Glencoe's busiest evenings of the season are happening this week. Between Thursday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 25, the Chicago Botanic Garden runs the last four nights of its pumpkin trail. Over those same four nights, Writers Theatre has two productions playing at once, and the new Glencoe Golf Club clubhouse holds its grand opening. On Monday the Garden's evening calendar goes quiet for 18 nights, and Lightscape doesn't arrive until Nov. 13.
That gap matters for the rest of the fall. From late October to mid-November, the evenings run through the few downtown blocks around Writers Theatre, Tudor Court, Park Avenue and Vernon Avenue. Then on Thanksgiving Friday the Village pulls everything back together on those same streets.
Four nights when the calendars overlap
Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns runs Oct. 21 through 25 this week, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. each night, and that's the event's final stretch on the Garden's listed schedule. New this year is the Monarch Skull, a 20-foot illuminated sculpture by artist Alyse Gamson, inspired by the monarch butterfly. Adult tickets start at $20 for members and $24 for nonmembers. Nonmember parking is $15.
| Night | Chicago Botanic Garden | Writers Theatre | Elsewhere in Glencoe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct. 22 | Jack-o'-Lanterns, Museums for All reduced-price night | The Royale begins; Sisters continues | |
| Fri, Oct. 23 | Jack-o'-Lanterns | Both productions running | Glencoe Golf Club clubhouse grand opening, 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Oct. 24 | Jack-o'-Lanterns | Both productions running | |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Final night of Jack-o'-Lanterns | Both productions running |
Thursday has the best value on the Garden's schedule. Oct. 22 is the last of the event's Museums for All dates, which offer reduced pricing with parking included for households receiving food assistance.
The clubhouse opening on Friday is a separate draw away from downtown. The Record North Shore reports that the Glencoe Golf Club restaurant will be called The Westley. It's run by Clubhouse Group, and the Village describes it as opening soon. The grand opening celebration for the clubhouse itself is 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. According to the same report, The Westley will serve classic and fine American fare, local draft beers, wines and signature cocktails. Friday's celebration is for the clubhouse, and the report gives no date for the restaurant's first dinner service.
The 18 nights between the Garden's two light shows
Once the last pumpkin goes out on Sunday, the Garden has no ticketed evening event until Nov. 13. For the first two weeks of that stretch, the busiest place at night is Writers Theatre, which is running two productions on overlapping schedules.
Sisters, written by Matthew Libby and directed by Jessica Thebus, has been running since Aug. 13 and closes Nov. 8. The Royale, written by Marco Ramirez and directed by Tyrone Phillips, runs Oct. 22 through Nov. 29. For about two and a half weeks, one theater building has two shows on its calendar. The weekend of Nov. 6 through 8 is the last chance to see Sisters. After that, The Royale is the only show on the theater's evening calendar until the Garden's holiday trail opens.
Downtown has more places to eat before an 8 p.m. curtain than it did a year ago. Both of these restaurants were announced in fall 2025 and are now taking reservations:
- Elyon, 667 Vernon Ave. The Record North Shore described it as a Mediterranean restaurant when it was announced in October 2025, and it is booking tables on OpenTable this month.
- RDK Sushi, 317 Park Ave. The chef-owner is Glencoe native Daniel Rakestraw, and his business partner is Kevin Zheng, The Record North Shore reported ahead of the opening. It is also taking reservations on OpenTable for mid-October.
A third address works well before a show. Ford General, Patrick Ford's Chicago menswear shop, chose Glencoe for its second location and held a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 13 at 342 Tudor Court, according to The Record North Shore. The shop carries European, American and Japanese-made clothing.
The gap's one daytime event also lands downtown. Halloween Hello runs Friday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with trick-or-treating through the business district. Village Hall hosts "Village Hall-oween," and the Glencoe Historical Society dresses up Eklund Garden for "Ghosts of the Garden." The Village doesn't regulate residential trick-or-treating hours, but it recommends 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Nov. 13: Lightscape takes back the evenings
Lightscape opens Friday, Nov. 13, and runs on select dates through Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027, on what the Garden calls an all-new path. The Garden's 2026 announcement names three installations making their U.S. debut:
- Infinite Choir, by UK artist Squidsoup, a choir overhead whose voices move in waves of light and sound
- Lumycena, by French artist Pitaya, twelve clusters of mushroom caps up to 13 feet tall that glow in multiple colors
- XXL Trees, also by Pitaya, eight potted trees more than 9 feet tall, covered in winter flowers that sparkle yellow and orange
The Winter Cathedral and Fire Garden return. So do Jingle Jam Family Nights with Santa and 21+ Nights that offer specialty cocktails and mocktails.
Lightscape's pricing works differently from the pumpkin trail's flat starting prices. Lightscape tickets are priced by expected demand. Weekend and holiday-adjacent nights cost more, and the Garden says several quieter weeknights are under $30. November is when those quieter nights are easiest to find. The Garden's Lightscape page lists Thursday, Nov. 19 as its Museums for All reduced-price night, and the season's other special nights fall in December or January.
Lightscape also overlaps with The Royale for its final two and a half weeks. From Nov. 13 to Nov. 29, the Garden trail and the downtown theater share the evenings again, like they did this week.
Thanksgiving Friday, the two halves meet on Tudor Court
Glencoe's Light the Lights festival is Friday, Nov. 27, 5 to 7 p.m. The lighting ceremony on Village Court starts at 5 p.m. and includes a six-foot, 3D light-up display of the village's zip code, 60022.
This year's program connects the downtown pieces of the fall calendar:
- Writers Theatre hosts photos with Santa and runs its bar. Live reindeer and a kids' carnival ride are set up on Tudor Court.
- A tunnel of lights connects Park Avenue to Tudor Court, which runs from RDK Sushi's block to Ford General's.
- Village Court and Wyman Green have live music by Rosie and the Rivets, the characters of Frozen and Bluey, and trackless train rides through downtown.
- The Glencoe Public Library has crafts and a sensory room, run in partnership with the Glencoe Council for Inclusion and Community.
- Food and drink comes from Lincoln Land Kettle Corn, Tievoli Pizza, and hot chocolate at Hometown Coffee & Juice, with heated picnic tables in the Village Court parking lot.
The library's activities come ahead of a planned renovation. After a March 17, 2026 referendum backed a bond issuance with 66% of the vote, the library expects renovation to start early in 2027. It anticipates closing the 320 Park Avenue building for a significant portion of construction.
Plan your parking around the closures. Village Court and Tudor Court close to traffic and parking at noon that Friday. The Village Court lot and part of the Temple Court lot also lose parking for the day. The Village points drivers to the Temple Court lot, the train commuter lots, and any open downtown spaces. The Royale has two more days after that, and its final performance is Sunday, Nov. 29.
Our team at Summerville Partners keeps track of how a season like this one plays out on the North Shore, because the same downtown blocks matter when we talk with Glencoe owners about what their homes are worth. If you're curious where your place stands this fall, Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through it.
