Jamaica Plain lost its biggest early-fall weekend this year. Open Studios was set for September 26 and 27, and organizers cancelled both days ahead of the nor'easter. Jamaica Plain News reported that it won't be rescheduled in 2026. That leaves two Saturdays to carry the rest of the season. Both are built by neighborhood organizations rather than outside promoters. The first is October 17 at Jamaica Pond. The second is October 31, when Halloween falls on a Saturday and three separate events in different parts of JP share the date.
The two Saturdays work differently. October 17 is one event with weeks of preparation leading up to it. October 31 is three events, and two of them have published afternoon schedules that start within the same hour.
October 17 Is the One You Prepare For
Spontaneous Celebrations lists its 43rd annual Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade for Saturday, October 17, at dusk, with October 18 as the rain date. The Jamaica Plain Gazette traces the tradition back to 1984 and says it brings thousands of people to the water's edge for the evening procession.
The lantern making happens in the weeks before the parade, and there's still time to take part. The workshop schedule at the community center on 45 Danforth Street still has several dates left as of today:
| Date | Time | What's on |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, October 9 | 6 to 9 p.m. | Potluck and lantern making |
| Tuesday, October 13 | 6 to 8 p.m. | Lantern-making workshop |
| Wednesday, October 14 | 6 to 8 p.m. | Lantern-making workshop |
| Thursday, October 15 | 6 to 8 p.m. | Lantern-making workshop |
The Gazette lists other ways to get a lantern if the workshop evenings don't fit your week.
- Build it at home with a $5 kit from ULA Cafe or Boing toy store.
- Pick up a ready-made lantern at City Feed and Supply for a $10 donation.
- Buy one on the day, which Spontaneous Celebrations' own page offers as an option.
Spontaneous Celebrations is also asking for volunteers to set up the festival site, make lanterns, help during the event, support the parade and clean up afterward.
The 2026 materials say "dusk" and don't give a clock time. Last year's coverage gives the best guide to where things start. A 2025 Jamaica Plain News photo caption shows people arriving at the Jamaica Pond Boathouse, and the parade goes around the pond. The same report described hundreds of lantern-lit attendees of all ages, plus music and lanterns for sale. Treat the boathouse as last year's starting point rather than a confirmed 2026 detail.
The Boathouse Gets Its Own Meeting That Same Week
The building where last year's parade crowd arrived is under review. Boston's Jamaica Pond Boathouse Study is looking at repairs, renovation or additions to the 1912 boathouse and the bandstand next to it. The city has scheduled a community meeting on Zoom for Thursday, October 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., where the design team will present its final recommendations.
That's the same evening as the last lantern workshop on Danforth Street. It also falls two days before the parade brings its crowd to Jamaica Pond. The city's project page doesn't give a completion year.
The Week Between Belongs to South Street
Between the two Saturdays, JP Centre/South Main Streets is holding a painting party on Thursday, October 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the South Street Courts, 52 South Street. Neighbors are invited to help paint a mural designed by Ruby Rose of Bullseye Mural Co. and the South Street Youth Center, with music and treats. The mural caps a community effort to set ground rules for sharing the courts, with guidelines for pickleball, basketball, tennis and other sports.
The same Main Streets organization runs the Canine Costume Parade on Halloween.
October 31 Puts Three Events on One Saturday
Halloween falling on a Saturday turns the afternoon into a scheduling question. The organizers of the JP Canine Costume Parade flagged it themselves: the 22nd running "falls on HALLOWEEN this year!" Here's how the published times line up.
| Time | Centre and South Streets | Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Lawn |
|---|---|---|
| Noon | Dog registration opens on the First Baptist Church lawn, 633 Centre St. | Wicked Plants opens, drop-in until 3 p.m. |
| 1 p.m. | Parade steps off down Centre Street | Kids' storytime |
| 1:30 p.m. | Red carpet at Loring Greenough House, 12 South St. | |
| 3 p.m. | Wicked Plants ends | |
| Rain date | Sunday, November 1 | Sunday, November 1, 2 to 4 p.m. |
The third event, the Halloween Fiesta at Mozart Park, doesn't have a published time yet, so it isn't in the table.
The dog parade and the Arboretum storytime both start at 1 p.m., so a family with a costumed dog and a young child has to choose one. The schedule still leaves room to do both in a row. Wicked Plants runs until 3, so you can head over after the red carpet at Loring Greenough. Contest registration opens at noon and has to be done in person, so anyone entering a dog starts the afternoon on the First Baptist Church lawn.
The Canine Costume Parade. Registration costs $10 and has to be done in person to enter the costume contest, and all proceeds go to Shultz's Guest House Dog Rescue in Dedham. The parade runs from First Baptist Church down Centre Street to Loring Greenough House. Prizes go to the top three costumes, and Brad Brown of Blue Frog Bakery emcees the red carpet. Judges include a veterinarian from JP Animal Clinic. Spectators are welcome.
Wicked Plants at the Arboretum. The Arnold Arboretum's Halloween program covers the plants in its collections that defend themselves with thorns, sticky latex and chemicals. Some poison their neighbors, some scatter seeds explosively and some glow under black light. You don't need to register. Hunnewell Lawn is flat and just off the paved road, and the event is aimed at all ages. If the weather is bad, check the event page for updates.
The Halloween Fiesta. Hyde Square Task Force, which is based on Sunnyside Street in Boston's Latin Quarter, holds its annual Halloween Fiesta at Mozart Park on Saturday, October 31. Its youth ensembles perform, and there are seasonal games and crafts. The Gazette's write-up gives no start time.
What Last Year Did After the Parades
Two events that filled out Halloween week in 2025 don't have confirmed 2026 dates yet. In 2025, Centre/South businesses handed out treats on Halloween from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., roughly from 605 Centre Street to 60 South Street, or from Papercuts Bookshop to The Joint. Spontaneous Celebrations hosted a Día de los Muertos event with La Pinata on Sunday, November 2, 2025, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at 45 Danforth Street. Neither one has appeared on its organizer's 2026 calendar as of this writing, so check back with JP Centre/South Main Streets and Spontaneous Celebrations before you plan around them.
The Smaller Things Still Running Into November
A few more things will be around as the days get shorter:
- Green Street food trucks. Tacoswey and Suya Joint have spaces outside the Green Street MBTA station through October, and Tacoswey plans to serve Tuesday through Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m.
- Stillman's at 677 Centre Street. The Tuesday market runs from noon to 5 p.m. through November 24, 2026. The Saturday market, from noon to 3 p.m., runs year-round.
- The Arboretum on November 7. The events calendar lists an autumn-colors tour and a walk-up botanical ink-printing session from noon to 2 p.m., where you make prints from fallen leaves.
On November 7, the Arboretum's leaf printing runs from noon to 2 p.m. on a Saturday, a week after the Halloween events.
At The Muncey Group, we follow the JP calendar the same way our neighbors do, from the Danforth Street workshops to the red carpet at Loring Greenough. If a friend is thinking about joining the neighborhood and wants to know how weekends here actually play out, we'd be glad to talk. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll start with what's coming up on the calendar.
