What's Left of Victober, and Why So Much of It Lands on De Leon Plaza

"Our goal is to create a stronger awareness of everything Victoria has to offer and to position fall as a signature season for local events, recreation, entertainment and tourism." Jerry Ortiz, the city's Sports Tourism & Recreation Supervisor, said that on Sept. 1, when City of Victoria Parks & Recreation launched Discover Victober.

The season started at full volume. The first-ever Pumpkin Drop was held at De Leon Plaza on Sept. 26 during the National Night Out Kick-Off Party. Fifth-graders from Victoria ISD and Nazareth Academy and sixth-graders from Trinity Episcopal School filled the pumpkins with their own concoctions, and a scissor lift dropped them. Tejas Fest followed downtown on Oct. 2–3. Those two are done. What's left on the Victober calendar follows a clear pattern. The free city events keep returning to one downtown block, and the ticketed events take place away from it.

The second half, by date

Five of the twelve dates in that table end at De Leon Plaza. Add the Pumpkin Drop and the two days of Tejas Fest, and the plaza has hosted or will host eight Victober dates between Sept. 26 and Nov. 14.

Oct. 10 begins and ends with a finish line

The first Saturday of the back half shows how the plaza works through the whole season. Citizens Medical Center's 10th annual Run Against Cancer starts at 214 N. Main Street. The half-marathon and relay go off at 7:30 a.m. and the 5K at 8 a.m. The race course leaves downtown, passes through Riverside Park and finishes at DeLeon Plaza. Money raised goes to patients in the community who are fighting cancer.

That afternoon the action moves to the river side of town. Wags-O-Ween runs 4–6 p.m. at Riverside Dog Park and includes a dog costume contest with prizes. The race passes through Riverside Park, so a morning runner and a dog in a costume can end up a short walk apart on the same day.

Oct. 17 fills the plaza for nine hours

The Uniting Hearts Music Festival is in its seventh year. It runs 1–10 p.m. at De Leon Plaza and is free. According to the festival's site, it brings faith communities together through music, worship and outreach. Crossroads Today has named Pastor David Segura and his praise-and-worship group as performers.

That evening, Bloodlines & Betrayal takes over the foyer of the Welder Center from 6 to 9 p.m. It's a teen murder mystery "with fangs" for ages 11 to 18, and RSVP is free through the city's recreation catalog. Families with kids of different ages can split up for the evening and meet back downtown when it's over.

Two days earlier, the Victoria Symphony holds Symphonic Spooktacular on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6:30 p.m. The program pairs seasonal orchestral music with routines from Full Force Gymnastics. Tickets are on sale, but the coverage we found doesn't name a venue, so check with the symphony before you go.

The Boo Bash puts the plaza on a Wednesday

The Boo Bash is the only plaza event in the back half that falls on a school night. Parks & Recreation runs it from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, with trunk-or-treat, a costume contest and other "ghoulish fun." The city lists it as an annual event, co-presented with Townsquare Media, at 101 N. Main Street. Holding it ten days before Halloween keeps it from competing with the Oct. 31 events covered below.

The ticketed nights happen away from downtown

Every paid Halloween event on the calendar is somewhere other than the plaza.

Terror on Tate Road is at Outlaw Pass, 78 Tate Rd., and runs through Oct. 31. Gates open at 7 p.m. The last tickets are sold at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 9:30 p.m. on Sundays, and prices start at $30. It has a haunted house, a haunted hayride through the countryside, and a midway with games, food and drinks. Visit Victoria calls it the city's first haunted attraction.

The Texas Zoo has two events. Booze & BREW runs 7–11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Victober listing describes it as a 21+ night with drinks, food, entertainment and shopping. Part of the zoo's own event page describes a family event, so confirm the age rules with the zoo before you buy tickets. One week later, ZooBOO! runs noon to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. It has trick-or-treating, a costume contest, animal chats, goat feeding and games.

These events have ticket gates. The plaza is open to anyone who walks up. That's why the next weekend works the way it does.

Halloween hands off to Día de los Muertos

Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 are the one stretch where two hosts build a two-day event together.

1. Saturday, Oct. 31, noon to 4 p.m. The Nave Museum at 306 W. Commercial St. hosts a Día de los Muertos Celebration with arts and crafts and live entertainment. The event also opens "The Art of Remembrance," an exhibit of ofrendas and retablos made by community members.
2. Sunday, Nov. 1. Parks & Recreation sets up a public ofrenda at De Leon Plaza to honor loved ones who have died. A free outdoor screening of Disney•Pixar's Coco follows.

Both days center on ofrendas. On Saturday you see ones community members built for a museum exhibit, and on Sunday you see one assembled in public on the plaza. The listing doesn't give a start time for Nov. 1 or say how to add a photo to the ofrenda. Parks & Recreation takes questions at [email protected].

ZooBOO! runs on Oct. 31 too, and its hours overlap the Nave event. A family could do both in one afternoon.

Nov. 14 is the plaza's only ticketed day

Victober's last listed event is the only time the plaza sells admission. Crossroads BBQ & Brew comes back to 101 N. Main on Saturday, Nov. 14. VIP entry opens at noon, general admission at 1 p.m., and concert-only admission at 4 p.m. At the current tier, tickets are listed at $158.47 for VIP, $101.37 for general admission and $67.10 for concert-only, fees and taxes included. VIP includes BBQ samples, a T-shirt, two drinks and a VIP area in front of the stage. General admission includes samples and the concert. Concert-only includes the concert and food trucks. The prices are marked as a tier, so they may change before November.

The festival is returning after a 2025 edition, which KIXS 108 said Braxton Keith headlined. The 2026 edition is presented by Del Papa Distributing and Scherer Kubota.

The free festivals, the weeknight trunk-or-treat and the outdoor movie bring people downtown. Then the season ends with a ticketed event in the same spot. That fits the goal the city gave when it launched Victober, which is to make fall a season people put on their calendars.

Between events

The other half of Ortiz's pitch was to "support local businesses." One newer option for lunch on an event day is The Savoury Spot at 1910 Commerce Street. It opened Aug. 3 with a Nigerian- and Lebanese-inspired menu, according to the Victoria Advocate.

The city is still taking additions to the calendar. To suggest an event, email [email protected].

At The Orr Group, we like seeing more of Victoria's fall happen downtown, and we'll be at De Leon Plaza on these Saturdays too. If one of those afternoons downtown has you curious about what your home is worth this fall, ask us for a Free Home Valuation. We'll run the numbers for your street.