We have a lot to share about this fall in Salem! A free Hocus Pocus screening and the Old Town Hall Food Court open the season on Thursday, September 24. Mayor’s Night Out follows on September 25, and our first artisan markets arrive September 26–27, when North Shore Glass School brings the Salem Glass Pumpkin Patch to Salem Common for the first time. Then we head into October with a new gathering place at Charlotte Forten Park, and the markets keep going every weekend through Sunday, November 1.
Here’s the part underneath all of it. Salem draws 1.8 million+ visitors every October. Creative Collective builds the Haunted Happenings Marketplace so that local artists, makers and small businesses have a real place in front of that crowd. This year that means more than 200 independent makers and small businesses across five venues, six locally owned food businesses at Old Town Hall, local performers every weekend, and local breweries and spirits makers at Forten Park. Admission is free at every venue.
We’ve always put local partnerships first, because October isn’t just a great month here. It’s the month that carries the rest of the year. The support that flows to small businesses, local retailers and restaurants over these weeks helps pay for so much of what we get to enjoy as locals from November through September. A maker in a tent on the Common is part of that, and so is the shop across the street. The Marketplace is how we make sure more of that support lands right here at home.
Two of this year’s venues are new. The City of Salem selected Creative Collective through its public bid process to activate Charlotte Forten Park and the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall for the season, adding both to the downtown spaces we manage during Haunted Happenings. The City put two more public spaces in our hands this year, and we don’t take that lightly. We’ll fill them with the people who make Salem worth the trip, and the good that comes from that shows up long after the last tent comes down!
Hocus Pocus under the stars on September 24
We’re starting with a film that feels very much at home here.
Join us in Derby Square on Thursday, September 24, for a free outdoor screening of Hocus Pocus, with the film beginning at 8:30 p.m. Special guests Doug Jones and Jason Marsden will join the evening. The screening is presented by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, with Huluween on Disney+.
Bring your own seating and make an evening of it. The Food Court at Old Town Hall opens that day and will be serving through at least the film’s start, so stop inside for dinner, then settle into the square for a little Salem movie magic.
September 25 is for local families at Mayor’s Night Out
Mayor’s Night Out returns Friday, September 25, from 5:30–7 p.m. Meet by the large fountain on the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall for a downtown trick-or-treating evening with Mayor Dominick Pangallo.
Presented by the City of Salem in partnership with Creative Collective, this is a chance for Salem families to enjoy the start of the season together. Community participants include the National Park Service, Peabody Essex Museum, Mazow | McCullough, Broad Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, 360 Fiesta and The Good Witch of Salem. Bring the kids, visit the participating businesses along the Mall and say hello to the people helping make the evening happen.
The Old Town Hall Food Court opens September 24
Old Town Hall at 32 Derby Square becomes a place to stop for lunch, grab something sweet or eat before heading back out into Salem. Every stall is an independent, locally owned food business. Three Hundred Fifty, Cha Feo, Spitfire Tacos and Crepe du Jour open the season, with Salem Farmers Market favorites La Frontera Sabrosa and Bridges Nepali Cuisine joining the lineup as the season goes on. Offerings vary by date.
The food court runs Thursday through Sunday, September 24–November 1, plus Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 12. Admission is free; food purchases are separate.
Regular hours are noon–7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday and October 12. Opening night, September 24, extends through at least 8:30 p.m. for the screening. On Sunday, October 11, Holiday hours may apply. The scheduled close remains 6 p.m. Halloween hours are 11 a.m.–9:45 p.m.
Opening weekend brings a glass pumpkin patch to Salem Common
Our first markets open September 26–27 on Salem Common and in Derby Square, bringing artists and independent makers back into downtown Salem. Browse the vendor directory before you arrive, then leave yourself time to meet someone whose work you have never seen before. Some of these makers have been with us for years. Some are setting up a tent in Salem for the very first time. Both are exactly who this Marketplace is for.
One opening-weekend stop deserves a little extra room in the plan: the Salem Glass Pumpkin Patch.
Hosted by North Shore Glass School, the patch returns for its third year and makes its Salem Common debut. Hundreds of one-of-a-kind glass pumpkins, handmade in Salem on historic Gallows Hill, will fill the patch alongside a wider selection of locally made glass art. This year also introduces Salem Glass Witch Ball Co. and its first collection of handblown witch balls.
Guest makers include Gold Coast Glass, Vesper Glassworks, Sins and Scents, and Wicked Ghost Hunters. Come find the piece you want to take home and meet the people who made it.
- Saturday, September 26: pumpkin patch 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; surrounding markets 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Sunday, September 27: pumpkin patch 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; surrounding markets 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Admission to the patch and markets is free. Purchases are separate. On Sunday, Salem Ukulele Magic adds live music on the Common from 1–2:30 p.m.
The Cannery comes to Charlotte Forten Park
We’re also bringing a new place to gather into the season. The Cannery at Charlotte Forten Park opens Thursday, October 1, joined by Holy Cow and Empanada Kingdom.
The park on Derby Street will bring food, an outdoor bar and seasonal programming into one stop along the waterfront, with artisan vendors joining October 3. We’ll be working with local breweries and spirits companies at The Cannery, so the drink in your hand at Forten Park is made by someone nearby, too. It’s another reason to keep exploring beyond the first market you find, stop for something to eat and spend time with the people you came with.
Bar service at The Cannery runs Thursdays and Fridays 4–9 p.m., Saturdays noon–9 p.m., and Sundays and Indigenous Peoples Day (Monday, October 12) noon–6 p.m. Sunday, October 11: Holiday hours may apply. On Halloween the bar stays open until 9:45 p.m. Programming details will be posted on the Marketplace website as they are added.
More reasons to come back through October
The season continues through Sunday, November 1, with a changing mix of makers, performances and pop-ups. A few dates to keep in mind:
- October 3–4: Explore the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall pop-ups from three local businesses: Witch City Wicks, Die With Your Boots On and Black Veil. On Salem Common that weekend, the Salem Chamber of Commerce hosts its BizBaz market, and Creative Collective’s own booth on the Common is open as it is all month long.
- October 10–12: The holiday weekend includes A Company of Witches and Circus Up on October 10, Dad Bod and the Father Figures on October 11, and Monday markets for Indigenous Peoples Day. Sunday, October 11: Holiday hours may apply. The scheduled Marketplace close remains 6 p.m.
- October 17–25: Weekend markets continue, with Rob Carmichael at Charlotte Forten Park on October 24 and Dad Bod and the Father Figures on Salem Common on October 25.
- October 31–November 1: Halloween programming includes Circus Up and Studio Two, followed by the final Sunday market on November 1.
Check individual event listings for performance times and locations.
Thank you to the partners helping make this season possible
Our leading 2026 supporters are Festival Partner Salem Night Tour; Title Sponsors Jenni Stuart Fine Jewelry and Salem Wax / Haunted Neighborhood; Overall Sponsor Prime Group Shetland Park; and Featured Sponsor Witch City Wicks. Supporting Sponsors Salem Uncovered Tours, Die With Your Boots On, and The Lobster Shanty, Wolf Next Door Coffee and Front Street Coffeehouse round out the season, along with Community Sponsor The House of the Seven Gables and season partners Legion Salem and Creeping Death Designs.
Every one of them is a local business that chose to stand with the makers and small businesses in these tents, and their support is part of what lets us keep admission free at every venue. Add the City teams, Salem Main Streets, our vendors, performers, volunteers and neighbors, and that’s the whole ecosystem showing up at once.
When you visit, take a little time with the people behind the tables. Ask about what they make. Stop into the shops and restaurants along the way. A good October for the makers on the Common is a good October for Salem, and those connections are the whole reason we do this.
Planning your visit
Start with the 2026 events calendar, explore the directory, and use our planning FAQ to put your visit together. Check your date again before traveling for current hours, locations and any weather updates. Individual events and attractions may require separate tickets.
The Marketplace is one part of a much bigger month, and the official citywide information lives with the City and its partners. Follow the City of Salem and Salem Haunted Happenings on social media, pick up the Discovery Map of Salem and the Haunted Happenings Magazine, and stop by either visitor center: Destination Salem’s Visitor Information Center at 245 Derby Street or the National Park Service’s Salem Armory Regional Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street. Download the Destination Salem app and the City of Salem’s My Salem MA app (App Store / Google Play) for the latest notifications on parking, road closures and weather.
See you downtown.
The Haunted Happenings Marketplace is produced by Creative Collective and is one part of Salem’s broader Haunted Happenings celebration. “Haunted Happenings” is a name owned by BPM Productions, Inc. and used by Creative Collective with permission.
