So when is Halloween in downtown Maryville? On West Broadway it's Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. That's when the City of Maryville Parks and Recreation's Spooktacular Extravaganza fills the street with trick-or-treating at downtown businesses, carnival games, a dog costume contest and a dance party.
Spooktacular has been a Friday event for years, and it doesn't wait for the 31st. The Daily Times' photo coverage of the 12th Spooktacular dates last year's event to Oct. 24, 2025, a full week before Halloween. In 2021, the paper's preview put the downtown event on Friday, Oct. 29.
This year the Friday habit lands the night before the real thing. So Maryville gets Halloween Eve downtown and Halloween itself everywhere else: a drive-in, a concert venue, an all-day party, and a couple of options out in Townsend. Before any of that, this weekend is Maryville College Homecoming. It sends people off College Hill into the same downtown blocks, so it works as a dress rehearsal.
This Weekend: Homecoming Spills Downhill
Maryville College Homecoming runs Friday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 25. The alumni brunch and receptions are ticketed, and online registration for those closed Oct. 18. That still leaves a full Saturday open to anyone who lives nearby.
Saturday, Oct. 24, on College Hill
- 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Alvin C. Baker '72 Harvest Craft Fair in Alumni Gym, with nearly 40 local artisans plus special vendors, lemonade and the BCAA Bake Sale. The fair's pages list no admission charge for shoppers. The $75 to $85 figure on the Blount County Alumni Association's vendor portal is the booth fee vendors pay.
- Noon to 12:45 p.m. The Homecoming Parade on Circle Drive. Alumni groups line up for photos by Anderson Hall at 11:45 a.m., so get there before noon for a spot along the route.
- 1 p.m. Football against Berry College at Lloyd Thornton Stadium. The college's game page says admission is free for all fans.
The Part That Happens Downtown
The Scottie Scavenger Hunt is the Homecoming event that matters most if you never set foot on campus. It started Oct. 2 and runs through Oct. 25. The college runs it with the Downtown Maryville Alliance. According to Maryville College's Homecoming announcement, it works like this:
- Pick up an official game card at the Vienna Coffee inside the Clayton Center, or at J. Danforth Mercantile and Neighborly Books downtown.
- Collect "paw print" stamps at participating businesses.
- Find four hidden Scottie dog figures around downtown to qualify for prizes and a raffle entry for Maryville College swag.
If you've got kids who'll be trick-or-treating on West Broadway next Friday, this is a low-key way to walk the same blocks first. It's daylight, it moves at whatever pace you set, and you'll finish knowing which storefronts are where.
Also on Saturday, Oct. 24
Homecoming isn't the only thing on the 24th. The Anna Belle Smith Literary Festival runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the Blount County Public Library at 508 N. Cusick Street. Blount Tourism's October roundup lists a few more for the same day:
- 9 a.m. PawFit, a free dog costume contest at CrossFit Pistol Creek, open to the public and their dogs. Registration for the 10 a.m. fun run has closed. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Blount County Animal Center.
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The MLK Jr. Center Fall Festival in Alcoa, with a chili cook-off, food trucks, vendors, games and line dancing.
- 6 to 9 p.m. Trinity Dental Clinic's Fall Costume Ball at White Star Station in Maryville. Tickets are required, and proceeds support Trinity's dental care for uninsured and underserved adults.
PawFit at 9 a.m. and a craft fair that opens at the same hour make for a Saturday you can plan around costumes, starting with the dog's.
Friday, Oct. 30: Halloween Eve Belongs to Broadway
The Halloween run starts Thursday night at the Clayton Center for the Arts. The Appalachian Ballet Company presents Dracula at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29. On Oct. 30 a special event starts at 6 p.m. ahead of the 7 p.m. curtain, and there are 2 and 5 p.m. performances on Halloween itself. Tickets are required and seating is limited.
Friday is the main night downtown. Here's how it plays out, hour by hour:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Trick or Read | Blount County Public Library |
| 5 to 8 p.m. | Trick-or-treating at downtown businesses | West Broadway Avenue |
| 5 p.m. | Way Out West: A Murder Mystery Night begins, mystery starts 5:30, wraps at 10 | Daisy's NA Bar & Bottle Shop |
| 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. | Dog costume contest registration, $5 entry | Downtown Maryville |
| 6:30 p.m. | Dog contest judging | Grassy Broadway area across from Broadway Towers |
| 7 p.m. | Costume Showcase | Top level of the Maryville Municipal Parking Garage |
Trick-or-treating, games and watching the contests cost nothing. The only fee on the Spooktacular page is the $5 pet contest entry. The street dance party is on the program but has no posted time. Parks and Recreation says most activities run 5 to 8 p.m. and a few have their own scheduled times, so check the event page that week for the final schedule.
The parking garage matters twice on Friday night. It hosts the Costume Showcase, and it's also the rain plan. If rain is in the forecast, some activities move under cover in the Maryville Municipal Parking Garage or get modified. Late-October weather gets a vote, so look at the page Friday afternoon before you settle on costumes that can't handle a damp concrete deck.
The city's page also links an activity map, a flyer and a sign-up form for downtown businesses that want to hand out treats. If you run a shop on Broadway and haven't seen that form yet, it's on the event page.
Over in Townsend that same evening, the Smoky Mountain Very Scary 5K + 1 Mile holds its costume contest at 7 p.m. and starts both races at 8. Registration closes at 5 p.m. that day.
Saturday, Oct. 31: The Real Date Moves Off Broadway
Since downtown wraps its trick-or-treating Friday, Halloween night itself spreads out across the county. The Blount Tourism roundup lists these options for the 31st:
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Howl-O-Ween at Camp Wild Flowers in Townsend. Like PawFit the weekend before, it benefits Friends of the Blount County Animal Center.
- 11 a.m. onward. Daisy's NA Bar & Bottle Shop hosts an all-day Halloween Party with a kids' costume contest at 3 p.m. After 8 p.m. it's limited to ages 18 and older, with an adult costume contest at 9:30.
- 3 p.m. Jeeps, Treats and Drive-In Nights at the Parkway Drive-In starts with a meet and greet. Trunk-or-treat runs 4 to 5 p.m., and the movie starts at 8.
- 5:45 and 7 p.m. Dancing Bear Appalachian Bistro in Townsend runs adults-only Halloween Spooktacular storytelling around Papa Pete's Fire Pit on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, with fireside appetizers and a cocktail. Tickets are required and each session has limited capacity. Dinner is separate and needs a reservation.
- 7:30 p.m. The Shed hosts its Halloween Bash with Them Dirty Roses, A Thousand Horses and Hannah Dasher. Tickets are required.
Put the two nights side by side and a family could do both without overlap. Friday is free trick-or-treating downtown with a costume showcase at 7. Saturday afternoon has a trunk-or-treat window from 4 to 5, and the Dracula matinees at 2 and 5 cover anyone who'd rather spend Halloween in a theater seat. Adults have their own track. Friday's murder mystery runs until 10, and Saturday offers a fire pit in Townsend or a concert at The Shed.
Dog owners get the most out of the stretch. Between PawFit on Oct. 24, the Spooktacular dog contest on Oct. 30 and Howl-O-Ween on Oct. 31, one costume can go to three events in eight days.
If one of those dogs on West Broadway next Friday turns out to be a Corgi in a cape, we'll be cheering the loudest. If the Homecoming crowd and the Halloween Eve crowds have you thinking about which Maryville streets you'd like to call home someday, MR10 Realty is a family-owned team that knows these blocks and would love to hear from you. Get in Touch whenever you're ready, even if that's after the candy runs out.
