Free Fall Fest at the Bruno Stadium Saturday: trick-or-treat at 3, Big Sky Country, and a movie on the field at dusk

If Saturday’s weather holds, the ballpark is the place for the little ones in costume. Rensselaer County and the Tri-City ValleyCats are putting on Fall Fest 2026 at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, 80 Vandenburgh Avenue in Troy, on the Hudson Valley Community College campus, on Saturday, October 17. It is free.

The afternoon, from the county’s announcement:

• 2:30 to 5 p.m.: live music by Big Sky Country, the local country band that closed out the Schaghticoke concert series in August.
• 3 p.m.: trick-or-treating starts. In past years it has run around the concourse with stations staffed by county departments and sponsors; bring the bag.
• All afternoon: pumpkin painting, family activities and giveaways.
• Dusk: a movie on the outfield, so bring a blanket or a chair for the grass.

The county bills it as part of its America 250 program this year. Past Fall Fests have asked families to register online for a trick-or-treat time slot; this year’s announcement does not mention registration, so plan to walk up, and check the county’s or the ValleyCats’ Facebook page the morning of for any change. Parking is in the stadium lots off Vandenburgh Avenue.

For Speigletown families it is a 20-minute drive down Route 4 or the Northway, and it pairs with the fire company’s own Truck or Treat at Town Hall the following Sunday, October 25. Both are on our events page.

Source: Rensselaer County’s October 14, 2026 Facebook announcement with the event flyer, shared by a reader. The county’s website and the ValleyCats’ site had not posted the event as of October 15. We have not reproduced the flyer, which uses licensed movie characters. The note on past years’ registration is from coverage of earlier Fall Fests; the driving time and parking note are ours.