Saturday, October 31, is the last night of the 2026 Pumpkin & Chili Party at Schnepf Farms on Rittenhouse Road. The gates stay open until 10 p.m. one last time, and then the season's biggest ticketed draw is over. All month general admission has been $28.95 per person, with free entry for kids 2 and under. Food, pumpkins and train rides cost extra.
The five weeks between pumpkins and the Christmas parade split across two parts of town. Farm ground stays busy on weekends, mostly with free events. The new openings land a few miles northwest along Ellsworth Loop, where the town's first new permanent destinations of the season are opening. If you know which half of town each weekend belongs to, the five weeks before the December 4 tree lighting are easy to plan.
Three nights left on Rittenhouse Road
If you haven't been yet, you have Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hours run noon to 9 p.m. on Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday at 24810 S. Rittenhouse Road. Arizona's Family reported that this year's lineup added five rides, more photo spots and a food passport covering five food and drink stops. This year the farm train runs as a hop-on, hop-off shuttle, which helps on a crowded final Saturday when the far end of the property feels like a long walk.
Halloween weekend has a second option this year. The Horseshoe Harvest Hangout runs October 30 and 31 at Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre, 20464 E. Riggs Road. It has a roughstock rodeo, live music and trunk-or-treat. The festival grounds and family activities are free, the rodeo starts at 7 p.m. both nights and needs a ticket, and parking is $20 a day. The Town's calendar entry still says tickets are coming soon, so check the event's own site for current ticketing.
For a lower-key Thursday, the Town's All Hallows' Eve runs October 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Recreation & Aquatic Center on Ryan Road. It's free for center members. It's one of the smaller events the Town now runs instead of the big Trunk or Treat it ended after 2023, as the Queen Creek Independent reported.
The farm keeps Saturdays, without the gate fee
On November 1, the day after the party ends, Schnepf's calendar lists the Farm & Bakery open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. After that, the farm hosts a different kind of event for the rest of the month.
The Queen Creek Family Market spent its October 24 date at 22301 S. Ellsworth Loop. In November it moves out to Schnepf Farms on the 14th and the 28th, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The October date was free to enter and park. November 14 also brings a Turkey & Pie Raffle, two weeks before Thanksgiving.
A week later, Queen Creek Olive Mill holds its November Sangria Social on November 21 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 25062 S. Meridian Road, with seasonal sangria, food and live music. Visit Phoenix lists it as free. If you're waiting for Olivepalooza, the mill's calendar now has it on January 9 and 10, 2027, so it won't be part of this fall.
In October, admission on the farm side of town was $28.95 a head. The November Saturday events listed here don't have a general admission ticket.
November 11 is the day Ellsworth Loop changes
Two openings on Ellsworth Loop are scheduled for the same Wednesday.
| Opening | Where | What's announced |
|---|---|---|
| Barnes & Noble | Queen Creek Marketplace, 21398 S. Ellsworth Loop Road | Grand opening Nov. 11, a 15,000-square-foot store with a café, near T.J. Maxx and J. Crew |
| VIO Med Spa | The Switchyard, Ellsworth Loop and East Ocotillo | Opening Nov. 11, according to the company's Oct. 15 release |
The bookstore is the bigger change for everyday routines. Queen Creek Marketplace has been open since 2008 and is anchored by Target and Trader Joe's. Owner Vestar says the five new tenants it announced in late September will bring the 900,000-square-foot center to 96% occupancy, as the Queen Creek Independent reported. Barnes & Noble is the first of the five to open. The others follow on a slower schedule:
- Aubergine Kitchen, a family-owned group opening its second Arizona location near Barrio Queen and Trader Joe's, at the beginning of 2027
- JINYA Ramen Bar, a 3,000-square-foot location next to Aubergine Kitchen, expected in early 2027
- LaserAway, also expected in early 2027
- LongHorn Steakhouse, its first southeast Valley location at 5,800 square feet, expected in spring 2027
That makes November 11 the only Marketplace opening of 2026. The rest of the center's additions arrive after the holidays.
The Switchyard is opening in stages, starting now
Farther up Ellsworth Loop, The Switchyard is a much newer project. Creation Equity's $120 million development covers 10 acres at the northeast corner of Ellsworth Loop and East Ocotillo roads. It will have 54,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space, plus a 215-residence apartment community that is still in design. At the Town's October 14 Planning & Zoning meeting, Jagger Everett, the company's vice president of development, gave the timeline, as reported by the Queen Creek Independent:
"We have our first tenants planning to open by the end of this month. That'll be Postino and V O Med Spa. Currently we have 12 tenants signed at this project. Eight of those 12 tenants are going to be opening in the next six months."
The med spa's own release moves its date to November 11. Postino's Queen Creek page says only "Opening in Queen Creek in 2026!" and has a sign-up form for opening news. That's the place to watch for the wine café's first night. Everett also said the site is 82% preleased, five of the 12 signed tenants are sit-down restaurants, and work on a second building south of Victoria Lane was set to start at the end of October.
The restaurant tenants already announced are mostly chains with other Valley locations. Phoenix New Times counted seven Valley locations for Snooze, the Denver-born brunch spot known for pancake flights, and eight for Shake Shack, as of March 2026. The exception is Bamboo Sushi, a Portland sustainable-seafood restaurant. The same report named Queen Creek as its first Arizona location, which makes it the one announced Switchyard restaurant that doesn't already have a location somewhere else in the Valley. KTAR reported in March that Snooze, Shake Shack, Postino and Bamboo Sushi were all expected by the end of 2026, along with ROOM and PORCH, Zara Nail Bar and Edward Jones. Salt & Straw, the ice cream shop, has signed on as a tenant too.
Friday nights already have a regular event on this side of town. Queen Creek Feastival runs every Friday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at 22300 S. Summers Place, near Ellsworth Loop and Aldecoa Drive, with listed dates on October 30, November 6 and November 13. Until the Switchyard restaurants open, that's your Friday dinner plan near Ellsworth Loop.
Five weeks, in order
Here's the stretch from Halloween weekend to the parade, with each date tagged by which side of town it's on:
- Oct. 29–31, farm side: last three nights of the Pumpkin & Chili Party at Schnepf Farms; All Hallows' Eve at the Recreation & Aquatic Center on the 29th
- Oct. 30–31, Riggs Road: Horseshoe Harvest Hangout, free grounds, ticketed 7 p.m. rodeo, $20 parking
- Fridays, Ellsworth side: Feastival at Summers Place, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
- Nov. 1, farm side: Schnepf Farm & Bakery, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Nov. 7, Riggs Road: the Town Council's free Pancake Breakfast, 9 to 11 a.m., at Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre
- Nov. 11, Ellsworth side: Barnes & Noble grand opening at Queen Creek Marketplace; VIO Med Spa's announced opening at The Switchyard
- Nov. 14 and 28, farm side: Queen Creek Family Market at Schnepf Farms, with the Turkey & Pie Raffle on the 14th
- Nov. 21, farm side: Sangria Social at Queen Creek Olive Mill
- Nov. 27–28, Riggs Road: ticketed PRCA Queen Creek Xtreme Bulls at Horseshoe Park, gates at 5:30 p.m.
- Dec. 4–5, Ellsworth side: Hometown Christmas, with the tree lighting Friday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. and the parade Saturday, December 5, at 10 a.m., both at Queen Creek Town Center, 21802 S. Ellsworth Road
Horseshoe Park hosts three of these dates, so the equestrian center on Riggs Road ends up as a third stop alongside the farms and Ellsworth Loop.
New openings near Ellsworth Loop give that side of town more everyday traffic, and a lot of homeowners ask us what that means for them. If you're curious how this season's openings fit into what your Queen Creek home is worth, the team at SB Property Team is happy to take a look with you. Get your free home valuation, and we'll see you at the parade.
