The City of Kirkwood founded the Kirkwood Farmers' Market in 1976 as a bicentennial project. The city still owns the market facility, and the Downtown Kirkwood Special Business District runs it. This year is the market's 50th, and the Downtown Kirkwood market page marks the milestone with "50 Years in DTK!" The 2026 season opened April 4, according to the Webster-Kirkwood Times.
The anniversary hasn't come with a big standalone celebration. What stands out is the October schedule. In the 24 days between now and Halloween, the market is open every day, it hosts the music for the Witch's Walk and runs the same evening as the Night Market on Argonne, and it closes its fall run the same week as the Halloween Walk. The October calendar is built around one block.
The pumpkin patch keeps the market open every day
Most of the year, the market's rhythm is Saturday morning, with live music from 10 a.m. to noon. From Sept. 25 to Oct. 31, The Great Pumpkin Patch & Fall Fun Zone, run with The Summit, keeps it open every day.
- Monday to Thursday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Friday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday runs two hours later than any other day, and Saturday opens an hour earlier. Shopping the Fall Farm Market and walking the Pumpkin Patch are free. Only the Fall Fun Zone charges admission, and the price depends on the day. Monday through Friday, the $6 charge covers ages 2 to 10 and everyone else gets in free. On Saturday and Sunday, the $6 charge applies to everyone 2 and older. Season passes cost $18, or two for $35.
Those prices make a weekday visit simple. A parent with one 6-year-old pays $6 on a Tuesday afternoon. On a Saturday, a family of four pays $24 in single admissions, more than one season pass and close to the cost of the two-pass deal.
The Saturday vendor market continues alongside the patch. The current vendor roster includes Farrar Out Farms, selling meats, eggs and produce, and Flat Road Farm, selling pork, beef, eggs, chicken and strawberries. The market notes that vendors rotate, so neither farm is guaranteed on any given Saturday. The full list is on the vendor page.
Thursday, Oct. 15 puts two events on the same few blocks
The busiest night on the downtown calendar is a Thursday. Two separate events are scheduled for Oct. 15, and they overlap almost completely.
The Night Market on Argonne runs from 4:30 to 8 p.m. along East Argonne, with local artisans, makers, food vendors, drinks and live music from Bedlam Brothers. Admission is free. A flyer on the same page lists 5 to 8 p.m., while the event text gives the 4:30 start.
The Downtown Kirkwood Witch's Walk runs from 5 to 8 p.m. that same evening. It's a ticketed walk through participating downtown businesses, with specials along the route and live music at the Farmers' Market. Details and registration are on the Witch's Walk page.
So for three hours, one event fills East Argonne with vendors while the other sends ticket holders through the storefronts and has its live music at the Farmers' Market. The pumpkin patch is open until 6 p.m. that Thursday, which means the first 90 minutes of the Night Market overlap with the patch too. It's the one evening this month when the market's daytime and evening uses run together.
Oct. 29 brings the Halloween Walk, and the patch's last day follows
Two weeks later, the downtown Halloween Walk takes over the streets. The Summit's 2026 listing gives Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m., with candy at City Hall from 4 to 5 p.m. and downtown street closures from about 4 to 7:30 p.m. The Downtown Kirkwood event page also says Oct. 29 in its description. One image on that page says Oct. 30, but both written listings agree on Thursday the 29th.
The closure window is what matters for daily errands. Streets close an hour before the walk starts and reopen about half an hour after it ends. That window covers the pumpkin patch's last two weekday hours that Thursday, so downtown drivers will run into closed streets well before trick-or-treating begins.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. That makes Oct. 31 the patch's last day, and its 8 a.m. Saturday opening the earliest of the season. The market page lists Oct. 31 as a Friday, but the Sept. 25 to Oct. 31 run on The Summit's page settles the date. Neither source gives an end date for the regular Saturday market's 2026 season, so the pumpkin season is the only firm end date on the calendar.
Three newer stops have widened the circuit
A market morning used to mean the stalls and maybe a coffee. This year, three food businesses within downtown's grid have opened or held on, and each covers something the stalls don't.
| Stop | Address | What it adds | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fox's Finest, Meats, Seafood & Marketplace | 159 W. Argonne | Meat, seafood, prepared foods, grocery items | Ribbon-cutting July 22, 2026 |
| Lona's Lil Eats | 612 W. Woodbine | Second location of the restaurant | Regular service from Aug. 11, 2026; grand opening Aug. 15 |
| Salt + Smoke | 110 S. Kirkwood Road | Barbecue | Confirmed open as of July 28, 2026 |
Fox's Finest is the one most closely tied to the market. St. Louis Magazine describes it as a full meat and seafood counter with prepared foods and grocery items, at 159 W. Argonne. Market vendors rotate and Saturday selection varies, so a downtown shop with meat and seafood fills gaps in a fall weekend shopping list that the stalls may not cover.
Lona's Lil Eats opened its Kirkwood location on West Woodbine in August, the restaurant's second, according to St. Louis Magazine.
Salt + Smoke's status was worth checking. When the chain closed its St. Louis Hills and Ellisville restaurants on Aug. 1, St. Louis Magazine's July 28 report listed Kirkwood among the six locations staying open, along with the Delmar Loop flagship, St. Charles, Ballpark Village, South County and Edwardsville. The location at 110 S. Kirkwood Road kept running through a contraction that closed two of the chain's larger restaurants.
Together, these three stops spread a downtown market morning onto West Argonne, West Woodbine and South Kirkwood Road.
KPAC fills the evenings the market doesn't
The pumpkin patch closes at 6 p.m. on most nights, and the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center's October calendar picks up from there.
- Come From Away, produced by Stages St. Louis, runs at the Ross Family Theatre from Oct. 7 through Oct. 18.
- Erin Bode's Coffee Concert is on Wednesday, Oct. 14, the day before the Night Market and Witch's Walk.
- Motown & More is on Friday, Oct. 23.
Opening night of Come From Away is tonight, and its last performance is Sunday, Oct. 18. That puts its whole run inside the busiest stretch of the market's October. Motown & More falls on a Friday, the patch's 8 p.m. night, so an early evening at the pumpkins and a show fit on the same night. Times and the full schedule are on the KPAC events calendar.
The month's one major event away from the market has already happened. Fall Fest on Oct. 3 brought live music, local food and drinks to the west-side parking lot of the newly renovated train station. From here to Halloween, the downtown dates on this list happen at the market, on East Argonne or on the downtown streets around them.
Your October at a glance
| Date | What | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily through Oct. 31 | Great Pumpkin Patch & Fall Fun Zone | Kirkwood Farmers' Market | Hours vary by day |
| Oct. 7 to 18 | Come From Away | KPAC, Ross Family Theatre | See KPAC calendar |
| Wed., Oct. 14 | Erin Bode's Coffee Concert | KPAC | See KPAC calendar |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Night Market on Argonne | East Argonne | 4:30 to 8 p.m. |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | Witch's Walk | Downtown businesses, music at the market | 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Motown & More | KPAC | See KPAC calendar |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Halloween Walk | Downtown, candy at City Hall 4 to 5 p.m. | 5 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Final day of the pumpkin patch | Kirkwood Farmers' Market | 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
The event listings on the Downtown Kirkwood and Summit pages are live pages that can change, so check them the morning of any visit.
Adam Briggs follows Kirkwood's downtown calendar block by block, because a walk to the market, the shops on Argonne and the evening at KPAC are part of what a Kirkwood address offers. If you own near downtown Kirkwood and want to know how that location shows up in your home's value, request a personalized home valuation with Adam.
