Most of Wentzville's October calendar takes place on a short stretch of West Meyer Road. Rotary Park, at 2577 West Meyer Road, has the St. Louis Renaissance Festival every weekend through Oct. 25. Heartland Park is a few house numbers away. The city's Frights & Bites event page maps it to 2566 W. Meyer Rd. The city holds its fall movie night and its Halloween race there.
The month builds toward one crowded Saturday. Then, on Oct. 31, Rotary Park closes to cars while staff set up the Holiday Night Lights displays. If you live here, the useful thing is knowing how these dates line up.
Rotary Park hosts a different festival each weekend
The 2026 Renaissance Festival opened Sept. 12. It runs weekends through Oct. 25, plus Monday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. This year's setting is the village of Petite Lyon in 1520s southern France, with King Franscois, Queen Claude and Queen Katherine of Aragon in residence. The festival bills this as its 28th year.
What sets the October weekends apart is that each one has its own theme. If you've already been in September, the remaining dates still offer something new.
| Dates | Theme | What's featured |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 3–4 | Oktoberfest | Stein holding, keg toss, chicken-and-egg toss, wife carrying |
| Oct. 10–11 | Heroes vs. Villains | Themed costumes, contests and games |
| Monday, Oct. 12 | Lords & Ladies Shopping Day | The festival's one weekday date |
| Oct. 17–18 | Viking Invasion | Norse-themed events and activities |
| Oct. 24–25 | Enchanted Halloween | Costume and children's activities, including trick-or-treating |
Some of the festival's own pages still carry promotional text from earlier years with different dates. The theme headings above are the current schedule.
What the ticket covers, and what costs extra
Current gate prices are $24.95 for adults, $22.95 for seniors 65 and older, and $15.95 for children ages 5 to 12, plus tax. Children 4 and under get in free. A family four-pack covers two adults and two children ages 5 to 12 for $61 plus taxes and fees. Four individual gate tickets would come to $81.80 before tax. The lower advance prices you may remember seeing on the ticket page were only valid from May 15 to June 15.
Admission includes parking, entertainment and the theme-weekend events. The daily add-ons are priced separately, and none of them include admission:
- Fairy Tale Tea Party, 12:30 and 3 p.m., $25 per person, recommended for ages 5 to 12
- Brunch at the Joust, 11:30 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m., $40 per person
- Pub Crawl, 12:30 and 3:30 p.m., $35 per person, ages 21 and up with ID
- Mead Tasting, 1 p.m., $45 per person, ages 21 and up with ID
- King's Happy Hour, 4:15 p.m., $35 per person, ages 21 and up with ID
Dogs can come, but only after registration and proof of rabies vaccination. Each owner may bring one dog on a leash no longer than 4 feet, and puppies under 6 months aren't allowed. Dog admission is cash only: $10 if you bring the owner's photo, or $15 if the festival takes it. Parking attendants direct cars on festival days, and cars left in marked "No Parking" areas can be towed. The city also asks visitors not to block the Rotary Park gate.
Heartland Park and the WREC fill the Friday nights
While the festival takes the weekends at Rotary Park, the city's own October events land on Friday evenings at Heartland Park and the Wentzville Rec Center, 500 Great Oaks Blvd.
Friday, Oct. 9: Dunkin' for Pumpkins. From 5:30 to 7 p.m., children ages 4 to 12 pick a pumpkin floating in the WREC pool. Preregistration closes Oct. 2, which is two days from today. The city's activity listing shows a cost of $15/$18.
Friday, Oct. 16: Frights & Bites. This free night at Heartland Park starts at 5:30 p.m. Hocus Pocus begins around 6:30 p.m. on a 144-square-foot LED screen, and the city lists it as the last outdoor movie of the year. Nine food trucks are booked: Lulu's Shaved Ice & Creamery, Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck, Savory Wheel, Antojitos de Guatemala, TooSweetz Desserts, Wok and Roll, Mad Monkey, The Best Wurst and Finger Lickin Good. There will also be a Bubble Bus, face painting, a balloon artist and inflatables. Bring blankets and lawn chairs. Leave the coolers, bikes and skateboards at home, along with the family dog. City ordinance bars animals other than service dogs from city events, so this one follows different rules from the festival's dog registration up the road.
The city gives Heartland Park two addresses. Its general park listing says 100 William Dierberg Dr. The Frights & Bites page maps to 2566 W. Meyer Rd. Check the event page before you set your GPS.
Saturday, Oct. 24 packs in four events
The October schedule crowds together on the 24th. The festival's final weekend, the city's Halloween race, the firefighters' trunk-or-treat and a recycling drive all fall on the same Saturday, in roughly this order:
- 9 to 11:30 a.m., electronics recycling and document shredding at Peruque Valley Park, 1335 S. Point Prairie Road. The drive-through is free, and residents can bring up to three banker-box-sized containers for shredding.
- 9 a.m., Spooktacular 5K, and 9:15 a.m., Kids' Fun Run. The course runs through Heartland Park and nearby streets. Parking is at the WREC, and the course and parking close at 8:50 a.m. Day-of packet pickup runs 8 to 8:45 a.m., or you can pick up on Oct. 23 during WREC hours. There are costume contests for Best Group Costume, Most Creative and Spookiest Look. The city's registration listing shows the 5K at $35/$40 and the fun run at $20/$25. Preregistration is required, and today, Sept. 30, is the last day to guarantee a race shirt in your size.
- 10 a.m., Renaissance Festival gates open for Enchanted Halloween, with children's trick-or-treating on the grounds.
- 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monster Mash Trunk-or-Treat at Station 1 Firehouse, 502 Luetkenhaus Blvd. Wentzville Firefighters Community Outreach co-sponsors the event. Every guest, adults included, needs a timed ticket bought in advance, and none are sold at the door. Each $2 ticket includes a hot dog, chips and a drink, plus a pumpkin for children 12 and under while supplies last. If it rains, the event moves into the fire truck bay.
The Monster Mash is the only one of these held away from West Meyer Road, and it's built around timed entry, with slots from 10:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. A family could run the 5K, use the WREC lot, pick a Monster Mash slot after the race wraps up and still have the afternoon for Petite Lyon. The schedule has room for all of it, but only if you register ahead. The race, the pumpkin swim and the trunk-or-treat all require preregistration.
I couldn't find a city traffic advisory or overflow parking plan for festival weekends. For the 24th, the only published parking instructions are the WREC lot for runners and the festival's attendants for everyone headed to Rotary Park.
On Oct. 31, Rotary Park closes to cars
The festival closes Oct. 25. Six days later, on Oct. 31, Rotary Park closes to vehicle traffic and stays closed through February, so staff can put up and take down the Holiday Night Lights displays. Its pavilions are already unavailable to book from mid-September through Oct. 31. That means the same park goes from jousting to holiday displays with less than a week in between.
Halloween itself starts quietly on the city side. The WREC closes at 3 p.m. that day. The festival's posted directions send drivers up Wentzville Parkway to West Meyer Road. That stretch may have new things on it eventually. Mid Rivers Newsmagazine reported a city-approved three-tenant food building planned for Gioia's Deli, a Swig drive-through and Benefit Meals. KSDK placed the building at 1066 Wentzville Parkway, near the intersection with Meyer Road, and reported that city documents showed no opening timeline.
In a Wentzville fall, timing decides a lot, from race shirts to Monster Mash slots to the week Rotary Park closes. If you're also thinking about a move this season or after the holidays, Finest Homes Network can help you build a timeline that fits around the Wentzville calendar. Schedule a consultation.
