This Week in Dayton: Halloween Week,
New Grand Openings
& the Holiday Kickoff.

Fresh for the last full week of October 2026 across the greater Dayton area and suburbs: the week's family trunk-or-treats in Centerville, Vandalia, and Beavercreek, Hauntfest on Fifth downtown, the Ohio Renaissance Festival finale, and the full trick-or-treat schedule for every suburb. On the dining front, Tasty Pizza Potatoes and More just cut the ribbon in downtown Fairborn, a brand-new 24-hour McDonald's is open on Indian Ripple Road in Beavercreek, Sueño is downtown, and the airport's new dining lineup is fully in place.

Last week's guide covered the Fairborn Halloween Festival and Pumpkin Glow in Xenia. The festivals may be wrapping, but this is the week the suburbs' Halloween calendars get the busiest, and the holiday season is already taking shape behind it.

Here is everything fresh I have not covered before.

The Fairborn Halloween Festival: October 16-18

The Anchor Weekend Wrapped Sunday

Fairborn's three-day festival closed out on Sunday, October 18 with its traditional Sunday vendor-booth trick-or-treat, capping a weekend of the Spooktacular Parade, the costume contest, the Zombie Walk, and 80-plus food and craft vendors in downtown Fairborn. If you missed it, do not worry: the last full week before Halloween is when the trunk-or-treats take over, and every suburb has one on the calendar.

The Week's Trunk-or-Treats: Centerville, Vandalia & Beavercreek

On Friday, October 23, Centerville families can trick-or-treat around the shops of Cross Pointe Centre, with 30-plus participating stores handing out candy. On Saturday, October 24, the Vandalia Halloween Hangout runs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Vandalia Sports Complex, 1111 Stonequarry Road, with decorated trunks, hayrides, inflatables, and a costume contest. And on Sunday, October 25 from 5:30-7 p.m., Fairhaven Church at 3255 Seajay Drive in Beavercreek hosts one of the east side's biggest trunk-or-treats. Earlier in the week, the City of West Carrollton's Monster Mash gives families a relaxed community Halloween night on October 22.

Pumpkin Glow: Greene County's Black-Light Wonderland

October 21-24 at Caesar Ford Park

The signature Greene County event of the week runs Wednesday, October 21 through Saturday, October 24, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Caesar Ford Park, 520 S. Stringtown Road in Xenia. The park's trails are lined with hundreds of hand-painted pumpkins coated in black-light-reflective paint that glow under ultraviolet light in themes from cartoons and music to horror shows and animals. It is free, donations are gladly accepted, blacklight flashlights are available to borrow (or bring your own), and food vendors are on site. It is one of the most photographed nights of the year in Greene County. Details are on the official event page at gcparkstrails.com.

One More Greene County Weekend Before the Season Turns

The Ohio Renaissance Festival in Waynesville has two weekends left, October 24-25 and the Heroes & Villains finale October 31-November 1, with jousting, giant turkey legs, and the full 16th-century village. I wrote the complete season guide in my Renaissance Festival guide. And if you want to see the county in its full fall mode, the Boo Bash Trail in Beavercreek and the Windmill Farm Market Spooktacular in Springboro are both covered in my mid-October guide.

Halloween at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

Troops & Treats on Halloween Day

For families on the base side of the metro, the museum adds a free family event right on the holiday: Troops & Treats runs Saturday, October 31 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with trick-or-treat stops throughout the galleries, an easy way to do Halloween morning before the neighborhood rounds. The special exhibit "Iconic Starfighters: Rivals of the Silver Screen" continues in the Fourth Building through December 31, and base families have the full picture of the weeks ahead in my latest Wright-Patterson week ahead, from the Great Pumpkin Palooza and the WPAFB Pumpkin Chuck through HalloWings, Troops & Treats, and Veterans Day programming.

The Restaurant Tracker: Two New Spots Open Near Wright State

Tasty Pizza Potatoes and More: Grand Opening in Downtown Fairborn

The best fresh dining news is in Fairborn. Tasty Pizza Potatoes and More held its grand opening Wednesday, October 14 at 101 E. Main St. in downtown Fairborn. Owner John Hansen built a following with the Tasty Bacon food truck before opening this storefront, which serves pizzas, calzones, baked potatoes, and chili mac and cheese. It is a welcome new walk-in option right on Fairborn's main street, a short drive from Wright State and Wright-Patterson. The Greene County news is confirmed by WHIO's coverage of the ribbon cutting.

A Brand-New 24-Hour McDonald's on Indian Ripple Road

A few miles east in Beavercreek, a brand-new 4,000-square-foot, 24-hour McDonald's opened this month at 4380 Indian Ripple Road, rising on the site of a demolished Burger King. It adds a double-lane drive-thru and roughly 60 new jobs, and it gives the east side of Beavercreek another late-night option on a busy commercial corridor.

Sueño Downtown & the Airport's Dining Lineup Is Complete

Downtown, Sueño at 607 E. Third Street is the Yucatán-inspired restaurant from three-time James Beard finalist chef Jorge Guzman, cooking over a live-fire hearth with heirloom corn imported from Oaxaca. It is one of the most talked-about openings of the year in the city. And the Dayton International Airport dining transformation is now fully in place: a new Warped Wing Brewing space, an expanded full-service Dunkin', a new pizza shop, two revamped sit-down restaurants, and a renovated grab-and-go station. I covered the rest of the month's openings, from Dave's Hot Chicken and Crumbl in Beavercreek to Jet's Pizza on Springboro Pike, in my October restaurant roundup.

The Rest of the Tracker: Honest Status, No Dates Yet

Every project I have been following since the summer is still moving, with no confirmed dates. Kawa Revolving Sushi has its Austin Landing space confirmed, Scramblers keeps building out at The Greene, Black Rock Bar and Grill is still on the way to the Mall at Fairfield Commons, Whoa Dogs has its Oregon District lease finalized, and Hummus and Garlic is preparing the former So Pizza space near the Dayton Mall. I will share each opening date the moment it is confirmed.

Looking Ahead: Beggars' Night and Halloween Weekend

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and most area communities keep the traditional 6-8 p.m. window on October 31: Beavercreek, Centerville, Kettering, Xenia, Fairborn, Springboro, Bellbrook, and Vandalia all follow it. The one exception is Tipp City, which holds Beggars' Night on the Thursday before, October 29 from 6-8 p.m.

The night before Halloween, Xenia's 4th Annual Food Truck Rally Trunk or Treat runs from 4 p.m. at 150 S. Miami Ave., pairing trucks with candy stops. Earlier in the week, Mall-O-Ween brings store-to-store trick-or-treating to the Mall at Fairfield Commons on October 28 from 5-7 p.m., and the Austin Landing Trunk or Treat fills that development the same evening from 6-9 p.m., an easy stop for Springboro and Centerville families. And on the 24th, the 40th Oregon District Hauntfest takes over Fifth Street for the region's biggest Halloween party. I have the full rundown, including every suburb's schedule, in my late-October and November events guide.

Why I Track All of This

This is the stretch of the year where the suburbs show off, and the holiday season is already forming behind it. The Dayton Holiday Festival kickoff lands downtown Thursday, November 5, from 4-9 p.m. with the Grande Illumination tree lighting on Courthouse Square, a holiday village, gingerbread homes, and carriage rides, details on the downtown Dayton partnership site. Winter Fest at Austin Landing follows November 14, and the tree lightings line up across the suburbs: The Greene in Beavercreek on November 20, downtown Tipp City on November 21, and Centerville's Uptown Holiday Walk and Mayor's Tree Lighting at Benham's Grove on November 22. Greene County also lights Shawnee Park in Xenia nightly from November 23 through January 1 with a free synchronized 25,000-plus-light show. I put the full holiday calendar, every tree lighting and drive-through lights display, in my late-November holiday kickoff guide.

For buyers, this is the context that makes a community feel like home before the offer is ever written. For sellers, it means your street sits inside a region with the kind of energy that keeps demand steady even as the seasons turn. And for anyone considering the move from another state, this is the Dayton I know: welcoming, active, and full of reasons to put down roots.

Whether you are buying, selling, or just curious about what your home might be worth, I am here with straight answers and a strategy that fits your situation.