Four organizations will run Halloween events in downtown Dover on Saturday, October 24, 2026, and they have arranged them so one event leads into the next. Dover Main Street has the 20th Annual Zombie Walk in the afternoon. The Woodman Museum moved its Trunk or Treat into the same window. The Children's Museum is adding pumpkin activities on its Play Patio. Communitively is launching the first Dover Pumpkin Stroll at the Joe B. Parks Riverwalk Public Garden. The Portsmouth Herald's account of the announcement says the stroll "is being coordinated with several downtown partners to create an afternoon and evening of family activities."
The center of that plan is the Orchard Street Parking Lot. It is where carved pumpkins arrive at midday, where the trick-or-treat trail sets up at 5 p.m., and how you get into the Pumpkin Stroll drop-off. If you know how that one lot is used, you can plan the whole day.
The Lot That Works All Day
The first job of the day goes to the lot. Pumpkin drop-off for the stroll runs from noon to 3 p.m. Discover Dover NH tells contributors to enter through the Orchard Street Parking Lot and follow the posted signs. Families and individuals can bring a pumpkin without registering. Schools and other organized groups are asked to register ahead with an estimated pumpkin count so planners can work out display space.
The second job starts at 5 p.m. That's when the Woodman Museum's 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat opens in the same lot and runs until 7 p.m. It's free and open to the public. Local businesses and organizations host the stops along the museum's trick-or-treat trail. The Herald says the Woodman is "relocating its annual Trunk or Treat to the Orchard Street Parking Lot." Because of that move, the trail ends up a short walk from the garden where the jack-o'-lanterns are lit, and the two run at the same time.
Hosting a stop costs $50. Hosts can decorate either a vehicle or a 10-by-10-foot tent, and they bring their own candy. The Woodman's event page lists Executive Director Jonathan Nichols as the contact for businesses that want a spot.
The Woodman is already part of downtown's October. Its Heirloom Hallowe'en exhibit is on view through November 22 in the Thom Hindle Gallery at Keefe House. If you visit the exhibit, the trail in the lot gives you a reason to come back on the 24th.
The Afternoon and Evening, in Order
With the lot's two jobs in mind, here is the order of the day:
- Noon to 3 p.m. Pumpkin drop-off, entering through the Orchard Street Parking Lot.
- 3 p.m. The 20th Annual Zombie Walk gathers at the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, 550 Central Ave., and heads down to Henry Law Park.
- 5 to 7 p.m. The Woodman Museum Trunk or Treat runs in the Orchard Street Parking Lot. At the same time, the Children's Museum hosts a pumpkin toss, self-serve face painting, and temporary tattoos on its Play Patio.
- 5 to 8 p.m. The Dover Pumpkin Stroll takes place at the Joe B. Parks Riverwalk Public Garden and Waldron Court, 400 Central Ave.
- 8 p.m. The People's Choice Business Pumpkin Award is announced.
- 8 to 8:30 p.m. Carved pumpkins are picked up. Coordinators dispose of any that aren't claimed.
Dover Main Street's Zombie Walk listing makes the handoff explicit. It tells walkers to stay downtown afterward:
Stick around Downtown for the Woodman's Trunk or Treat (Held at the Orchard St. Parking Lot) and the inaugural Dover Pumpkin Stroll (beginning at 5pm at Joe B. Parks Garden)
Plan on a gap between the walk and the 5 p.m. events, and decide ahead of time where you'll spend it. The Children's Museum is at 6 Washington St. Its new 30-foot light-up Climber exhibit opens to the public on October 2, so October 24 will be one of its first busy Saturdays. Cinco's Cantina has posted its own "Halloween Happenings" page for the day and invites people to stop in for tacos, dinner, and drinks. The page doesn't list a particular special.
Why the Stroll Ends at Eight
The Pumpkin Stroll is the only event of the evening that runs past 7 p.m. Its timing is set up to bring Central Avenue into the evening. The self-guided route winds through community-carved jack-o'-lanterns along the paths of the Riverwalk garden. Decorative lighting, seasonal displays, themed music, and a photo spot line the way. Discover Dover also lists family-friendly games with Noggin Factory at the garden.
Downtown merchants will put their own pumpkins on display at their businesses, and the public votes for a favorite. The winner of the People's Choice Business Pumpkin Award is announced at 8 p.m. That vote gives families a reason to walk the storefronts on Central Avenue between the garden and the lot before the stroll closes. The announcement comes just before the 8 to 8:30 p.m. pickup window, so anyone who dropped off a pumpkin at midday will already be there.
That plan matches how the organizer describes itself. Communitively is a Dover-based nonprofit with Doug Glennon as board chair. The Greater Dover Chamber's listing names board member Carrie Vaughn as the event contact. Communitively says the stroll is meant to bring people downtown, encourage participation, and make creative use of public space. The stroll is presented by Profile Bank, is free to attend, and runs through Communitively's Discover Dover NH initiative. The Herald says organizers hope it becomes an annual Dover tradition.
Event materials describe hundreds of community-carved pumpkins. None of them give a target number. In its first year, how big the display gets depends on how many households carve one and bring it to Orchard Street by 3 p.m.
Where the Schedules Don't Line Up Yet
A few details still differ from source to source. They matter mostly to families with small children and to anyone hosting a stop.
- When the Zombie Walk ends. Dover Main Street's listing gives 3 to 4 p.m. The Herald's account of the stroll announcement gives 3 to 5 p.m. Both start at 3 p.m. Check the end time before you count on the hour in between.
- Rain. The Pumpkin Stroll's rain date is Saturday, October 31. The Woodman Museum's Trunk or Treat page doesn't list a rain plan. In bad weather, the stroll could move to the 31st while the trail keeps a different schedule.
- Stroll start time. One restaurant's event page lists a 5:00 a.m. start for the October 24 events. The organizer's own page says the stroll begins at 5 p.m.
Discover Dover NH is where the organizers will post event updates and pumpkin details. Check it the week of the 24th.
If you want to finish the evening on the river, keep the new fall hours in mind. Nebi Park, at 28 River St., opened in July. Starting October 1, it's open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., down from the 9:30 p.m. summer closing. On the 24th it closes the same hour the Trunk or Treat ends. After that, the Riverwalk garden on Central Avenue is the main place still lit downtown until 8 p.m.
The team at The Good Life Real Estate Group follows calendars like this one across the Seacoast. If you're hosting a Trunk or Treat stop or just want a second look at the details before the 24th, contact us and we'll help you sort out timing, pickup windows, and the rain date.
