From mid-October on, Amesbury's events calendar fills almost every night. There's horror-movie bingo on a Sunday, a silent disco on a Saturday, a different food truck at the same taproom four nights in one week, and a cemetery walk at dusk. The Amesbury Chamber of Commerce calendar lists Halloween and fall events across all of October 2026, but they don't happen everywhere at once. Most of them cluster at a handful of addresses on particular nights.
The town's biggest downtown Halloween night is Friday, October 30, not the 31st. The two weeks before it run mostly through three breweries: BareWolf Brewing, Brewery Silvaticus and Mill 77. Daytime family events mostly happen at a farm on Fern Avenue. Once you see that split, planning the rest of the month gets much easier.
The big downtown night is October 30
ZOMBIECON 2026 runs Friday, October 30, from 4:00 to 11:30 p.m. across downtown Amesbury. That's the longest single event on the town's Halloween calendar. Last year's Chamber listing called it a downtown "Sip and Stroll." People dress as zombies or other Halloween characters and go from stop to stop at local shops, restaurants, bars and breweries. The Chamber organized it with the people behind SantaCon Amesbury.
The 2026 list of stops hasn't been published. The Chamber's event page still says to "stay tuned" for participating businesses and a map, and member businesses can still sign up to be a stop. Last year's list gives a good idea of the range. The 2025 stops were Lee & Co, Looks By Lopez, Barking Dog, Blue Moon, Apricot Lane, Sweet Cheeks, Bubble Bar Boston on Main, Milestones Childcare, Riseilience, Mel's Records, the Amesbury Carriage Museum's Industrial History Center, Billie's, Cider Hill Farm, Camp 100, Brewery Silvaticus, Trendsetter's, Eighteen Friend Street, Caravan, Mill 77, Crave and The Barn. In 2025 the Chamber asked stops to offer light refreshments, a pop-up or activity, a special, or something else on theme.
Two brewery events fill the same night. Brewery Silvaticus has Great Wave Sushi parked from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Mill 77 is showing Young Frankenstein from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Both breweries were ZOMBIECON stops in 2025. If they sign up again, a costumed crowd could have dinner at one and a movie at the other without ever leaving the stroll.
Three breweries, three different jobs
Before the 30th, most of the evening calendar runs through the same three addresses. Each brewery has taken on a different role.
| Brewery | Address | Its role in October | Dated examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| BareWolf Brewing | 12 Oakland Street | Themed and ticketed events | Hops & Horrors, Oct. 18; Beer & Records, Oct. 23; Silent Disco, Oct. 24; Picklefest 5, Oct. 25; Halloween Pet Parade and Brewhouse of Horrors, Oct. 31 |
| Brewery Silvaticus | 9 Water St. | Dinner, through a different food truck most nights | Rico's Burritos, Lakeside Thai on Wheels, Rocherry's Bakery, Hungry Nomads, Great Wave Sushi, Bonetown Burgers |
| Mill 77 Brewing | 77 Elm Street | A weekly regular plus one movie | Elm Street Eats bar pies on Thursdays; Young Frankenstein, Oct. 30 |
BareWolf has the most Halloween-themed nights. Hops & Horrors on Sunday, October 18, is free and pairs independent short horror films with horror-movie bingo. The listed times don't match. BareWolf's own calendar says 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., and the Chamber says 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The Chamber also lists it as 18+ unless the guest comes with an adult. After that, BareWolf has something on four of the next seven nights. Beer & Records, with bands, vendors, beer and BBQ, runs Friday, October 23, from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. A Silent Disco with the Friends of the Library is on Saturday, October 24, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Picklefest 5 runs Sunday, October 25, from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Silvaticus works more like a rotating restaurant. The Chamber calendar shows Rico's Burritos on Saturday, October 17, from noon to 8:00 p.m. Lakeside Thai on Wheels comes Sunday, October 18, from noon to 6:00 p.m. Rocherry's Bakery is there Thursday, October 22. Hungry Nomads is there Friday, October 23. Great Wave Sushi comes Saturday, October 24, and again on the 30th. Bonetown Burgers is there Sunday, October 25, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The brewery also hosts Taproom Trivia on Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and a Book Club on Monday, October 19.
Mill 77 keeps the most regular schedule. Elm Street Eats bar pies are listed every Thursday from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., on October 15, 22 and 29. Its one Halloween-season event, the Young Frankenstein screening, is on the same night as ZOMBIECON.
All three breweries have events on Thursdays, so that's the easiest weeknight to plan. You could have bar pies at Mill 77, then go to trivia at Silvaticus. Gametime Lanes also runs a trivia night, "This Ain't Your Average Trivia Night," on the same Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Daylight belongs to Cider Hill Farm
The downtown events mostly happen in the evening and are mostly for adults. Kids' daytime events are mostly at Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Avenue. Sweet Halloween runs on two weekends, October 17–18 and October 24–25. The Chamber lists it from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The farm calls it a not-so-spooky farm trick-or-treat. It has a ticketed children's trail, tractor rides, a costume contest, a makers market and free music.
Ticket prices go up in tiers. Cider Hill's own page lists children's trick-or-treat admission at $15 early bird, then $17, then $19, with flex tickets at $19 and $21. The Chamber's listing just says "$16+," so use the farm's page for current pricing. Families with no fixed date can watch which tier is live before they buy.
The farm also has Fall Fridays, a live music and hard cider series, from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on October 16 and 23. It runs in the afternoon, so it doesn't overlap with anything downtown that night.
October 17 is the crowded Saturday
Most of the season's events are spread across different nights. Saturday, October 17, is the exception, with five listings stacked up after lunch:
- 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Sweet Halloween opens its first weekend at Cider Hill Farm.
- Noon to 8:00 p.m.: Rico's Burritos at Brewery Silvaticus.
- 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.: The Saturday Foliage Cruise bike ride leaves from The Amesbury Filling Station, 520 Main Street. Routes are 12 to 20 miles round trip at an average of 10 to 14 mph.
- 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.: Grave Stories, an Amesbury Carriage Museum tour of Mt. Prospect Cemetery at 204 Elm Street. It introduces visitors to some of the town's well-known former residents, and tickets start at $20.
- 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.: Cider & Bites, a grown-up trick-or-treat at Cider Hill Farm. It's a stroll through the orchard and fields with eight cider pours paired with eight bites, plus live music. It's 21+ and costs $55.
Grave Stories and Cider & Bites both start at 4:00 p.m., and the bike ride overlaps both. Adults have to pick one. Families can make the farm's morning session and still get to Silvaticus for burritos.
Friday Night Frights at the Upper Millyard Amphitheater, 5 Market Square, takes the Friday before each of those weekends. It runs October 16 and October 23, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Chamber lists it as family friendly, which makes it the only family listing downtown on a Friday evening.
The weeknights in between have smaller events. Bingo & Buggies at the Industrial History Center runs Wednesday, October 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Barbie Zombies for Teens is on Wednesday, October 28. The Amesbury Scarecrow Contest runs from October 18 through November 1. The Chamber lists Monday, October 12, as the application deadline. The Pumpkin Patch at Main Street Congregational stays open through October 31.
What's left for October 31 itself
In 2026, Halloween falls on a Saturday, the day after ZOMBIECON. The Chamber calendar lists just two business events that day, both at BareWolf Brewing.
The Halloween Pet Parade comes first, listed from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. BareWolf says the parade itself starts at 1:30. It's free, donations are welcome, and there are costume prizes. Pets have to be pre-registered by Saturday, October 24, so that deadline comes a full week before the parade.
Brewhouse of Horrors closes out the night. It's a Halloween show of 90s covers by four acts: Stop That Man, Pintail, Autumn Hollow, and Lucia & the Juiceboxes. Tickets are $15 and entry is 18+. The Chamber lists it from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., while BareWolf's own calendar says it ends at 10:30. For times, BareWolf's page is the one to trust.
The listings point to a simple plan. Do the farm on a weekend morning. Pick one or two brewery nights in the run-up. Keep Friday, October 30, free for the downtown stroll, and register the dog by the 24th if the costume is already bought.
Our team keeps up with Amesbury's downtown calendar as closely as with its home sales. When you're weighing how much a walkable Market Square and three taprooms are worth to you, whether you're buying in Amesbury or selling a home near downtown, Douglas Danzey and the team can walk you through the numbers. Schedule a call.
