By October 12, Suamico's most popular Halloween event was already booked. Brown County's ticket system shows zero spots left for the October 15 Jack-O-Lantern Hike at Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve. The county doesn't take walk-ins for this event.
Most of what's on the calendar needs a ticket, a time window, or paperwork turned in ahead. The deadlines come earlier than the holiday. Halloween itself falls on a Saturday this year, and Suamico has published less for that day than for any other part of the season. Below is what's still open, the dates that decide it, and where October 31 actually ends up.
The Pumpkin Hike Set the Pace
Barkhausen's Jack-O-Lantern Hikes run October 15 through 17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the preserve, 2024 Lakeview Drive. The route is a 1.25-mile walk lined with more than 100 carved jack-o-lanterns. Strollers and wheelchairs can use the trails, and leashed dogs are welcome.
Tickets cost $5 a person, and children 2 and under get in free. Capital Credit Union sponsors the event. The county's terms are strict. Pre-registration is required because space is limited, tickets are sold online only, and the hike goes on rain or shine with no refunds.
That's why the hike filled before mid-month. With a capped event, no walk-ins, and a $5 ticket, demand outruns supply fast. The county's ticket page showed zero available for the opening night. We could only confirm availability for October 15. The Friday and Saturday hikes may have gone the same way, but the county's ticket system is the only reliable place to check. For anyone who missed it this year, the lesson is about timing. Registration for an event like this opens well before October, and the window has closed by the time the leaves peak.
October, Laid Out as a Calendar
Here's what's left on the Suamico calendar from today, October 12, sorted by what each event asks of you before you go.
| Date | Event | Location | What it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Oct. 13 | Free movie matinee, Remember the Titans, 1 p.m. | Municipal Services Center, 12781 Velp Ave. | Nothing listed |
| Fri. & Sat., Oct. 16–17 | North Shore Bank Zoo Boo | NEW Zoo & Adventure Park | Ticket, $18 or $23 combo |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | Howl-o-Ween dog day, 3:30–6 p.m. | NEW Zoo & Adventure Park | $20 dog ticket, vaccination records uploaded a week ahead |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | Drive-thru trick-or-treat, 5–6:30 p.m. | Ancestry Acres | Nothing listed |
| Fri. & Sat., Oct. 23–24 | North Shore Bank Zoo Boo | NEW Zoo & Adventure Park | Ticket, $18 or $23 combo |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Vickery Village Autumn Festival | 1751 Riverside Drive | Details still being confirmed |
The ticketed events sit in the middle of the month, and the most open-ended ones come at either end.
The Zoo Closes Early So It Can Open Late
The North Shore Bank Zoo Boo runs six nights this season. Two weekends are left: October 16 and 17, then October 23 and 24. Friday hours are 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday hours are 2 to 7 p.m.
Prices went up once the series started. The zoo listed pre-sale tickets at $15, or $20 for a combo with the Neil Anderson Canopy Tour. From October 9 on, those became $18 and $23. Kids under 3 get in free. Zoo Pass members get a discount that shows up in the online cart when they're logged in.
Families heading out for a regular daytime zoo visit should know the schedule. On Zoo Boo Fridays the zoo closes to regular visitors at 3 p.m., and on Zoo Boo Saturdays it closes at 1 p.m., so staff can set up. That leaves two Saturday afternoons, October 17 and 24, when a casual visit after lunch won't work.
The event times have limits of their own. Gates close 30 minutes before the event ends. The last Canopy Tour departure is 7 p.m. on Fridays and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. That matters most on Saturdays, when the full event runs only five hours.
Inside, the zoo sets up Treat and Activity Stations for trick-or-treating, along with a bounce house with a slide and the Endangered Species Carousel. Both of those run when the weather allows. There's also a Zoo Boo Skeleton Safari game that ends at a prize table, and the Haunted Zoo Zone for older kids. Nothing Bundt Cakes and Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck sell desserts and drinks. Face Painting Plus by Lori & Friends works in the Kids' Zone, weather permitting.
October 20 Has Two Events and a Deadline That Comes First
Tuesday, October 20 is the busiest weekday of the season. Two events overlap in the late afternoon, and one of them has a deadline that comes due tomorrow.
The NEW Zoo's Bring Your Dog to the Zoo: Howl-o-Ween Edition runs from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Dogs and their people can come in costume, every dog gets a free gift and treats, and Oat & Paw, a local dog shop, will be there for the first time. The zoo's requirements are specific:
- Dogs must be registered in advance, at $20 per dog. Regular zoo admission applies to every adult and child who comes along.
- Rabies, distemper, and parvo vaccinations must be current. Proof must be uploaded no later than one week before the event, which for October 20 means by October 13.
- Dogs must be on a non-retractable leash no longer than six feet.
- Each dog needs at least one adult with it.
- Arrival must be between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
The zoo says dogs without vaccination records on file by the deadline can't enter. Records from an earlier dog event stay on file until they expire, so returning dogs may not need to upload anything new. Some areas are off-limits during the event, including the Aviary and animal feeding experiences. Staff hand out maps of the dog-friendly paths at the gate.
At 5 p.m., while the zoo's dog event winds down, the Village of Suamico's drive-thru trick-or-treat begins at Ancestry Acres and runs until 6:30. The Howard-Suamico Historical Society lists Ancestry Acres at 12787 Velp Avenue. That's next to the Municipal Services Center at 12781 Velp, where the free matinees are held. The village's listing doesn't mention tickets or registration. That makes the drive-thru the one event this month that takes no planning ahead.
The Velp Avenue address is a small, useful detail. Two of the village's own October events, the October 13 movie and the October 20 drive-thru, happen within a few doors of each other.
Halloween Itself Moves to Riverside Drive
October 31 falls on a Saturday this year. Suamico hasn't published village-wide trick-or-treat hours. The village events page has none, and WBAY's 2026 trick-or-treat list, published October 9, doesn't include Suamico among its communities. Until that changes, the Village of Suamico is the place to watch for an announcement.
The one confirmed Halloween-day event is at Vickery Village, 1751 Riverside Drive. The venue's October calendar shows every Friday and Saturday booked from October 2 through October 24. October 25 is marked "Autumn Festival - Prep Work," October 31 is the Autumn Festival, and November 1 is marked "Venue Off-Season." So the venue's last event of the season is a public festival on Halloween.
The venue hasn't posted hours or prices. A listing from AllEvents.in gives hours of 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and mentions shopping, family activities, music, and food. It also says the full schedule is still coming, so check the details before you plan around them.
Vickery Village's business directory is dated January 2025, so the lineup may have changed since. It lists The Kitchen Table, Chives Restaurant, Spork Cafe, Four Way Bar & Restaurant, Shoots Bar & Grill, Station 1 Brewery, Rustique, Sugar Rush by Amanda, Suamico Creamery, Pelkin's Meat Market, Suamico Bike Company, and Design a la mode, among others. With Halloween on a Saturday, a festival around those restaurants and shops is the closest thing Suamico has to a published plan for the day.
After the Pumpkins, the Calendar Opens Up
Once October ends, the schedule loosens. The next free matinee at the Municipal Services Center is Tuesday, November 10 at 1 p.m., showing Jingle All the Way. The same third-party site lists Christmas in the Village at Vickery Village for Saturday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with participating businesses still being confirmed. The Howard-Suamico Christmas Parade steps off Saturday, December 5 at 1 p.m.
None of those listings mention tickets, registration, or a vaccination upload. October 13 is still the date that matters most this week. It's the Howl-o-Ween records deadline, and it's also the afternoon Remember the Titans plays on Velp Avenue.
At Sandra Ranck, we keep track of when buyers are actually out looking around Brown County, and we time each listing's photography, staging, and launch to match. If you're thinking about a spring sale and want to plan it around the calendar, request a complimentary home valuation or schedule a listing consultation with our team.
