunk-or-treat, pumpkin bowling, mummy races, caricatures, a photo booth, and a DJ. It drew roughly 1,500 guests last year, and if you just arrived, it is your one-stop evening for meeting the community.
Friday, October 23 is the busiest single day of the week. The Zombie Chase 5K Fun Run steps off 5 to 7 p.m. around Bass Lake in Area A, free and open to all paces with no registration required and zombie chasers wearing flag belts; check wrightpattfss.com for the course map, then run like the zombies are real. The same day, Retiree Appreciation Day at the Wright-Patt Club connects retirees, veterans, and families with the 88th Medical Group, the Dayton VA, and DFAS, and the USO Center marks National Day of the Deployed with a family gathering honoring deployed service members. Pick one, or split the family and compare notes over dinner.
From Kitchen Bingo and the Great Pumpkin Palooza to the Zombie Chase and Pumpkin Chuck, the week of October 21 through 24 is the base fall calendar at its fullest, and the calendar stays full through Halloween and all of November.
A Weekend Under the Wings: Pumpkin Chuck & the Blood Drive
Saturday, October 24 is one of my favorite free weekends of the year on the installation. The WPAFB Pumpkin Chuck, the annual pumpkin-launching science event, runs 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the grounds behind the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at 5901 Airway Road, and the public enters free through the Spinning Road gate at the intersection of Spinning and Airway roads. Kids get to watch pumpkins fly through the air, and it is the easiest, most welcoming way I know for a family that is not on base yet to see the installation from the inside out.
The same morning, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Armed Services Blood Program hosts its blood drive under the B-52 at the National Museum. Free to donate, and a useful reminder that military families can give back without leaving the installation. Both events land on the same day, so an arriving family can make one Saturday out of giving back and launching pumpkins, then grab lunch in Riverside or Beavercreek before heading home.
Halloween & the Final Stretch of October
Halloween on base wraps the month the way it always does, with two family events on consecutive days. The Force Support Squadron hosts HalloWings on Friday, October 30, 4 to 10 p.m., a family Halloween party with a haunted hallway, a costume contest with prizes, a DJ, karaoke, and a haunted movie night. Then the National Museum hosts Troops & Treats on Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a free farm-themed celebration tied into the America 250 commemoration with trick-or-treating, hands-on activities, community partners, the Jungle Island Petting Zoo, and balloon twisters. It is the perfect daytime run before the neighborhood rounds that evening. Remember that Beggars' Night in Beavercreek and Fairborn follows the local schedule, so ask a neighbor what time your street expects costumed visitors.
November arrives with several fresh items on the calendar. Track or Treat on Sunday, November 1, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., gives the littlest costumed visitors a second, calmer round of candy after the holiday rush, and the Holiday Hand Woven Decoration Workshop on Monday, November 2 at 6:30 p.m. is a free craft evening to make a seasonal decoration and meet neighbors before the holiday push. Battlefront: Dayton 2026 brings a gaming and esports gathering to the Hope Hotel on Friday, November 6, a low-pressure way for teens and parents who game to find their people near the installation. At the National Museum, the special exhibit Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen runs in the Fourth Building through December 31, and the Ohio Garrison of the 501st Legion appears in full Star Wars costumes on the first Saturday of each month, including Saturday, November 7, all with free museum admission, one of the best indoor outings of late fall.
The week after brings the museum's Veterans Day programming: Plane Talks: In Honor of Veterans Day runs Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a free way to mark the holiday a few days early, and the adults-only After Dark: Bombers & Brews fills the museum that evening, about $45 per ticket through the Air Force Museum Foundation, a nice night out for parents. The Wood Turning Class at the Arts & Crafts Center lands Tuesday, November 10, about $25 per person and space limited, and Veterans Day itself, Wednesday, November 11, is a federal holiday: most base services and the 88th Medical Group outpatient clinics close, while inpatient care and the emergency room stay open around the clock.
Two practical dates matter for every family this November. TRICARE Open Season runs Monday, November 9 through Tuesday, December 8, the window to enroll in or change TRICARE health plans with changes effective January 1, 2027. If you are newly arrived or your family situation changed this year, this is the time to review your plan on the 88th Medical Group's TRICARE site. And on Wednesday, November 18, the 88th Medical Group holds a training exercise, so main hospital and clinic services do not open until 12:30 p.m. while the Kittyhawk Pharmacy keeps its regular Wednesday morning hours.
Looking further out: the FSS calendar adds a Turkey Trot 5K fun run and walk on Thursday, November 19, 3 to 5 p.m., starting and finishing at the Wright Field Fitness Center on Area B, free and family friendly with no registration required. AFMC Family Day is Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, when many base services run limited hours, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony starts the holiday season Thursday, December 3, 5 to 8 p.m. at Prairie Trace Golf Course, with a 5:30 p.m. ceremony, holiday crafts, a youth choir, reindeer, hot chocolate and cookies, food trucks, toy bingo, and photos with Santa. If you arrive before December, you have a full month of chances to be part of the community before the holidays hit.
Base News Worth Knowing: More Childcare, the Starfighters Exhibit & a Busy Fall
The story that matters most to arriving families right now is childcare. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delivered a new 41,000-square-foot Child Development Center at Wright-Patterson in October, built to serve more than 300 children with child-safe design throughout, and it is already filling waitlists. Just as importantly, a second Child Development Center and School Age Care facility is under construction in Area A, roughly a $38 million project adding about 304 slots for children ages 6 weeks through 12 years and replacing the aging Wright Care CDC, with completion expected in early summer 2027. If you are arriving with kids, contact Child & Youth Programs as early as your orders post: infant and toddler slots are the most competitive, and the second facility is the reason the waitlist outlook is finally improving.
The other big family-friendly story on the installation is at the National Museum. Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen, a special exhibit of full-scale spacecraft inspired by the Star Wars universe, is open in the Fourth Building through December 31, and the Ohio Garrison of the 501st Legion appears in full Star Wars costumes on the first Saturday of each month. Museum admission is always free, and for a family new to the area it is the easiest low-pressure outing on the installation, an indoor stretch of aviation and pop culture that works for every age.
The base's quieter practical changes still matter. Beginning the week of October 12, the 88th Civil Engineer Group started transitioning select lawn areas from traditional mowing to conservation-focused pollinator habitat, weather permitting. It tells you the base is thinking about the long term: expect some fields to grow taller with native wildflowers as the seasons turn, and know the why before you wonder why the grass went uncut. October is also Energy Awareness Month, and the base has been posting how utility metering data drives energy decisions across the installation, a practical nudge that this area sees real seasonal swings in utility bills, something to budget for in your first fall and winter here.
There is also a genuinely cool moment from earlier this month for families who love aviation: AFSOC's newest combat aircraft, the OA-1K Skyraider II, landed at Wright-Patterson around October 8 for a hands-on acquisition review between operators and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center acquisition workforce. Employees and families of the Attack Systems Division got an up-close look at the aircraft, the kind of thing that is almost routine on this installation and still worth knowing about when you are new: the base is where new aircraft programs are managed, and that is a big part of why careers and schools here keep growing.
The bigger family stories from recent weeks still stand, so here is the short version. The 88th Medical Group installed a new Siemens MAGNETOM Lumina 3T MRI, an upgrade to diagnostic imaging that matters for everyday family life. The $2.4 billion F-15 and F-16 engine effort has the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson as the contracting activity, the AFRL reorganization and hiring surge of roughly 2,000 people is expected at the base this year, Ohio is pushing to land the U.S. Space Force Academy, the new visiting quarters and lodging project broke ground in June, and the Stratos aerospace hub is under construction. Together they tell a long-term story: the region is investing, staff numbers are growing, and demand for housing near the gates stays strong.
For New Arrivals: The Programs to Use First
If you are still mid-PCS, here is the short list I give every incoming family, and the first two items are free and scheduled for you:
The base runs a monthly in-person orientation for newly arrived active-duty members and their families at the Wright-Patterson Community Center (4771 Lahm Circle, Area A), covering the mission, leadership priorities, and support services on the installation, with briefings from dozens of local organizations. Spouses can attend the tailored Heart Link orientation alongside it. Check the exact session date on the official newcomer site, wpafb.af.mil/Newcomers/, before you plan the rest of your week.
There are no on-base schools; kids attend Beavercreek, Fairborn, or Mad River district schools, and the School Liaison Officer is the single point of contact for enrollment and transfers. The office sits in the Military & Family Readiness Center at 2000 Allbrook Drive, Building 2, Area A, (937) 257-3592. The program actively tracks inbound families and recommends reaching out six months to a year before your report date, so it is never too early to call.
The new Child Development Center joins the base's four NAEYC-accredited CDCs serving children ages 6 weeks through 5 years on Areas A and B and in the Prairies, and the Prairies Youth Center offers pre-teen and teen programming. If you are arriving with kids, contact Child & Youth Programs before you land: infant and toddler slots are the most competitive, and the new CDC is the reason to ask about the waitlist as early as your orders post.
The Community Center at 4771 Lahm Circle (Area A) hosts classes, workshops, and events most weekdays, including the FSS fall classes, and the Military & Family Readiness Center runs the Relocation Assistance Program with a loan closet of household basics and car seats while your shipment is in transit. The USO Wright-Patterson Center is a year-round anchor for families with Tabletop Gaming Nights, Military Spouse Coffee Connections, the Dandelion Club children's reading circle, and quarterly Deployed Family Dinners. All are natural first stops that cost nothing but an afternoon.
The Military Housing Office at (937) 257-6547 is the starting point, and on-base family housing is privatized and managed by The Properties at Wright Field, (937) 253-6009. Off base, Beavercreek and Fairborn are closest to the gates, 5 to 15 minutes, and I have written the full military relocation guide and a step-by-step PCS checklist covering neighborhoods, schools, and the first weeks.
Archived: What's Already Wrapped
For anyone catching up, the base's October openers are behind us: the Pink Ribbon Walk filled Prairie Trace October 1, the 99th anniversary of Wright Field was marked October 2 with the Band of Flight, the Heritage of Flight Festival filled New Carlisle through October 4, Airman Leadership School Goal Day closed most facilities October 9, and the Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day federal holiday closed the base October 12, with the base's posted gate hours holding for Gate 15A, Gate 26A, and the 24/7 Gate 12A at AFMC Headquarters. Mini Moos & Brews at Wing's and the Pumpkin Powder Dash at the Jarvis Fitness Center wrapped the week of October 16. The week now in motion runs from tonight's Kitchen Bingo through Saturday's Pumpkin Chuck, and it is all laid out above. The National Museum stays free and open to the public year-round, the best low-pressure first outing for a new family. Past editions are archived in the sidebar.
How I Think About All of This
I have guided hundreds of military families through a PCS to Wright-Patterson, and I watch the base calendar and the base news for one simple reason: the families who settle fastest are not the ones who find the perfect house first, they are the ones who plug in early and start collecting people. Kitchen Bingo at Wing's, pumpkins at Turtle Pond, a Zombie Chase around Bass Lake, a Saturday of Pumpkin Chuck and a blood drive under the B-52, then HalloWings and Troops & Treats to close October and a Veterans Day weekend of Plane Talks and Star Wars at the museum: each one is a short, genuinely effective way into the community, and I want my clients to use them all in their first month.
When I advise a military family on where to buy, I build a strategy around the commute to the gates, the school districts, the neighborhood feel, and what the years ahead in the Dayton area will hold. News like the Starfighters exhibit, the pollinator habitat, the OA-1K Skyraider II review, the new Child Development Center, the new MRI at the 88th Medical Group, the F-15 and F-16 engine program, and the AFRL hiring surge tells you whether the region is growing, investing, and worth planting roots in. If you have orders for WPAFB or you are already here and wondering about your housing options, call me. I will give you straight answers and a real plan for this move, starting wherever you are in the process.
"The week of October 21 through 24 is the base fall calendar at its fullest: bingo at Wing's, pumpkins at Turtle Pond, a Zombie Chase around Bass Lake, and a free Saturday of Pumpkin Chuck and a blood drive behind the National Museum. Then Halloween lands with HalloWings and Troops & Treats, and November brings Plane Talks for Veterans Day, TRICARE Open Season, the Turkey Trot, and the Tree Lighting at Prairie Trace. A second child development center under construction tells you the base is investing in families for the long run. That is how a house turns into home, and my job is to get you into the right neighborhood on the right timeline so you are here for all of it."
Jason White
A weekly base running group that meets at Dodge Gym on Thursday afternoons. Drop-in friendly, all paces, and the fastest way I know for an incoming family to start collecting familiar faces while getting oriented on the installation.
The Force Support Squadron's family Halloween party lands the Friday before Halloween with a haunted hallway, a costume contest with prizes, a DJ, karaoke, and a haunted movie night. Check wrightpattfss.com to confirm the full lineup, and pair it with Troops and Treats at the National Museum on Halloween itself.
The museum's free farm-themed Halloween celebration for kids, tied into the America 250 commemoration, with trick-or-treating, hands-on activities, community partners, the Jungle Island Petting Zoo, and balloon twisters. The perfect daytime run before the neighborhood rounds that evening.
A fresh entry on the FSS calendar: an after-Halloween trick-or-treat and fun-run morning on base so the littlest costumed visitors get a second, calmer round. A great way to ease into November before the holiday push.
A free holiday craft workshop on the FSS calendar for the start of November, a low-pressure evening to make a seasonal decoration and meet neighbors before the holidays ramp up. Check wrightpattfss.com to confirm the room.
A gaming and esports gathering hosted at the Hope Hotel on base. New on the local calendar, a fun, low-pressure way for teens and parents who game to find their people near the installation.
The museum's free Plane Talks program turns to the meaning of Veterans Day, a good way to mark the holiday as a family a few days early, and to visit the Iconic Starfighters exhibit in the Fourth Building while you are there.
An adults-only (21+) evening at the museum hosted by the Air Force Museum Foundation, with the B-2 and B-52 in the background. Tickets run about $45 through airforcemuseumfoundation.org, a nice night out for parents while the kids stay with a sitter.
A hands-on wood turning workshop at the Arts and Crafts Center, about $25 per person, with space limited. A great way to pick up a hobby and meet people as the evenings get colder. Register at (937) 257-7025.
A federal holiday on the installation: most base services and the 88th Medical Group outpatient clinics and pharmacies close, while inpatient care and the emergency room stay open around the clock. Plan prescriptions and appointments around it.
The annual window to enroll in or change TRICARE health plans, with changes effective January 1, 2027. If you are newly arrived or your family situation changed this year, this is the time to review your plan. Details on the 88th Medical Group's TRICARE site.
The 88th Medical Group holds a training exercise this day, so main hospital and clinic services do not open until 12:30 p.m. (the Kittyhawk Pharmacy keeps its regular Wednesday morning hours). The emergency room stays open throughout.
A free, family-friendly 5K fun run and walk through Area B the week before Thanksgiving, no registration required. A great way to keep the family moving during the holiday stretch and meet neighbors before the big day.
The day after Thanksgiving, AFMC Family Day means many base services run limited or holiday hours. Good to know before you plan errands, commissary runs, or appointments around the long weekend.
The official start of the holiday season on base moves to Prairie Trace Golf Course this year with a 5:30 p.m. ceremony, holiday crafts, a youth choir, reindeer, hot chocolate and cookies, food trucks, toy bingo, and photos with Santa. A wonderful event for families new to the area.
The special exhibit Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen stays in the Fourth Building through December 31, with the Ohio Garrison of the 501st Legion appearing in full Star Wars costumes on the first Saturday of each month. Free museum admission, and one of the best indoor outings of late fall.
- Military Relocation Guide Everything about PCSing to WPAFB
- PCS Checklist What to do before, during, and after
- WPAFB Relocation News Base news and events, updated weekly
- Last Week's Edition HalloWings preview & the Starfighters exhibit
- Afterburners Running Group Every Thursday, 4:30 p.m. Dodge Gym
- HalloWings: The Base Halloween Celebration Friday, October 30, 4 to 10 p.m. Wright-Patterson AFB
- Troops & Treats Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
- Track or Treat Sunday, November 1, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wright-Patterson AFB
- Holiday Hand Woven Decoration Workshop Monday, November 2, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wright-Patterson AFB (FSS)
Moving to Wright-Patterson or already here?
I have guided hundreds of military families through assignments at WPAFB. Whether you need a home tour before you land or a straight answer about the market today, I would love to connect.
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The end of October on base
is a welcome mat, not a wrap-up.
Kitchen Bingo at Wing's, the Great Pumpkin Palooza at Turtle Pond, a Zombie Chase around Bass Lake, and a free Saturday of Pumpkin Chuck behind the National Museum: every day from October 21 gives an arriving family a reason to get out and meet people. Then Halloween lands with HalloWings and Troops & Treats, and November brings Plane Talks for Veterans Day, TRICARE Open Season, and the Tree Lighting at Prairie Trace. A second child development center under construction tells you the base is investing in families for the long run. I keep this page current all season, and when you are ready to turn the base into home, start the conversation with me.