Most of the Halloween programming the City of Ballwin has scheduled for October 2026 takes place inside one building, The Pointe at #1 Ballwin Commons Circle. Its biggest night centers on an event held in the water. Until this fall, that water was off limits.
The city's October newsletter put the news in one line: "The Indoor Pool is now open at The Pointe!" The renovation also added a new kids' play structure. A month earlier, the September newsletter said the indoor pool was still closed for renovations. So the October calendar was built around a pool that had only just reopened.
The Newsletter That Changed in One Month
If you followed The Pointe's summer pool saga, you know the facility had a long stretch where swimming was off the table. The October update ends that stretch, and the city's Indoor Pool Schedule is linked straight from the announcement.
The timing matters because the city's best-attended kind of night, a costume-and-crafts evening for families, now has a pool event at its center. This year's Halloween Hullabaloo includes a Glow Pumpkin Plunge in the indoor pool. A pumpkin plunge only works with a working pool, and that pool reopened just in time.
One Friday, Three Events, One Building
The Halloween Hullabaloo is on Friday, October 23, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at The Pointe. The city calls it free and open to the public, and the newsletter says no registration is required. The evening is really three events stacked together:
- The Hullabaloo itself. Crafts, activities, games, and live entertainment, with costumes encouraged.
- The Glow Pumpkin Plunge. Kids swim through an "aquatic pumpkin patch," choose a pumpkin, and decorate it with supplies the city provides. A People's Choice Award goes to the best-decorated pumpkin, and free swim in the glowing pool follows. The city encourages pre-registration to guarantee your child gets a pumpkin.
- The 2nd Annual Chili Tasting. Starting at 5:30 p.m., an employee from each city department cooks a batch of chili. Attendees taste and vote, and the winner takes home the "Certified Chili Champion" trophy, announced near the end of the night "or end of the chili."
Two practical details. First, The Pointe closes early that day, at 3:30 p.m., so a regular afternoon workout or lap swim on October 23 has to wrap up before then. Normal hours are 5:15 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Second, the city's online activity listing for the 2026 Halloween Hullabaloo currently shows its availability as "Full," even though the newsletter says registration isn't needed. That probably just reflects how the system handles a free drop-in event, but a quick call to The Pointe before you go will settle it. The plunge is a separate sign-up, and that's the one worth registering for early.
The Rest of October, in Order
The Hullabaloo anchors the month, but most of the other dates also run through The Pointe, either as the venue or as the pickup and drop-off point.
| Date | Event | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Through Oct. 9 | Great Pumpkin Sign pickup | The Pointe | Signs cost $5 |
| Oct. 9, 5:30–7 p.m. | Yappy Hour "Puppyween" | Ferris Park | Free; dog costume contest |
| Oct. 15, 6–8 p.m. | Creative Series: Halloween Ghosts | The Pointe | Evening craft night |
| Oct. 17, 10 a.m.–noon | Public Works & Parks Maintenance Open House | City facilities | Trucks, planting activity, fall craft |
| Oct. 19 | Pumpkin signs due back | The Pointe | Needed to make the display |
| Oct. 19–27 | Pumpkin Walk display | Community voting | Five voting categories |
| Oct. 23, 5:30–8 p.m. | Halloween Hullabaloo, Glow Pumpkin Plunge, Chili Tasting | The Pointe | Building closes at 3:30 p.m. |
| Oct. 26 | Leaf collection begins | Curbside, by ward | Little Explorers registration also due |
| Oct. 28, 6–7:30 p.m. | Little Explorers Halloween Bash | The Pointe | Pre-registration required |
| Oct. 30 | Pumpkin sign winners announced |
The pumpkin sign contest is the easiest to miss, because its first deadline arrives before the rest of the month gets going. You buy a pumpkin yard sign at The Pointe through October 9, decorate it with "paint, glitter, lights, or your favorite fall flair," and return it by October 19. Voting categories are Most Creative, Spookiest Pumpkin, Funniest Pumpkin, Best Use of Materials, and People's Choice. If you live close to Ballwin Commons, one stop covers pickup, drop-off, and the Hullabaloo four days after the drop-off.
The Little Explorers Halloween Bash on October 28 is for the youngest kids. The city describes it as a "not-so-spooky celebration made just for our tiniest trick-or-treaters," with music, games, crafts, and snacks. Unlike the Hullabaloo, it requires pre-registration by October 26.
The Two Events That Leave The Pointe
Only two of October's city events happen somewhere else, and each has its own reason.
Puppyween at Ferris Park, 500 New Ballwin Road, is the October edition of the city's Yappy Hour, a social hour for dog owners with snacks and light activities. Costumes are "not required but encouraged," and this month's draw is a dog costume contest. It's free, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on October 9. An indoor recreation center isn't built for dogs, which explains the park.
The Public Works and Parks Maintenance Open House on October 17 is about a second set of rebuilt city facilities. The city recently finished a $4.4 million renovation and redesign of both buildings, funded from its infrastructure fund "with no impact on the general fund reserve, no debt and no new tax." The Public Works facility was built in 1968 and the Parks Maintenance facility in 1984. The newsletter says both had run out of space and were deteriorating. The upgrade added canopy and vehicle storage to extend the life of city vehicles and protect materials. For families, the morning offers city trucks and equipment up close, a chance to decorate a pot and plant a seed, and a fall craft.
Both open-house buildings and The Pointe's pool tell the same story: in fall 2026, Ballwin is showing off infrastructure it just finished. The open house is the one event this month where the building is the main attraction.
The calendar also has a chore on it. Free curbside leaf collection starts October 26 for most residents, through the city's contracted hauler. Crews work ward by ward, passing roughly every three weeks, and the city says the season wraps up "sometime in December," subject to delays. That's the same week as the Little Explorers Bash, so the last week of October has a lot going on.
Meanwhile, on Manchester Road
The city added programming this fall, and the commercial corridor had a summer of turnover.
The Applebee's at 14830 Manchester Road closed permanently in late July 2026. It had opened in 1996, which ended a three-decade run. Reports differ on the details. KSDK, citing the St. Louis Business Journal, reported that the restaurant served its last meals on a Friday and quoted an employee who said a 30% rent increase prompted the closure. The property was already being marketed for lease or sale. The Chesterfield Valley Post gave the closing date as Saturday, July 25, and attributed it to declining sales and rising costs. That report said no replacement tenant had been announced as of the closing date. The same weekend, the Crushed Red at 14124 Manchester Road closed, according to an August report. FOX 2 had included the Ballwin Crushed Red among the locations it reported as permanently closed in late July.
There's been at least one opening. The October city newsletter announced that The Salvation Army Thrift Store has officially opened in Central Plaza at 15355 Manchester Road.
For a sit-down meal after a Pointe event, the newest option nearby is just past the city line. GuacoTaco opened at 14560 Manchester Road in the former Tacos 4 Life space. It comes from Matt and Mike Ratz, the brothers behind UKRAFT Brunch Café. St. Louis Magazine describes it as a hybrid fast-casual and sit-down Tex-Mex restaurant in Winchester, the small municipality along Manchester Road, serving scratch-made Tex-Mex, weekend brunch, and margaritas. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch photo caption shows customers dining there on July 21, 2026.
So the summer's restaurant news on Manchester Road was mostly about two empty dining rooms, while the city's fall calendar filled with dated events in a building that had just finished its own renovation.
November Keeps the Pool in the Plan
The pool's role doesn't end with Halloween. The Pointe's November listings include two water-based programs:
- Fish Tales, Thursday, November 12, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Story time, a craft or experiment, a snack, and pool time.
- Ignite: Thanksgiving Pool Party, Friday, November 13, 6 to 8:30 p.m., for ages 6 to 13. Advance registration is required.
Neither would have been on the calendar while the September newsletter still listed the pool as closed. Both carry the October pattern into the next month: the reopened pool is where the city now holds its seasonal programming.
Those new dates at The Pointe come with a new kids' play structure, a freshly renovated pool, and two rebuilt maintenance buildings. When neighbors compare Ballwin homes, city amenities like these come up. If you'd like to know how they factor into what your house is worth this fall, the Becky O'Neill Power Home Selling Team can walk you through it with real local numbers. Start with a free home value estimate, or browse our Ballwin neighborhood page for more on the city.
