Guthrie Center's Halloween Week Comes a Night Early This Year
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Which night is trick-or-treat in Guthrie Center? Both Raccoon Valley Radio and the Times Vedette say Thursday, Oct. 29. The county tourism calendar says Friday, Oct. 30.
Go with Thursday. Raccoon Valley Radio has Beggars Night on Thursday, Oct. 29, in three time slots. The Times Vedette's Oct. 16 notice for the library's Halloween party uses the same date and tells families to come over after downtown trick-or-treating. The Guthrie County Tourism calendar still lists Guthrie Center's business district, New Homestead and residential times under Oct. 30. The two newsrooms published the Oct. 29 date this month, so plan on Thursday.
Thursday's time slots overlap, so in one evening you can do downtown, the New Homestead, the library and the neighborhoods, in that order. That order is what to plan your night around next week.
Here's the evening with every stop in time order:
| Time | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 6 p.m. | Downtown business district | Trick-or-treating at downtown businesses |
| 5 to 6:30 p.m. | Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library, 400 Grand St. | Seventh annual Li-BOO-ary Bash |
| 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. | The New Homestead | Trunk-or-treat |
| 6 to 8 p.m. | Residential areas | Neighborhood trick-or-treating |
Downtown wraps up just as the neighborhoods start. The library and the New Homestead fill the half hours in between, so a family can start on the business blocks at 5 and still have the full two hours of house-to-house trick-or-treating after 6.
If you saw last year's schedule, one time is different. The Times Vedette's 2025 trick-or-treat roundup listed the New Homestead trunk-or-treat as 5:30 to 7 p.m. This year's Raccoon Valley Radio listing has it ending at 6:30. Get there by 6:30 if it's on your route.
The Li-BOO-ary Bash goes from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Mary J. Barnett Memorial Library on Grand Street. That's its seventh year. The Times Vedette notice promises spooky decorations, candy apple bars and costumes, and library staff invite the public to come after downtown trick-or-treating.
The library usually runs Halloween longer than one night. Library director Jerri Hawkins told Raccoon Valley Radio in early October that the Friday story hours would have Halloween-themed crafts all month. That leaves Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 for anyone with little kids who want to make something before or after the big night.
The trunk-or-treat on Thursday is at The New Homestead, Guthrie Center's senior living community. It offers independent living, assisted living, skilled rehabilitation and long-term nursing care. It's the shortest slot of the night, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and it sits in the middle of the schedule. If you head there straight from downtown, you'll still be done before the neighborhood hours really get going.
Main Street Guthrie Center has dinner the night before Beggars Night. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, it's serving a dine-in or drive-thru meal from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. at the Guthrie Activity Center, 209 State St. You'll get ham balls, green beans, mashed potatoes, a roll and a bar for $12 a meal, according to the Times Vedette's Oct. 15 events roundup.
The menu has changed a little. In 2023, Raccoon Valley Radio listed the Main Street drive-thru meal at the Activity Center as ham balls, green beans, au gratin potatoes, a roll and pumpkin pie for $10. Ham balls are still on it three years later.
The money matters downtown. A Main Street Guthrie Center profile in the July 2026 Lake Panorama Times lists its events: the Wine Walk, Farmer's Market Harvest Dinner, Fall Festival, Celebrate Guthrie Center, Movie In The Park, Santa's Village, Light the Night and 50115 Fest. The group says proceeds from these events have paid for streetscape lighting, flower pots and the outdoor speaker music downtown. The 2026 notice doesn't say where this dinner's proceeds go. Over the years, though, the group's events have paid for downtown improvements like these.
Halloween has helped pay for downtown before. In October 2024, the Times Vedette covered Main Street Guthrie Center's haunted house at the Laughery Construction building, 302 Prairie St. Admission was $10 a person. Lorrie Massengale of Gap Creek Quilting did the decorations.
"One hundred percent of the ticket sales are going toward the new downtown lighting, where we've put new lights on top of the buildings," Massengale told the Times Vedette. "Halloween is my favorite holiday, so all my monsters and skeletons get to come out and play."
That year the haunted house was aimed at middle schoolers and older, and Bean Box sold hot cocoa and coffee on site. In 2025 it came back to the same address for Oct. 30 and 31, and children under 10 needed an adult with them.
This year the county tourism calendar lists a Guthrie Center haunted house on Oct. 30 and 31, open 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday and 7 to 11 p.m. Friday. In 2026, though, Oct. 30 and 31 are a Friday and a Saturday. Those weekday labels match last year's dates, so the listing may just be carried over. Check Main Street Guthrie Center for this year's dates, hours and price before you plan around it.
Springbrook State Park, 2437 160th Road, has two evening programs, one on each side of Beggars Night.
With trick-or-treat moved to Thursday, the Oct. 30 hike lands on a free Friday night. Under the county calendar's date, it would have overlapped with trick-or-treating.
Here's every Guthrie Center event from Thursday's publication date through Halloween weekend:
After Halloween, the county calendar has the Holiday Showcase in the downtown districts of Casey, Guthrie Center and Panora on Nov. 5 through 7. Main Street Guthrie Center's events list also includes Santa's Village and Light the Night.
We live and work here too, and we're always glad to see porch lights on along Guthrie County streets on Beggars Night. If you have questions about Guthrie Center or anywhere else in the county, the team at Lake Panorama Realty is easy to reach. Let's Get in Touch.
A trusted local team delivering professional service, strong market insight, and a seamless experience from search to closing.
CONNECT WITH US
LAKE PANORAMA REALTY
ADDRESS 5370 Chimra Rd Panora, IA 50216