Halloween 2026 in Ennis and Italy, Texas: Autumn Daze, pumpkin patches, and country nights

This guide covers Halloween 2026 in Ennis and Italy, Texas: where the pumpkin patches and hay mazes are, how late they stay open, and what Halloween looks like out on acreage. If you are deciding between keeping the porch light on or driving into town, here is what Ellis County has going on this week and beyond.

When and where is the Ennis Autumn Daze festival in 2026?

This weekend, October 24 and 25, the Ennis Autumn Daze festival takes over historic downtown Ennis. The festival runs Saturday from noon to 9:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and admission is free. Expect the giant hay maze, a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, carnival rides, a petting zoo, live music, a cornhole tournament, and row after row of food and craft vendors up and down the downtown streets. It is a full weekend, so bring the kids early and plan to stay awhile.

How long does the Ennis Pumpkin Patch and Hay Maze stay open?

The Ennis Pumpkin Patch and Hay Maze runs through late October in the same downtown area, open Thursdays through Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Sundays from noon to 7:00 PM, with free admission and pumpkins, games and concessions paid separately. If the festival weekend feels like a lot for little ones, a quieter weekday afternoon at the patch is a gentle start.

What Halloween events run October 29 through 31 in Ennis?

The week leading into Halloween, the Ennis Arts Commission hosts a haunted hay maze downtown on the evenings of October 29, 30 and 31: Thursday from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 7:30 to 10:00 PM. Admission is $5, and children five and under get in free. Downtown merchants also take part in trunk or treat style trick-or-treating, so check the Destination Ennis events page for this year's date.

What about Halloween in Italy, Texas?

Italy keeps Halloween a smaller, neighborhood affair. There is no big festival downtown, and the happenings here are usually organized by Italy ISD, local churches and community groups, announced close to the date. The most reliable way to catch them is to follow the City of Italy and Italy ISD pages as the week approaches. For many families, that means a school carnival, a church trunk or treat, and then a friendly walk through town.

What is Halloween like out on acreage?

Out on county roads, Halloween looks different, and it helps to plan for it. Rural routes have no streetlights and far fewer cars, but the cars that do come through move too fast after dark. If you live on acreage, the safest play is usually to take the kids to town for trunk or treat events, where sidewalks and streetlights do the work. Stay home instead? Keep the porch light on, mark the end of your driveway, and let neighbors know you are passing out candy, because visitors will not find you by accident. And to everyone driving country roads on Halloween night: slow down, watch for kids in dark costumes between the mailboxes, and treat every long driveway like someone might be walking it.

Small-town holidays say a lot about where you live

Shannon and Scott Miles tell buyers that the community around a house matters as much as the house itself, and Halloween is a great test of that. A town that closes its main street for a hay maze and sets aside a weekend for a fall festival is a town that invests in family life. That is the trade-off of country living: streetlights for stars, sidewalks for creek banks, and a short drive for the big party.

Come see the acreage before the season turns

The property at 917 Goodwyn Rd sits on 18+ acres outside Italy, about twenty miles and a half-hour drive southwest of the Ennis festivals on State Highway 34. The renovated three-bedroom, two-bath home is move-in ready, and outside are pasture, mature trees, a creek, a barn and a poultry setup, with room for a pumpkin patch of your own by this time next year. Shannon and Scott Miles of the Shannon Miles Group at eXp Realty are New Construction Specialists and Land and Ranch Specialists, founding members of the eXp Land and Ranch division, based at 2322 Lamar Ave. in Paris, Texas. Both hold the Graduate, REALTOR Institute designation and are Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists. We would love to show you the land.