The Candy Economy. Halloween may be for the kids, but the receipts suggest otherwise. Americans will spend $4.1 billion on Halloween candy this year, nearly three times what goes toward children’s costumes. And like any healthy market, some assets are considerably more valuable than others: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups consistently trade near the top.
By Saturday night, billions of dollars in candy will have been redistributed one fun-size piece at a time. Full-size bars will command a premium, candy corn will remain a highly speculative asset, and kids will quickly figure out which houses offer the best return on the extra walk.
Then comes the final transaction: the parent tax, quietly collected after bedtime.
Happy Halloween. Here’s what’s happening around the lake.
LTHS MEET THE CAVS NIGHT | Thu, Oct 29, 5:30pm | LTHS gym | FREE | Info
Meet the new Cavs before the season gets serious.
OCTOBER INTIMATE DINNER | Thu, Oct 29, 6pm | Stone House Vineyard | $150 | Info
A multi-course dinner with reserve wines and not many seats to go around.
GHOULS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN | Thu, Oct 29, 7–9pm | 5 Soul Wine Co | FREE | Info
A costume party at a winery. Cyndi Lauper would approve of the pairing.
HAUNTED SHORES | Thu–Sat, Oct 29–31, 7–10pm entry times | Volente Beach | $10+ | Info
A haunted trail through an abandoned waterpark, with an optional boat ride if that wasn’t enough.
BOOS & BREWS | Fri, Oct 30, 5pm | Frontyard Brewing | FREE | Info
Three rounds of piñatas followed by a costume contest.
HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL | Fri, Oct 30, 6–8pm | Jones Brothers Park, Jonestown | FREE | Info
Jonestown PD hosts Trick-or-Trunk, then the witches arrive.
HONKY TONK FISH FRY HALLOWEEN PARTY | Fri, Oct 30, 7–9pm | That’s My Jam | FREE | Info
Live music and a Cowboys & Rockstars costume contest. Willie Nelson may pass for both.
HALLOWEENTOWN FARMERS MARKET | Sat, Oct 31, 10am–2pm | Lago Vista Brewing | FREE | Info
Same vendors, better costumes.
INFAMOUS HALLOWEEN PARTY | Sat, Oct 31, 2–10pm | Infamous Brewing | FREE | Info
Live music, hot dogs, and costume contests for both species.
DRIFT OR TREAT | Sat, Oct 31, 2–6pm | Lucky Rabbit, Jonestown | FREE | Info
Trick-or-treating, painting, and one unexpected mermaid.
DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS AT BELLA LOMA | Sat, Oct 31, 5–8pm | Bella Loma | FREE
Paella first, live music next, costumes throughout.
WITCHY WINE HALLOWEEN PARTY | Sat, Oct 31, 8pm | SAF Wine Bar | FREE | Info
The Andrea Marie Band plays while the wine gets suitably witchy.
HELLO, FALL! SIP & PAINT PARTY | Sun, Nov 1, 1–3pm | 5 Soul Wine Co | $60 | Info
Wine in one hand, paintbrush in the other. Good luck.
LTHS HOMECOMING PARADE & EXTRAVAGANZA | Wed, Nov 4, 5:30pm | Hill Country Galleria | FREE
The Cavs take over the Galleria, parade included.
2ND ANNUAL SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL | Sat, Oct 31, 12–4pm | Angel's Icehouse | FREE | Info
The Icehouse turns into a carnival, with enough games to make the giant blocks an afterthought.
PUMPKIN PARADE | Thu, Oct 29, 10:30–11:30am | Lake Travis Library locations | FREE | Info
Costumed kids parade through the library.
GHOST TALES WITH SUE KUENTZ | Fri, Oct 30, 10:30–11:30am | Lakeway Library | FREE | Info
Ghost stories come to life with a little help from puppets.
HALLOWEEN AT THE LIBRARY | Sat, Oct 31, 11am–12pm | Lago Vista Public Library | FREE | Info
Halloween comes to the library, where inside voices can wait.
HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT | Sat, Oct 31, 11am–2pm | Hill Country Galleria | FREE | Info
Grab a pumpkin bag, then work your way through the Galleria.
SPOOKY CRAFTS | Sat, Oct 31, 12–4pm | Frontyard Brewing | FREE | Info
Crafts for the kids. Crafts for the adults.
IT’S ALL GOOD TRUNK OR TREAT | Sat, Oct 31, 5–7pm | It's All Good Bar-B-Q, Spicewood | FREE | Info
Candy from the trunks, hot dogs from the food truck so sweet and savory are covered.
LAGO VISTA TRUNK OR TREAT | Sat, Oct 31, 6–8pm | LVHS PAC lot, Lago Vista | FREE | Info
Decorated trunks, candy, games, and a live DJ, all benefiting the LVISD Education Foundation.
MOVIE MORNING: THE BUSY WORLD OF RICHARD SCARRY | Mon, Nov 2, 10:30–11:30am | Lake Travis Library Spicewood | FREE | Info
Bring a blanket and a stuffie. The library handles the movie and popcorn.
CAD WORKSHOP FOR KIDS | Tue, Nov 3, 5–6pm | Lake Travis Library Lakeway | FREE | Info
For ages 10+, with Vandegrift High School's Team 4545 Ouroboros.
AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL | Thu, Oct 29–Thu, Nov 5 | Downtown Austin | $20+ | Info
Eight days of movies and screenwriters talking about how the movies got made.
PUMPKIN NIGHTS | Thu–Sat, Oct 29–31, select times | Pioneer Farms | $26+ | Info
More than 10,000 pumpkins light a half-mile trail where subtlety remains off-site.
B SCENE: MONSTER BALL | Fri, Oct 30, 7–11pm | Blanton Museum of Art | Various pricing | Info
The Blanton stays up late for live music, monster art, scavenger hunts, and a costume contest.
AUSTIN HALLOWEEN PARADE: THE GRAVEST SHOW ON EARTH | Sat, Oct 31, 7:30–11:30pm | Pan American Neighborhood Park | FREE | Info
A haunted circus takes over East Austin, complete with Clown Alley and a giant Skelephant.
MARBURGER FARM ANTIQUE SHOW | Thu–Sat, Oct 29–Oct 31 | Round Top | $15 | Info
Where the old stuff costs more than the new stuff.
BREWS & BALLOONS FESTIVAL | Fri–Sat, Nov 6–7 | Bar K Park, Lago Vista | $135 | Info
The balloons glow Friday night and lift off Saturday, and Lago Vista has the best seat either way.
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Oct 29th – Nov 1st
ANGEL’S ICEHOUSE (Spicewood)
Fri: Leigh Rowan | 6pm
GRAVEYARD POINT ICEHOUSE (Lakeway)
Fri: Brock Stephen | 5:30–7:30pm | Jacob Kyle | 8–10pm
IRON WOLF RANCH (Spicewood)
Sat: Brandon Alan (Free Halloween Show) | 2–5pm
JULES DESIGN BAR (Bee Cave)
Fri: Subliminal Criminals | 8–10pm
LT CORNER PUB (Lakeway)
Fri: Halloween Pre-Party Karaoke w/ KJ Kevin Young | 9pm–1am
LUCKY RABBIT (Jonestown)
Fri: Alex Hensley & the Heathens | 7–10pm
Sat: A-TX Rejects | 7–10pm
POODIE’S ROADHOUSE (Spicewood)
Thu: Gus Miller Duo 6pm | Dukes of the Hill Country 8pm
Fri: Scott Allison Band 10pm | Red 78’s 10:30pm
Sat: Dakota Spellman 1pm | Scott Allison Band 8pm | Madamradar 10:30pm
Sun: Shufflehawks 4pm | Tasmin & Tim 7:30pm
SAF WINE BAR (Lakeway)
Thu: Frank Cavitt | 7:30–10:30pm
Sun: Emily Shirley | 6:30–9:30pm
STEINER RANCH STEAKHOUSE (Steiner Ranch)
Thu: Blaise Wier | 6–9:30pm
Fri: Howlin Waters | 6:30–10:30pm
Sat: The Chandler Trio | 6:30pm
Sun: Mike Gonzales | 6:30–9:30pm
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Last Week’s Poll Results. We asked what kind of Halloween house you are, and the honor system narrowly took the crown: bowl on the porch and let fate decide. The rest of you were almost perfectly split between decorating early, going trick-or-treating, turning the porch light off, and handing out the coveted full-size bars. A very balanced neighborhood.
But regardless of how the candy gets there, we all have a first pick.
Which Halloween candy do you grab first?
For the Halloween Spread: This might be the rare charcuterie board that gets more attention than the costumes. Austin Tea Xchange is building theirs around a skeleton, and it handles the snacks and Halloween décor in one shot. Just expect everyone to take a picture before they eat it.
For the Candy Hangover: The kids probably don’t need 11 pounds of Halloween candy. On Sunday, Frontyard Brewing will take some of it off your hands, giving you 50¢ per pound in credit toward anything behind the bar. Finally, a reasonable candy tax.
For Halloween Morning: Shipley Do-Nuts in Bee Cave has a Boo Box for the occasion, filled with Yummy Mummy, Boo’s Eye and Jack O’Sprinkle donuts alongside plenty of orange and chocolate icing. A little Halloween sugar before the much larger amount of Halloween sugar later.
Waffle Fries Are Back. After nearly three months of renovations, Chick-fil-A Lake Travis reopened on 620 this week with a refreshed interior and expanded drive-thru. Now we’re back to only missing it on Sundays.
Meet the Neighbors. We told you Winston’s Bee Creek was changing hands, and now we may have a name for what’s next. A full-bar license is active for Neighbor’s Cafe at the same address, with job listings pointing to pizza, salads, and sandwiches. Nothing official yet, but the new neighborhood spot is starting to take shape.
Another Bite of 71. A new $1.8 million restaurant and retail project called SpiceQ is planned for Hwy. 71 in Spicewood. State filings call for a 10,000-square-foot building, with construction expected to begin in January. What exactly SpiceQ will be remains under wraps for now.
School, en Español. Mia Mia Preschool is now open on 620 in Lakeway, bringing a nature-based, Spanish-immersion preschool to the neighborhood. The school takes inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach, with plenty of outdoor exploration and child-led learning built into the day.
Adopt Me. Meet Madison, a French Bulldog currently being fostered in Lago Vista. She’s deaf, loves laps, cats, snacks, and tug-of-war, and is looking for a family ready for plenty of Frenchie personality.
F1’s Final Lap. The race may have ended Sunday, but the crowds had one more record to break. Austin-Bergstrom screened an all-time high of 46,963 travelers on Monday.
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