From Trunk-or-Treat to Tree Lighting: Star's Holiday Season Moves to the Riverhouse
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
This Saturday afternoon, October 31, the open grass at 960 S. Main Street will be lined with decorated cars and kids in costume. Five weeks later, the same spot hosts Santa, a vineyard's Christmas market, and a weekend the City of Star has blocked off for Christmas at the Riverhouse.
That pairing is new this year. The City of Star's Trunk-or-Treat event page announced that Star's annual Trunk-or-Treat "is moving to the Riverhouse Pasture this year." The Riverhouse already hosted the December events. So from Halloween through the first weekend of December, Star's largest community gatherings now share one address, with a handful of smaller dates in between.
Here is how the season lines up, what's confirmed, and the details that haven't been posted yet.
The City of Star lists Trunk-or-Treat at the Riverhouse for Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Riverhouse Pasture, 960 S. Main Street. The city's event page promises:
Families don't need to register. The city's instructions are simply to dress up and come.
The crowd size explains the move. According to the city's event page, Trunk-or-Treat "draws well over 1,000 people each year." An event that size needs room for parked trunks, bounce houses, and food trucks all at once, and an open pasture has that room.
Because this is a Saturday Halloween, the 3:00 to 5:00 window ends before dark. Families can do the pasture in the afternoon and still get home for neighborhood trick-or-treating.
The city is taking trunk registrations from businesses, organizations, community groups, and individuals. The steps on the event page:
Registration matters more at a new venue. In its first year in the pasture, the city is laying out trunk spots from scratch, so a trunk that shows up unregistered may have nowhere to park.
Between the two Riverhouse weekends, November in Star is quieter. A few dates are worth adding to the family calendar:
Friday, November 6. The city calendar lists a Veterans Day Potato Feed as an all-day event on November 6, 2026. The listing doesn't give a venue or program yet. Check the city calendar entry closer to the date before you plan around it.
Wednesday, November 11. City Hall is closed for Veterans Day.
Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27. City Hall is closed for Thanksgiving. If you have a permit question or a utility errand, take care of it before that Wednesday.
Then the calendar turns toward giving.
The Star Food Bank lists Giving Tuesday for Tuesday, December 1, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 10775 W. State St. According to the Star Food Bank's Giving Tuesday page, donations go toward meals, restocking shelves, and continued service to local individuals and families.
Giving Tuesday falls four days before the Riverhouse weekend. The food bank also benefits from that weekend, since the Sol Invictus Christmas Market holds its raffle for the Star Food Bank. If you're planning your holiday giving locally, you get two chances in one week: a donation on Tuesday, and raffle tickets that Saturday or Sunday.
Two separate listings fall on the first weekend of December.
Christmas at the Riverhouse. The City of Star lists this for December 5–6, 2026, with the time shown as "All Day." The city hasn't posted a program, start time, or tree-lighting time for 2026.
Last year's event gives a rough idea, but only as last year's schedule. The 2025 Christmas at the Riverhouse ran Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with Santa at 5:30 p.m. and the community tree lighting at 6:30 p.m. Treat those times as background. The 2026 city listing is the page to watch for this year's schedule.
The Sol Invictus Christmas Market. The Star Food Bank's calendar lists the market at Star Riverhouse @ Freedom Park, opening Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. and closing Sunday, December 6, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The listing calls it "held the first weekend of December in Star." It promises more than 50 local vendors, food trucks, Sol Invictus wine, live Christmas carols, Santa visits, and the raffle benefiting the Star Food Bank.
The hours on the market listing are labeled "Typical Weekend Hours":
| Day | Listed hours |
|---|---|
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. |
The two-day format has been around before. The city's listing for the 2025 market described that year's market as "TWO days" at the Star Riverhouse, with the Star Harmony Chorus singing carols on Saturday afternoon. The 2026 listing mentions live carols but doesn't name a group.
If both events keep roughly last year's rhythm, a Saturday could include the market during the day and Christmas at the Riverhouse in the evening. That's an inference from 2025 timing, and the city hasn't confirmed 2026 hours. The market's Sunday hours are the steadier option for anyone who would rather skip the Saturday crowd.
| Date | Event | Location | What's posted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trunk-or-Treat at the Riverhouse | Riverhouse Pasture, 960 S. Main St. | 3:00–5:00 p.m.; trunks register ahead |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Veterans Day Potato Feed | Not yet listed | All day; no program posted |
| Wed., Nov. 11 | City Hall closed, Veterans Day | City Hall | Closure only |
| Thu.–Fri., Nov. 26–27 | City Hall closed, Thanksgiving | City Hall | Closure only |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Giving Tuesday | Star Food Bank, 10775 W. State St. | 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 5–6 | Christmas at the Riverhouse | Star Riverhouse | "All Day"; 2026 times not posted |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 5–6 | Sol Invictus Christmas Market | Star Riverhouse @ Freedom Park | Typical hours Sat. 10–4, Sun. 12–4 |
Having Halloween and Christmas at the same address changes some practical planning.
Parking and arrival. Anyone driving to the Riverhouse for a December evening will have already been there for Trunk-or-Treat. Where you parked on October 31 and how long it took to get out of the lot is useful for December 5, when the market and Christmas at the Riverhouse share the weekend.
Businesses and groups. Trunk-or-Treat is open to businesses, organizations, and community groups that want to host a trunk, and the city describes it as a way for them to meet families. The December market lists more than 50 local vendors. A Star business that wants to show up at both should register for its trunk now.
The food bank thread. The Star Food Bank appears in the December stretch twice, at its own Giving Tuesday on State Street and through the market raffle at the Riverhouse. Both are easy ways for a household to give locally during the busiest week of the season.
If you've ever thought about which parts of Star make the Riverhouse a short walk or a quick drive, our team at Carmen Errecart knows these streets and is happy to talk it through over coffee, no pressure. Schedule Your Free Consultation and we'll trade notes on everything from trunk themes to the neighborhoods closest to the pasture.
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