The Park Transforms on a Saturday Afternoon
By mid-afternoon on October 24, Stewart Creek Park will look nothing like its everyday self. Inflatables will line the grass, hayrides will be loading near the trailhead, and kids in costume will be scattered across the grounds chasing games and each other. That is the opening scene of Family Fright Fest, The Colony’s free Halloween celebration that runs from 3:00 to 7:00 PM and has become one of the most attended fall gatherings the city puts on.
The event costs nothing to attend. Parking, inflatables, hayrides, and games are all part of the package. Food trucks will be on site for anyone who wants to eat before the sun goes down.
The Costume Contest
One of the more anticipated moments of the afternoon is the costume contest, which includes categories spanning all ages. That detail matters in a community where Halloween dress-up is not just a kids’ activity. Parents who put real effort into a coordinated family theme, and teenagers who are somewhere between trick-or-treating age and too-cool-for-it, all have a reason to step into the contest.
Judging is expected to draw a crowd of its own, which is part of what gives Family Fright Fest the feeling of a neighborhood gathering rather than a ticketed production. Everyone is watching the same thing at the same time.
When the Sun Sets, the Movie Starts
At 7:30 PM, immediately after Family Fright Fest wraps, Stewart Creek Park shifts into outdoor cinema mode. The Colony Cinema Nights series is swapping its usual family-film format for something seasonally appropriate: a screening of Hocus Pocus, the 1993 Halloween film that has maintained a grip on fall culture for three decades.
The back-to-back format is deliberate. Families who arrive at 3:00 for the festival can stay straight through to the movie without driving home and coming back. Blankets and lawn chairs on the grass, the park settling into dark, and Hocus Pocus overhead — it is a straightforward setup that tends to work.
Cinema Nights has run as a recurring city program through The Colony Parks and Recreation Department, bringing outdoor screenings to different locations across the calendar year. The Halloween edition at Stewart Creek puts the series at the center of the city’s fall programming rather than on the edges of it.
Stewart Creek Park as the Setting
Stewart Creek Park, located at 3700 Sparks Rd, is one of The Colony’s larger green spaces along the Shoreline Trail corridor. It sees heavy use across the year — youth sports, trail runners, the annual Shoreline 5K and 8 Miler, which also happens to be held there on the morning of October 24, hours before the festival begins.
That Saturday will be an unusually full day at the park. Runners will be finishing their race along the Shoreline Trail in the morning while the parks crew is likely already setting up inflatables for the afternoon. By evening, a crowd that started with athletic gear and finished in costume will be settling into the grass to watch a movie. It is the kind of day a park earns its place in a city’s identity.
Free and Open to Everyone
Both events — Family Fright Fest and the Hocus Pocus screening — are free and open to the public. No tickets are required for the festival, and Cinema Nights screenings have consistently followed the same model.
Food trucks will handle the one part of the evening that costs money, and the range of vendors typically ensures options beyond just snacks. Arriving early for the festival and staying for the film is a reasonable plan for most families, and the timeline between the two events is short enough that there is no real gap to fill.
What to Know Before You Go
- Family Fright Fest: October 24, 3:00–7:00 PM, Stewart Creek Park, 3700 Sparks Rd
- Cinema Frights — Hocus Pocus: October 24, 7:30 PM, Stewart Creek Park
- Both events are free; food trucks will be on site
- Costume contest open to all ages
- Bring chairs or blankets for the outdoor screening
- Stewart Creek Park is also hosting the Shoreline 5K that morning, so expect an active day at the park overall
For more details on both events and the broader fall calendar, the city’s official event listings are the best place to check for any updates closer to the date.
