Reported by us | New Bedford

South Coast weekend, Oct. 23 to 25: a free day at the Whaling Museum, Boo at the Zoo, hayrides and a Fall River thriller

Hours, addresses and prices for 11 picks in New Bedford, Fall River, Marion, Swansea and Westport, taken from each organizer's own page.

By South Coast 360 staff | Published Oct. 19, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 19, 2026, 10:38 a.m. ET

NEW BEDFORD The New Bedford Whaling Museum will open free to the public Friday, Oct. 23, to start what it calls New Fall Weekend, three days of events in New Bedford and Fall River, according to the museum's program page.

The same weekend brings the last Boo at the Zoo days at Buttonwood Park Zoo, a Marion police Trunk or Treat, farm hayrides in Westport and Swansea, an outdoor art class in Westport and the closing shows of a thriller at the Little Theatre of Fall River. Below are 11 picks for Friday through Sunday.

Several picks are outdoors. Battleship Cove lists a rain date for its Friday event, the zoo says Boo at the Zoo runs rain or shine, and Westport Rivers says its hayrides run weather permitting. Check the organizer's page before you go.

How we chose

We included events and places whose organizers posted 2026 dates or hours that fall on Oct. 23, 24 or 25, that are open to the public, and that are in the 16 towns South Coast 360 covers. Every date, time, address and price below comes from the organizer's own website or a town calendar, read Monday, Oct. 19. Times are as posted that day and can change. No business paid to be included or knew about this story.

Halloween and family

• Gremlin's Ghoul-A-Palooza, Fall River Battleship Cove, 5 Water St. Friday, Oct. 23, 6 to 9 p.m., with a rain date of Saturday, Oct. 24, same hours. Battleship Cove describes a family evening of trick-or-treating, games, crafts, snacks and dancing throughout the Cove, with magicians, jugglers, stilt walkers, caricature artists and balloon artists. Costumes are encouraged. Tickets are $15 per person, bought online, and include a raffle ticket; the page says some activities may cost extra.
• Boo at the Zoo, New Bedford Buttonwood Park Zoo, 425 Hawthorn St. Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the third and last weekend of the event. The zoo's page describes daylight trick-or-treating across the grounds, face painting all day and costumed characters at set times. Nonmember tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children 2 to 17; members pay $15 and $10. Children under 2 get in free. Tickets are sold online for a chosen date, and the ticket page says they are nonrefundable.
• Trunk or Treat, Marion Silvershell Beach. Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 to 5 p.m. The Marion Police Department is hosting, and its flyer asks families to bring children in costume. The flyer and the town calendar list no fee and no sign-up.

Outdoors and farms

• Landscape Art for All Ages, Westport Westport Woods Conservation Park, 573 Adamsville Road. Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. The Westport Land Conservation Trust says local art instructors will give hands-on instruction to beginning landscape artists, and the program is open to all ages and art levels. Dress for the outdoors; no pets. The trust's registration page lists the program as free, and people sign up through the link on its program page.
• Simcock Farm, Swansea 293 Marvel St. Pick-your-own pumpkins are 59 cents a pound, and a hayride and a corn maze cost $5 a person each, Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the 2026 season. Its evening event, Spooky Sundae, runs Friday and Saturday nights, 6:30 to 9 p.m., at $15 a person. The farm opened for the season in September and has posted no closing date. The farm takes cash only and has an ATM on site.
• Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery, Westport 417 Hixbridge Road. Through October, Saturday hayrides leave every 30 minutes from noon to 4:30 p.m. and run through the vineyard to the bottom field, with a souvenir pumpkin, for $10 a person ($7.50 for wine club members). Tickets are sold on site only. A musician plays Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. The winery's evening event, Boos & Booze, runs Friday and Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m., with lantern-lit tours and nighttime hayrides; as of Oct. 19, Saturday's hayride tickets for it were sold out and more Friday tickets were available. The winery is open Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed Sundays.

Stage and music

• Mariza, New Bedford Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, 684 Purchase St. Friday, Oct. 23, 8 p.m. The theater's page says the fado singer is returning to The Z. Tickets are $49, $59, $69 and $99, plus fees; the $99 seat includes a meet and greet.
• Deathtrap, Fall River Little Theatre of Fall River, Firebarn, 340 Prospect St. Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. These are the last shows of the Oct. 15 to 25 run. The theater's summary of Ira Levin's play follows a writer of Broadway thrillers who, after a string of failures, sees a chance in a script a student sends him. General admission is $25.

Museums and history

• Free Community Day, New Bedford Whaling Museum 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford. Friday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The museum's program page shows a Register Here button, but the button had no working link when we checked Oct. 19; the museum's phone number is 508-997-0046. Visitors can also see construction of the museum's new Welcome & Exhibition Center, due to open in summer 2027, from a second-floor glass overlook.
• Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Military Museum, New Bedford 1000C S. Rodney French Blvd. Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m., the hours the museum's historical association posted when it returned to regular hours Sept. 30. The museum closed in September when the city closed the park for a nor'easter, so check its page before going. No admission price is posted.

Food

• The Foodshed, New Bedford Kilburn Mill, 127 W. Rodney French Blvd. Friday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coastal Foodshed, which says it works with more than 80 local farms, sells produce, meat, seafood, dairy and eggs at the store. The store is open year-round.

Before you go

The Westport Land Conservation Trust asks people to sign up for the art program. The Whaling Museum asks visitors to register for its free day, but the button on its page had no working link Oct. 19; the museum's phone number is 508-997-0046. Battleship Cove, the zoo, The Z and the Little Theatre sell tickets through links on their pages. Simcock Farm is cash only, and Westport Rivers sells daytime hayride tickets only on site.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

How we verified this

Every date, time, address and price in this guide comes from the organizer's own website or, for Marion, the town calendar and the police department's flyer posted on the town site, all read Oct. 19. We confirmed each event's 2026 dates on its page; where a page printed a date without a year, we found the year on the organizer's own ticket or registration page (the zoo, Westport Land Conservation Trust) or in the page's own description (the Zeiterion) and checked that the weekdays match 2026. We left out a Sunday event for the NoMa district on Purchase Street listed on the Whaling Museum's page, because we could not find the organizer's own listing, a Lakeville Trunk or Treat whose flyer gives no time, and a Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust night hike whose free registration showed as full on Oct. 19. Simcock Farm has posted no closing date for its fall season. Prices are as posted and may not include fees. No business paid to be included or knew about this story. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: no one was contacted.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (11)

1. New Fall Weekend, Oct. 23 to 25, 2026New Bedford Whaling Museum program page. Free Community Day hours, free admission, registration, overlook, center opening summer 2027; address in footer. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
2. Gremlin's Ghoul-A-PaloozaBattleship Cove event page. Oct. 23, 2026, 6 to 9 p.m.; rain date Oct. 24; $15 tickets with raffle ticket; activities; 5 Water St. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
3. Boo at the ZooButtonwood Park Zoo. Third weekend Oct. 24 and 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; ticket prices; entertainment; 425 Hawthorn St. Zoo ticket page, https://bpzoo.ticketapp.org/portal/product/82, names "Boo at the Zoo 2026", the same dates and prices, rain or shine, no refunds. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
4. Trunk or Treat, Town of Marion calendarOct. 24, 2026, 3 to 5 p.m., Silvershell Beach. Flyer: https://www.marionma.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=2879 (Marion Police Department). Read Oct. 19, 2026.
5. Landscape Art for All AgesWestport Land Conservation Trust. Sat. Oct. 24, 10 a.m., Westport Woods; register; no pets. Registration page, https://westportlandconservationtrust-bloom.kindful.com/e/landscape-art-for-all-ages, gives Sat., Oct. 24, 2026, 573 Adamsville Rd. and Free. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
6. Simcock FarmSimcock Farm, Swansea. 2026 season hours and prices for pumpkins, hayride, corn maze and Spooky Sundae; cash only; 293 Marvel St. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
7. Events and Sunset MusicWestport Rivers Vineyard and Winery. Saturday hayrides, prices, Boos & Booze Oct. 23 and 24, ticket status, Saturday music; hours and 417 Hixbridge Road from the home page. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
8. MarizaZeiterion Performing Arts Center. Friday Oct. 23, 8 p.m. (page description: Oct. 23, 2026); ticket prices; 684 Purchase St. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
9. DeathtrapLittle Theatre of Fall River. October 15 to 25, 2026; show times; $25 general admission; Firebarn, 340 Prospect St.; summary. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
10. Returning to Normal Operation Wednesday Sept 30, 2026Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Historical Association. Wed. to Sun., 1 to 4 p.m.; home page notes the September nor'easter closing and the 1000C S. Rodney French Blvd. address. Read Oct. 19, 2026.
11. Coastal FoodshedThe Foodshed store at the Kilburn Mill: Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., year-round; 127 W. Rodney French Blvd. Read Oct. 19, 2026.

This story on the full site