On the morning of Saturday, October 24, runners will gather at Cortlandt Waterfront Park, 41 Riverview Street in Verplanck, for a 9:30 a.m. start. At 1 p.m. sharp, kids in costume will line up for the Hobgoblin Halloween Parade at the Cortlandt Youth & Recreation Center on Memorial Drive. Ninety minutes after that, the dogs get their turn at Sprout Brook Dog Park on Sprout Brook Road.
That's one day, three town events and three sites. All of October in Cortlandt moves around a short list of town-run places: the Hudson in Verplanck, Memorial Drive, Sprout Brook and the Muriel H. Morabito Community Center. October 24 is the only date on the Fall 2026 calendar that uses three of them in one day. If you want the month to feel easy, plan around that Saturday and fill in the rest.
A rainout pushed one more event into October
The calendar got busier on September 23. That day the Town of Cortlandt announced that Family Fun Day, set for Saturday, September 26, from 3 to 6 p.m., was postponed because of the weekend forecast. The new date is Sunday, October 18, and the new hours are 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. That's an hour longer than the original afternoon.
"We're excited to still celebrate with our residents and look forward to an afternoon filled with fun, laughter, food, and great memories!"
That line comes from the Town's postponement notice, which then asks residents to mark the new date and time. The event is still free and still at the Cortlandt Youth & Recreation Center, 3 Memorial Drive. The lineup includes live music, food trucks, laser tag, face painting and pony rides. The mailing address on Memorial Drive says Croton-on-Hudson, but this is a Town of Cortlandt facility, and it hosts two of the month's events.
With Family Fun Day moved, here's how the Town's October looks in order:
- Saturday, October 10: Festival of Makers at Cortlandt Waterfront Park in Verplanck
- Sunday, October 18: Family Fun Day at the Cortlandt Youth & Recreation Center, 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, October 24: the Town 5K, the Hobgoblin Halloween Parade and the Halloween Dog Parade
- Saturday, October 31: the Halloween Party at the Muriel H. Morabito Community Center, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Four weekends in a row now have a town event on them. Before the rainout, the October 18 weekend was empty.
October 24, hour by hour
| Time | Event | Location | Cost | Town contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Town of Cortlandt 5K Road Race | Cortlandt Waterfront Park, 41 Riverview Street, Verplanck | $15 pre-registration, $20 race day | Recreation Supervisor Deanna Peterson |
| 1:00 p.m. sharp | Hobgoblin Halloween Parade, costumed children ages 2 to 14 | Cortlandt Youth & Recreation Center, 3 Memorial Drive | Free | Recreation Department |
| 2:30 p.m. | Halloween Dog Parade | Sprout Brook Dog Park, 130 Sprout Brook Road, Cortlandt Manor | Free | Recreation Supervisor JT Genovese |
The race's two prices make the first decision for you. Register ahead and the 5K costs $15. Wait until race morning and it's $20. The Town announced the race on August 26, so pre-registration has been open for more than a month already.
The Town didn't plan the two afternoon events with any wiggle room. The Town's event page for the children's parade says it starts at 1 p.m. "Sharp," and the dog parade starts at 2:30 at a different site. A household with a costumed kid and a costumed dog has an hour and a half to finish the first parade and get to Sprout Brook Road. The age limit matters too. The Hobgoblin Parade is for children ages 2 to 14, so older siblings who still want to dress up have the dog parade, and the October 31 party a week later.
Verplanck's waterfront gets two Saturdays
Cortlandt Waterfront Park comes up twice this month, and the two days use it very differently.
On October 10, the Festival of Makers fills the park with more than 100 designers and creators beside the Hudson. There's live music, local food trucks and a free raffle. The Town's page says the festival "is back," and exhibitor spaces are booked through Hops on the Hudson at [email protected]. Spaces were filling up the last time the page was updated. If you sell your own work and haven't sent that email, you're running out of time.
Two weeks later, the same park is the starting line for the 5K. That's the town's only timed event at the river this month. The rest of the month's town events are inland, at Memorial Drive, Sprout Brook and West Brook Drive. Between the two Saturdays, the Verplanck end of town gets one full day of browsing and one early morning of running.
Sprout Brook, then West Brook Drive
The dog parade is the one October 24 event inside the Cortlandt Manor hamlet. Sprout Brook Dog Park at 130 Sprout Brook Road is a place many dog owners already visit on ordinary weekdays, and on the 24th it's the last stop of the day. The event is free, and JT Genovese is the Town's contact for questions.
A week later, the month ends a couple of miles away at the Muriel H. Morabito Community Center, 29 West Brook Drive in Cortlandt Manor. The free Halloween Party runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, and Youth Center Director Lindsey Luposello is the contact. Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so the party is on the actual holiday. Families get an indoor town event and still have time for their own street afterward.
Where Crompond Road fits into the afternoons
Pinky's Ice Cream Stand opened at 3535 Crompond Road on August 9. This is its first October. Matt Mancuso, Stephen Bond and Travis Westervelt own it, and Mancuso is the founder, chef and only ice-cream maker.
A story from the opening in Bluewater Healthy Living listed hours of 2 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. It also said the stand plans to stay open from mid-March through December. If those hours still hold, Pinky's is open during every town event this month:
- October 18: Family Fun Day is a Sunday afternoon, inside the stand's Sunday hours.
- October 24: Pinky's opens at 2, half an hour before the dog parade.
- October 31: the Morabito party ends at 8:30, and the stand is listed as open until 9.
The opening coverage highlighted a lobster flavor, along with Toasted Marshmallow, Shio Strawberry, Black Coffee, and Sweet Corn and Blueberry. The lobster is gone for the year. The Pinky's website says it "Will return next summer." The site's September list still had Shio Strawberry and Toasted Marshmallow, and Caramel Pumpkin Spice is on the fall lineup. Flavors change through the season, so check the site before a parade-day stop.
Coming next door at Cortlandt Commons
There's one more food item that isn't ready for this month's plans yet. In its fall openings roundup on September 14, The Journal News reported that Chris Weisman is opening an Italian bakery next to Pizzeria Baci in Cortlandt Commons Shopping Center. Weisman also owns Baci in the Square in Ardsley. Pizzeria Baci's own site gives its address as 2083 Albany Post Road in Montrose. The bakery has no announced name or opening date, so for now it's a storefront to keep an eye on. Don't count on it for October 24 coffee.
Registering and checking for changes
The Town put its Fall 2026 Recreation Planner online for registration on September 4, at townofcortlandtny.gov/reconline. The Recreation Department takes questions at [email protected] or 914-734-1050. The 5K is the only event on this list with a fee. The parades, Family Fun Day, the makers festival and the Halloween Party are listed as free.
The September 26 rainout showed that outdoor dates can change. The Town posted that notice three days before the event, on its news page. The 5K, both parades and Family Fun Day all happen outside, so check that page in the days before October 18 and October 24.
Planning your October around Sprout Brook and the Verplanck waterfront? That's the kind of local detail Nicole Biello follows all year. If a move within Cortlandt or a first purchase here is on your list for next year, book a free strategy call. We'll go over which parts of town fit the way your weekends already work.
