Holland Happenings 🌷

Hi {{first_name|there}},
This is one of those weeks where the problem is not finding something to do. It is choosing.

There is a Halloween hunt at the Energy Park, silent films with live music at the Knickerbocker, a two-day winery fall festival, the International Festival at the Civic Center, free museum night, live music downtown, yacht rock at the Park, and Hope’s Homecoming weekend starting to roll into town.

We also published our new local pizza guide, and I have a quick fall-color update below because Holland’s best color is still ahead of us.

Here’s what’s worth your time from Wednesday, October 7 through Thursday, October 15.

Two free family-friendly picks from this week’s library calendar:

🎨 Junk in the Trunk: Unexpected Art Exhibition
Saturday, Oct. 10, 9–11 a.m. · Herrick Main Library.
Local creativity takes over the parking lot as artists turn the trunks of their vehicles into mini exhibitions. Easy to pair with the Farmers Market before heading downtown later in the day. 👉 Event details

🐦 Kids’ Birding Club
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 4–5 p.m. · Herrick Main Library.
A free after-school option for young nature lovers and families looking for something a little different during the week. 👉 Event details

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🌎 International Festival of Holland
Saturday, Oct. 10, 4–7 p.m. · Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. 8th Street.
Eat, shop, listen, and dance your way around the world without leaving downtown. This free family-friendly festival brings global food, live music and dance, an international market, and a Children’s Fiesta under one roof. 👉 Festival details

🎬 Sound of Silent Film Festival
Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. · Knickerbocker Theatre, 86 E. 8th Street.
Ten short silent films get original musical scores performed live by musicians from Hope, Michigan State, and Grand Valley. This is one of the more unusual nights on the calendar this month. Tickets are $15. 👉 Festival details & tickets

🍷 Tanglewood Winery Fall Festival
Friday & Saturday, Oct. 9–10 · Tanglewood Winery, 15811 Riley Street.
Two days of fall wine, food trucks, live music, hayrides, and seasonal fun. Friday features Mark Pawlak plus BBQ and Waffle Stix; Saturday brings Grayson Barton and Two Bones BBQ. 👉 Full festival lineup

🔥 1871 Holland Fire Walking Tour
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 5:30–7 p.m. · Holland Museum.
Walk roughly two miles through downtown while hearing firsthand accounts and seeing historic images from the fire that reshaped Holland. $5 for members and $10 for non-members. 👉 Tour details & registration

I asked locals where they actually go for pizza — and what they order when they get there. The result covers thin crust, Detroit style, Chicago deep dish, downtown slices, and the places people kept naming over and over.

👉 Read: The Best Pizza Around Holland & the Lakeshore, According to Locals

🎃 Halloween Hunt at Holland Energy Park
Thursday, Oct. 8, 5–7 p.m. · 1 Energy Park Way.
Kids can collect candy and prizes along a ¾-mile trail, hunt for “energy vampires,” check out BPW vehicles, and try the mobile Dirt Lab. Free, no registration required, and costumes are encouraged. 👉 Event details

🌽 Corn Maze & Scavenger Hunt at Crisp Country Acres
Open Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. · 5888 120th Ave.
Get lost in a three-acre corn maze while hunting for clues along the way. Admission is $4 per person, and the farm also has a U-pick pumpkin patch, free animal barn, playground, and Strawtastic Showdown voting. 👉 Farm details

🥕 Holland Farmers Market
Wednesday, Oct. 7; Saturday, Oct. 10; and Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. · 8th Street Marketplace.
Fall produce, baked goods, flowers, local food, and plenty of reasons to leave with more than you planned. Saturday’s market is an easy first stop before the International Festival. 👉 Market details

🏺 Free Second Monday: Blue & White Night
Monday, Oct. 12, 4–7 p.m. · Holland Museum.
Free admission, Delft-inspired crafts and activities, plus a 5:30 p.m. talk on Delftware with Gemma Fletcher from the Holland Area Arts Council. 👉 Event details

🐛 Nature for Tykes: Creeping Critters
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 10–11 a.m. · Outdoor Discovery Center, 4214 56th St.
A hands-on nature program for kids ages 7 and under, with guardians staying for the class. This fall session focuses on creeping critters and is a good midweek option for younger kids. Registration is required. 👉 ODC program details

🎤 Brett Bouchard
Friday, Oct. 9, 8–11 p.m. · Hops at 84 East.
A laid-back acoustic set built around covers from across decades and genres. Good pick if you want live music without turning the night into a full production. 👉 Show details

🎸 Vincent Hayes
Saturday, Oct. 10, 8–11 p.m. · Hops at 84 East.
Blues-heavy guitar, strong vocals, and the kind of set that makes a downtown dinner turn into a full night out. 👉 Show details

👻 Beware the Artist Reception & Costume Party
Friday, Oct. 9, 5:30–7 p.m. · Holland Area Arts Council.
The Arts Council opens its spooky fall exhibition with a costume contest, food, and a gallery full of eerie, gothic, folkloric, and strange work from local artists. 👉 Arts Council event calendar

⛵ Park Your Boat: A Yacht Rock Fundraiser
Wednesday, Oct. 14, doors 6 p.m., show 7 p.m. · Park Theatre.
ROCK SHOP and DJ ROCKHOUND take over the Park for a night of smooth yacht rock while raising money for the nonprofit theatre. The event is currently sold out, but Park Theatre has a waitlist open. 👉 Show details & join waitlist

🧡 Hope Homecoming Kickoff
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7–10 p.m. · New Holland Brewing.
Food, drinks, a live DJ, and the official kickoff to Hope’s One Big Weekend energy downtown. Free to attend. 👉 Downtown event details

🧠 Trivia
Sunday, Oct. 11, 6–8 p.m. · New Holland Brewing.
Grab a team, order dinner, and find out which friend has been storing useless information for exactly this moment. 👉 Details

🎭 The Art of Thinking on Your Feet
Monday, Oct. 12, 6–7:30 p.m. · Holland Area Arts Council.
Improv exercises built around confidence, creativity, listening, and thinking quickly. Ages 18+. $25 for a single session. 👉 Class details

🫖 Make & Take: Craft Herbal Tea
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6–7 p.m. · Windmill Island Gardens.
Build your own herbal tea blend while learning flavor profiles and common herbs used for sleep, relaxation, digestion, inflammation, and immunity. $25, supplies included. 👉 Class details

🌷 De Tuin Klas: Bulbs & Beyond
Thursday, Oct. 15, 6–7:30 p.m. · Windmill Island Gardens.
Learn how to put the garden to bed for winter and get a head start on spring. The $15 class includes supplies, and participants leave with some of the same tulip bulb varieties planted at Windmill Island. 👉 Class details

The next couple weeks get busy fast. These are the ones I would put on the calendar now.

🧡 Hope College One Big Weekend
Thursday–Saturday, Oct. 15–17.
Homecoming and Family Weekend combine into three days of alumni events, family activities, campus traditions, and a lot more orange around downtown. 👉 Full schedule

🎭 Dead Man’s Cell Phone
Oct. 16–17 & Oct. 22–24 · Hope College’s DeWitt Theatre.
Hope College Theatre stages Sarah Ruhl’s dark, strange comedy across two weekends. Tickets range from free to $15. 👉 Performance details

🎸 The Verve Pipe
Friday, Oct. 23 · Park Theatre.
One of Michigan’s best-known rock bands lands at the Park for a show that is worth buying ahead instead of hoping there are tickets left Friday afternoon. 👉 Tickets & details

🎃 Holland Halloween Saturday
Saturday, Oct. 24, throughout Downtown Holland.
Downtown Trick-or-Treating runs 10 a.m.–noon, the free Not-So-Spooky Boo Bash takes over the Holland Ice Park from 11 a.m.–3 p.m., and the Holland Museum’s Día de los Muertos celebration runs 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. at the Holland Armory. You could build the entire day around this one. 👉 Trick-or-Treating | Boo Bash | Día de los Muertos

👻 Halloween Week at Park Theatre
Oct. 29–31.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show lands Oct. 29, a Halloween costume party with Trixy Tang + Boys Gone Mild follows Oct. 30, and a Maná tribute with Grupo Super Nova closes out Halloween night. 👉 Rocky Horror | Trixy Tang + Boys Gone Mild | Maná Tribute + Grupo Super Nova

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If you are looking around Holland right now wondering where all the peak color is, you are not late. Holland is.

Pure Michigan’s latest Holland-specific forecast has the area peaking much later than most of the state — roughly Oct. 26 through Nov. 1. That makes sense along the lakeshore, where Lake Michigan tends to keep temperatures milder and delay the color change.

So yes, go enjoy the early color now. But I would not burn your best fall-color day this week.

I asked locals where they go when the color really turns — from Mt. Pisgah to parks, trails, overlooks, and drives around the lakeshore. The full community-sourced fall color guide is coming next week.

Know about a neighborhood event, a small business doing something cool, or a local story that deserves a little attention? Hit reply and tell me. The best stuff does not always make the big calendars.

And if this helped you make a plan, forward it to a friend. Let’s get more people out enjoying this wonderful city.

See you around town, Holland. 🌷

Kindly,
Tyler
Holland Happenings 🌷