In Plain City, October Still Belongs to Main Street and Pastime Park

Plain City has spent two summers building its new center on Church Street. The Depot at Public Square opened in June 2025. A free splash pad opened beside it on August 6, 2026. The farmers market moved over a block to sit next to both. Look at the village's October calendar, though, and none of the public events are on Church Street. They're on Main Street, at the library on West Main, and at Pastime Park on North Chillicothe. The part of the plan that would give Public Square fall and winter events is still marked "future phase."

So this month runs on the older layout of the village. Once you see that, the calendar makes more sense.

What Public Square was built to do so far

The village calls the project more than a park:

"It will be more than a park – it will be Plain City's front porch."

The anchor is The Depot, an 1880s rail depot moved in from the Columbus area. Plans call for small event and meeting space, visitor amenities, historical displays and seasonal retail. The village rents it out as an air-conditioned meeting room with a kitchenette, two restrooms, Wi-Fi and a projector, and lists its address as 130 Church Street.

The splash pad at 134 Church Street came next. It has 12 interactive fountains, a painted compass design with a non-slip coating, an artificial turf seating area and a brick seating wall. It's free. After the grand opening, the village set its hours at 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The village hasn't posted a date for closing it for the season.

The farmers market moved to Public Square, 142 Church Street, for the 2026 season. The village gave three reasons: parking right next to the market, more room for vendors, and access to The Depot's air-conditioned seating and restrooms during market hours. All of that is warm-weather infrastructure. The square has a building, a water feature and a market lot. It doesn't yet have a covered outdoor event space, and that explains where October's events ended up.

The October calendar, by address

Two places cover nearly the whole month: the Main Street corridor and Pastime Park. Church Street doesn't host any of these events.

This week: a deadline and a truck show

The first date to catch comes before any event. The village's 2026 Harvest & Halloween Decorating Contest adds a "Spookiest Neighborhood" category this year. Entries are due Friday, October 9, at 4 p.m., and the top entry in each category wins $100. Today is October 4, so the window is five days. A street that wants to enter as a group has less time than one house would.

The next morning, Pastime Park hosts the C10 Breakout from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The organizer lists vendors and food vendors, $10 spectator admission, and a Friday-night pre-party at The Grainery. The weekend starts on Main Street Friday night, moves to the park Saturday, and returns to Main Street Saturday evening for a free Matt Cooper show at The Grainery. That same pattern of Main Street to the park and back shows up again the following weekend.

The 16th and 17th run as one event

Pumpkins on Main and Fall Fest are listed separately on the village's Halloween page. A single sheet of paper connects them.

The Corn Carnival History Scavenger Hunt was cancelled during Corn Carnival. Plain City brought that festival back on September 12, 2026, as a one-time America 250 celebration. The village says many people were disappointed by the cancellation, so it relaunched the hunt with three weeks to finish it. The passport covers 10 stops around Uptown and takes 45 minutes to an hour. Prizes include four baskets, one of them a $400 Chick-fil-A basket from Chick-fil-A Marysville, plus donations from Texas Roadhouse in Marysville and the Plain City Historical Society.

The hunt closes Friday, October 16, and turn-ins happen at Fall Fest the next day. That timing gives the two days a natural order:

1. Friday, before 5 p.m.: Finish any remaining scavenger hunt stops in Uptown. You can download the passport from the village's Halloween page or pick one up in the lobby of the Plain City Municipal Building.
2. Friday, 5 to 7:30 p.m.: Pumpkins on Main. Uptown merchants offer shopping deals, sweet treats and chances to win prizes.
3. Friday, 8 to 9:30 p.m.: Haunted Library: Twisted Tales at the Plain City Public Library, 305 West Main Street. The library describes a dark story trail with flashing lights and treats, and also offers activities that are less frightening. Costumes are welcome and no registration is required. If you have young children or anyone sensitive to flashing lights, those less frightening activities are worth knowing about.
4. Saturday, 2 to 4:45 p.m.: Turn in the completed passport at the Scavenger Hunt tent at Fall Fest in Pastime Park, 370 N. Chillicothe Street. You can also drop it in the Municipal Building's night box with your name, address and phone number.
5. Saturday, 5 p.m.: Winners are announced near the Pastime Park gazebo. You don't need to be there to win.

Fall Fest runs until 6 p.m., with hayrides, a trick-or-treat alley, costume contests, a live giant pumpkin carver, bounce houses and a petting zoo. The village encourages costumes.

Two weeks later, trick-or-treat lands on a Saturday this year. Mayor Jody Carney set it for October 31 from 5 to 7 p.m., rain or shine.

Where to eat between stops

All three of Uptown's best-known spots sit on the same corridor as the events, so you can fit a meal in without moving the car.

The Grainery at 138 West Main Street serves smoked barbecue and books live music. Its October lineup includes free shows from Matt Cooper on the 10th and Kelsey Hart with Carson Bock on the 15th, and it hosts the C10 Breakout pre-party.

The Clocktower Kitchen + Bar at 101 S. Chillicothe Street serves upscale-casual New American food and craft cocktails, with a chef-driven menu built on local ingredients. It's open Tuesday through Sunday and also offers event space.

New Grounds Coffee House at 135 East Main Street has both a drive-through and indoor seating and is open daily. Before a 7 a.m. start at the C10 Breakout, the drive-through is the practical choice.

What would move October onto Church Street

The village has already said what Public Square needs for fall and winter. The Marketplace at Public Square is planned as all-season event and vendor space for a year-round farmers market, movies in the park, a holiday market and a winter ice rink. The farmers market page also mentions future plans for an indoor/outdoor event space that could hold the whole market on the square.

No timeline has been set. The Marketplace is still labeled a future phase. The council minutes from September 14, 2026, describe the parks plan consultant's next steps as ranking improvements and finding funding sources. The minutes don't mention a Marketplace approval or a construction schedule. That same Parks Master Plan covers improvements to Pastime Park and a future community park on the former RANCO property. The committee showed concept boards for those projects outside The Depot on the night the splash pad opened. Pastime Park hosts most of this month's big events, and its improvements are being ranked in the same process as the Marketplace.

Until the Marketplace gets a date, October in Plain City follows the same route it did before Public Square existed: Main Street on Friday night and Pastime Park on Saturday afternoon.

If the scavenger hunt has you walking every block of Uptown and picturing which street you'd like to live on someday, Home Connections Group is glad to walk Plain City with you, from Main Street to Pastime Park. Let's Get You Home.