After the Fire Authority open house on October 10, the City of Brighton's 2026 downtown event list has just two items left in October: the standing Saturday farmers market and a homecoming parade. There's nothing listed for Halloween, no harvest festival and no October evening at the AMP. The fall programming does exist. It sits on a different calendar run by a different group, in a municipal parking lot on North First Street, and it has three Saturdays left.
The Millpond Season Closed in September
Brighton's summer was built around Millpond Park, which makes the drop-off feel steeper. The city's downtown list shows when each series ended:
- Live at Millpond Park, the Thursday shows at the AMP, ran through August 27.
- Saturdays at the firepit ended August 22.
- Swing at the AMP! ended its Monday run on September 7.
- Turn Up The AMP! had its final Wednesday on September 9.
The weekend festivals came after that. The Rock N Blues Festival ran September 11 and 12, followed by Ruck to Live on September 19 and the Destination Stars Hollow Gilmore celebration the last weekend of September. The Brighton Area Fire Authority Open House on October 10 was the most recent date on the list. From this week on, the only other October entry on the city's list is the homecoming parade.
Three Saturdays Left at 200 N. First Street
The Brighton Farmers' Market is held in the City Municipal Parking Lot at 200 N. First Street, Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city lists the 2026 season as May 2 through October 31. The Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce's market page gives each late-season Saturday a theme, and those themes are where downtown's fall programming actually lives.
- Saturday, October 17: Pumpkin Palooza & Harvest Market. The first 50 shoppers get a free mini pumpkin. There's a "Guess the Weight" pumpkin contest, a pumpkin decorating station with Selcra, a fall flower and dried bouquet vendor, and a no-carving mini pumpkin activity for kids. Laugh & Learn is the sponsor.
- Saturday, October 24: Trick or Treating for Kids. On the official calendars, this is the only Halloween event held downtown.
- Saturday, October 31: the final market of the season. No special theme or event is posted for it.
The Pumpkin Palooza comes the morning after the BHS Homecoming Parade, which the city lists for Friday, October 16, from 6 to 7 p.m. That gives downtown a Friday evening and a Saturday morning back to back, which makes it the busiest stretch on the fall calendar.
When the market packs up on October 31, it doesn't move indoors. The Chamber's 2026 page gives a May through October season, and the research didn't turn up any Brighton winter market schedule. Halloween this year falls on the market's last Saturday.
Halloween Spreads Out to the Rest of Town
Without a downtown Halloween event from the city, the rest of the week's trick-or-treating happens at churches, community centers and a shopping district. The Explore Brighton Howell Area events calendar lists three nearby:
| Date | Event | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, October 21 | Legacy Center Trunk or Treat | 9299 Goble Dr. | Not listed |
| Friday, October 23 | Trick or Treat Boo Fest | Green Oak Village Place, 9608 Village Place Blvd. | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 24 | St. George Lutheran Trunk or Treat | 803 W. Main St. | 4 to 5 p.m. |
October 24 is the day where these line up. The market's Trick or Treating for Kids runs in the morning at First Street, and St. George's trunk-or-treat starts at 4 p.m. on West Main. Both are on the same Saturday and close to each other, with the whole afternoon free between them.
The Firepit Moved Up to the Third Floor
The city's Saturday firepit nights at Millpond Park ended in August. The firepit downtown that's still open this fall belongs to a restaurant three stories up.
Kasi is on the third floor at 265 W. Main St., Suite 300. Livingston Daily covered it in June as one of downtown's newest restaurants and pointed to the rooftop views. That coverage included a photo gallery showing owner Andrew Kruczynski in the dining room. The building is Allor on Main, a three-story development of nearly 23,000 square feet. When WHMI reported on the project in 2025, Kasi was slated to take the entire third floor.
OpenTable lists the restaurant as Fusion / Eclectic, with a terrace and an outdoor firepit. The restaurant hasn't posted cold-weather plans for the terrace, such as heaters, an enclosure or seasonal patio hours. Anyone planning a November dinner outside should call first.
The indoor hours are set. According to Kasi's website:
- Dinner: Tuesday and Wednesday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 3 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 3 to 9 p.m.
- Brunch: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Happy hour: Tuesday through Friday, 3 to 5 p.m.
Weekend brunch starts two hours after the farmers market opens and runs past its 1 p.m. close. After October 31, that 10 a.m. Saturday start is one of the few downtown schedules that stays the same week to week.
November Has Two Dates, Then the Lights
Once the market is gone, the city's downtown list has only two entries in November.
| Date | Event | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 7 | Veterans Day Parade | 11 a.m. to noon |
| Saturday, November 21 | Holiday Glow & Christmas Market | 1 to 7 p.m. |
| Thursday, December 3 | Brighton Ladies Night | 5 to 10 p.m. |
There are two weeks between the parade and Holiday Glow with nothing on the city's downtown list. Holiday Glow takes up most of a Saturday on the weekend before Thanksgiving. WHMI reported on October 6 that the program includes holiday-themed vendors, live performances on the Holiday Glow stage, live reindeer, choo choo train rides, and Santa and Mrs. Claus leading community leaders in the lighting of the city. Cooper & Binkley Jewelers is the presenting sponsor. Jennifer Bond, the Chamber's director of events and sponsorship, told WHMI that sponsor money pays for "shuttles and ramps to our Holiday Glow stage, and all the fun things a festival needs." Bond also credited the city's work to light the AMP and the downtown trees. The AMP, the Millpond stage that went dark after September 9, gets its next big role as the backdrop for the lighting.
Look for the banner too. Sponsors at $500 and up get their logos on the main banner on the side of the CoBACH building. The Chamber was still recruiting sponsors as of the October 6 report, so the final lineup isn't set yet.
Getting In and Out on Event Days
Two pieces of infrastructure news affect these dates. In September, Brighton City Council approved a fiber upgrade of more than $64,000 for the Grand River traffic-signal network, which WHMI reported will allow the signals to be monitored remotely and retimed in real time. No completion date was given, so it may not be working by parade season.
Closer to downtown, CSX postponed a crossing repair at N. Fourth and Walnut that had been tentatively set for October 7 and 8. The delay is "until further notice." A postponed closure can come back with little warning, and that crossing is a few blocks from the market lot.
Our team at Anthony Maisano follows Brighton's calendar the way residents do, one Saturday at a time. If you're thinking about how downtown's seasonal rhythm fits your own plans for next year, schedule a strategy call and we'll talk through it.
