Where will you be at 8 p.m. on Halloween? For the past two Octobers, most people wouldn't have had to think about it. The developer's Halloween was at Brownwood Paddock Square, and it ran over more than one day. The 2026 calendar works differently. Halloween Across The Villages is one evening, Saturday, Oct. 31, held at four town squares at once. Each square has its own theme, band and costume contest. Each one also names its contest winners at the same time.
So you can't take in the whole event on Halloween night. You pick one square. The rest of this guide covers how to pick, and where to find the parts of Halloween you'll miss on the 31st.
The Brownwood weekend isn't on this year's lineup
The old format explains why this year feels different. In 2024, Hometown Halloween filled Brownwood Paddock Square on Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26. It had haunted houses, food vendors like Kona Ice and Heavenly Soft Pretzels, and a Growl-O-Ween pet walk and costume contest. In 2025 it grew to four days, Thursday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 26. That year added carnival games with a $20 wristband and a Trunk N' Treat for children 12 and under on the final Sunday.
The festival isn't on the published 2026 schedule. The entertainment site's page for a 2026 Hometown Halloween shows "nothing was found." The official fall page now promotes "Halloween at All Squares." We didn't find a cancellation notice, so treat this as a change to the published lineup rather than a confirmed end to the festival. As of early October, the published listings show no Trunk N' Treat and no Growl-O-Ween for this year. Brownwood still takes part, now with a Wild West theme on the same night as the other three squares.
Last year's format spread Halloween across a long weekend in one place. This year's puts it on one night across four places.
One night, four parties, one 8 p.m. announcement
Every participating square runs the same basic program. A band plays from 6 to 10 p.m., the bar huts pour the Pumpkin Spike as the featured cocktail of the night, and a costume contest is judged through the evening. The rules are short:
Come dressed in your best themed costumes. Judging will happen throughout the evening. Winners will be announced at 8pm at Center Stage.
The themes, acts and contest categories are where the squares differ:
| Square | Theme | Music, 6–10 p.m. | Extra on the bill | Contest categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastport | Icons & Idols | Blonde Ambition | Thrillagers at 6:45 p.m. | Ultimate Icon Award, The Headliners, People's Choice |
| Brownwood | Wild West Halloween | Alex Hayes Band | Hometown Market, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. | Best Sheriff in Town, Best Posse, Most Wanted |
| Spanish Springs | Home State Halloween | Scooter the DJ | Thrill The Villages at 6:45 p.m.; Vampire's Kiss cocktail | Best State Spirit Award, United States of Awesome, America's Choice |
| Lake Sumter Landing | Decades | Eighteen87 | None listed | Best Decade Icon, Best Time-Traveling Duo or Group, The Greatest Hit Award |
Every square has a group category and a crowd-voted award. That matters if you're going as a couple or with your club, because a coordinated costume has a category at all four squares. Since each theme is specific, your costume can also make the choice for you. A cowboy hat fits Brownwood. A Roaring '20s outfit or an '80s neon outfit fits Lake Sumter Landing. A Hollywood legend or a chart-topping musician fits Eastport. At Spanish Springs, the theme invites a famous figure, a landmark, a state symbol or a favorite sports team from your home state.
Since winners are announced at 8 p.m. at every square, you can't visit a second square without leaving before your own contest ends. A costume entered at Spanish Springs is judged at Spanish Springs.
The 6:45 problem
Choosing a square gets harder if what you really want on Halloween is the "Thriller" dance. Two separate groups perform the routine, and on Oct. 31 they are on at the same minute in different squares. The Thrillagers dance at Eastport at 6:45 p.m. Thrill The Villages dances at Spanish Springs, also at 6:45 p.m.
They aren't one group with two names. Thrill The Villages started in 2020 with 10 dancers. By 2024 it had grown to more than 200 performers, all dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in full zombie attire. Villages-News named Villager Bonnie Stein as its leader back in 2021.
The Thrillagers describe themselves as an official Resident Villages Lifestyle Group. They teach "Thriller" and other dances and perform around The Villages and nearby communities. They perform a modified version of the routine, and their home performance is tied to Thrill The World, the worldwide event where groups in zombie costume dance "Thriller" at the same time. The group says its Thrill Night happens "in The Villages at Eastport."
You can't see both groups on Halloween night. You can see both before Halloween, because both have busy October schedules.
Where the rest of October went
A one-night Halloween doesn't mean the rest of the month is quiet. Several Halloween events are spread across late October, and the Thriller groups appear at many of them. As of Oct. 4, these are the published listings:
- Thursday, Oct. 15 and Friday, Oct. 16. SMASH Productions presents "The Haunted Theatre" at Savannah Center. The show has Broadway and movie musical numbers plus dance, and Thrill The Villages makes an appearance. Villages-News has the details.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 4:45 p.m. Thrill The Villages performs at Sawgrass Grove. Sawgrass Grove isn't one of the four Halloween-night squares, so this is the group's Halloween appearance on that side of the community.
- Thursday, Oct. 22. The Villages South of 44 Lifestyle Group holds its "Spooktacular Halloween Party" at Ezell. The party features Alan Darcy and a Thrillagers performance, and it raises money for families in need.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m. The Old Mill Playhouse hosts its "Halloween Show with Request Line Live!" This is a two-hour interactive variety show, and costumes are encouraged.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 4:30–6 p.m. Tri-County Women Veterans holds a Halloween party and costume contest at American Legion Post 18 in Wildwood, with the Thrillagers performing at 5:30 p.m.
The last listing affects your Halloween night plans. The Thrillagers' Wildwood performance comes about an hour before their Eastport set. Thrill The Villages has its own theater and square dates earlier in the month. That means a Thriller fan can see one group earlier in October and choose the square that has the other group on the 31st. Pick the square by everything else you want from the night, and catch the other group at Savannah Center, Sawgrass Grove or Ezell.
All of these are advance listings. Times and line-ups can change before the event, so check with each host the week of the show.
Timing the evening around the fall hours
The square hours changed on Thursday, Oct. 1. Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing, Brownwood and Sawgrass Grove now run nightly entertainment from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Eastport stays on 6 to 10 p.m. every night.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so all four participating squares are on the same 6 to 10 p.m. window, and the Halloween bands match it exactly. If you plan the night around those hours, it shapes up like this:
- Before 6 p.m. Find parking and settle in. If you're entering the contest, make sure the judges see your costume early, since judging runs through the evening.
- 6:45 p.m. Thriller time at Eastport and Spanish Springs.
- 8 p.m. Contest winners announced at Center Stage at each square.
- 8 to 10 p.m. The bands keep playing after the awards.
At Brownwood, the day starts much earlier. The Hometown Market runs at the square from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Halloween, so Wild West fans can visit in the morning and come back in costume that evening.
The Saturday schedule doesn't last long after Halloween. Starting Nov. 1, every location, including Eastport and Sawgrass Grove, goes back to 5 to 9 p.m. every night. Villages-News has the full schedule change. Halloween night is the last Saturday on the later schedule.
If you'd rather dance than watch next year, the Thrillagers say their online registration for classes opens in early December 2026. No dance experience is required, and closed-toe shoes are required for all classes.
Caroline Fromkin keeps up with what's going on across the squares, from Brownwood to Eastport, the same way she keeps up with the homes around them. If you're thinking about a move within The Villages, maybe closer to the square you keep choosing, get your free home valuation or schedule a no-obligation consultation.
