Name: Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings
Start: Oct 02, 2026 @ 10:00 AM UTC
End: Oct 02, 2026 @ 10:00 PM UTC
Location: Downtown Solvang

Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings returns for a second year with a full month of regularly-running and special events scheduled throughout October. It all begins with the 2026 season opening of The Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch (@solvangfarmerpumpkinpatch) on Friday, September 25 (1035 Alamo Pintado Road). Open daily through Halloween (October 31), the Pumpkin Patch also features a corn maze of more than a dozen acres including a scavenger hunt for hidden symbols throughout the maze, as well as a kiddie maze. “The Patch” will also hold Night Corn Mazes on Friday, October 23, Saturday, October 24, Friday, October 30, and Halloween (Saturday, October 31).

The 17th annual Solvang Scarecrow Fest, part of the larger SYV Scarecrow Fest (www.SYVscarecrows.com), runs October 1 through October 31, 2026. During the month-long Scarecrow Fest, Solvang businesses and organizations will participate in the contest by featuring a scarecrow of their own creation posted at their location, upon which locals, tourists, and area merchants may vote. Annual SYV Scarecrow Fests have featured upwards of 100 of the friendly “creatures” posted throughout the Santa Ynez Valley.

Also running for the full month of October is this year’s Spooky Food & Wine Trail in downtown Solvang, featuring select, participating businesses offering Halloween-themed bites and drinks. Stroll through town, sip seasonal wines, and enjoy deliciously spooky treats crafted just for October.

Not to be outdone by the Central Coast’s starlit skies, “A Glimmer of Ghoulish Lights” will take over Solvang Park by way of a festive, Halloween glow as special lighting will illuminate the outdoor space all of October.

Additional October events include the Friday, October 2, “Solvang Spooktacular Cinema in the Park,” an al fresco showing of family-friendly, cult-classic film, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Blankets are encouraged for this nostalgic screening under the stars in Solvang Park. The next day (Saturday, October 3, 2026), the now-annual Viking Classic Car Show, “Wicked Wheels” edition, wows with autos and motorcycles of all sorts displayed throughout downtown Solvang. Vintage cars, hotrods, and timeless classics, on show for a good cause: All proceeds from the event support the philanthropic work of the Vikings of Solvang, providing funding for medically-related needs in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Solvang’s spirited after-dark scene also features regularly-running activities such as “The Haunt,” Solvang’s premier ghost tour, where guests uncover the spooky side of the storybook town. The interactive ghost tours combine local history with true crime and paranormal activity – complete with ghost-hunting tools and haunted sites. On Saturday, October 10, 2026, The Haunt will host a special one-night-only event, Solvang Festival Theater Paranormal Investigation.

Sunday, October 11, 2026, brings a Kids & Pets Costume Parade and Fall Festival to Solvang Park. The Fall Festival will run 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with seasonal vendors, themed face painting, games, rides, live music, and other family-friendly activities. The Kids & Pets Parade and Pet Costume Contest, hosted by Therapy Dogs of America, begins at 11:00 AM, with the pet costume contest judging immediately following the parade. Post-parade, the village will host Kids’ Trick-or-Treating at participating businesses throughout downtown Solvang, while pet adoptions continue in Solvang Park, through Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society.

Adults get their weekend too, with Adults’ Trick-or-Treating at participating Solvang wineries from Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18, 2026.

The City of Solvang Parks & Rec will open its “doors” to the 32nd annual Solvang Haunted House on Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, 2026. The maze-like Haunted House, with this year’s theme being “Nightmares…And Beyond,” winds its way through Solvang Festival Theater and its adjacent grounds (420 Second Street). The Solvang Haunted House is open from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM both evenings with a kid-friendlier version of the run-through from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM, and an adjoining Haunted House Street Fair (5:30 PM, on) with themed vendors, food, drinks and baked goodies for purchase, and face painting.

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Spirits of Solvang: Harvest, Haunts and Happenings

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