BYU plays three home games at LaVell Edwards Stadium in October 2026. One is Friday, Oct. 9, against Iowa State at 8:15 p.m. MDT. One is Saturday, Oct. 17, against Notre Dame. One is Saturday, Oct. 31, against Arizona State. The other two Saturdays have no home game. Oct. 10 is the morning after the Friday game, and on Oct. 24 the Cougars are at UCF.
Most fall events in Provo line up against one of those dates. Some happen the same day as a game. A few clearly avoid them. One date, Oct. 31, has nearly every kind of Provo event happening on the same afternoon. If you plan October by the football schedule, the rest of the month falls into place.
The Month at a Glance
| Date | At the stadium | Elsewhere in Provo |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Iowa State, 8:15 p.m. | Harvest Festival at Provo Pioneer Village, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | No game | Farmers Market; Haunted Story Room at the library |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Notre Dame, kickoff TBA | Farmers Market; MOA Open Studio; Petty/Prine tribute at the Covey |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | BYU away at UCF | Villains & Heroes Halloween Carnival; FilmQuest underway |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Arizona State, kickoff TBA | Last outdoor Farmers Market; Downtown Trick-or-Treating; Paranormal Percussion |
Neither Saturday home game had a kickoff time when this was published. Check the BYU football schedule before you lock in plans on Oct. 17 or Oct. 31. An early kickoff and a night kickoff leave you very different free hours that day.
Oct. 9: A Friday Game Changes the Evening
A Friday night game moves the crowd from Saturday morning to Friday evening. On Oct. 9, the Provo Pioneer Village Harvest Festival happens the same night. It runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Provo Pioneer Village and DUP Museum, 600 N 500 W. It's free, and donations are welcome. Expect live fiddling, storytelling, candle dipping, corn husk doll making, spinning at the great wheel and blacksmithing. Apple cider and donuts are part of it, and all of the historic cabins and the museum will be open. Kids are encouraged to come dressed as pioneers or scarecrows.
The festival ends at 8 p.m. and kickoff is 8:15. You can go to both if you plan well, but stadium gates open 120 minutes before the start time, so the game crowd will be arriving all through the festival.
Game-weekend events downtown are new this season. On Sept. 11, Explore Utah Valley and Utah County held the first First Down Provo, a free pregame event at Center Street and University Avenue. It had food vendors, BYU gear booths, a live ESPN 960 radio show with Ben Criddle and music from 19 Miles Per House. Explore Utah Valley Executive Director Lee Adamson told the Daily Herald that the goal was to have fans "come a night early, stay in a hotel, hike the Y in the morning before the game, eat at our restaurants, and basically just make a weekend of it." It was the only one planned for 2026. Organizers said turnout beat expectations and they hope to hold it "once or twice next year." No date has been set for next year, but the goal is clear: tourism groups want game weekends to bring more visitors downtown, not just to the stadium.
The next morning, Saturday, Oct. 10, has no game, so it's an easy day for families. The free Trick or Treat Resource Fair runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Provo Recreation Center Multipurpose Room. The Provo Library's Haunted Story Room has two sessions, 2 to 2:45 p.m. and 2:45 to 3:30 p.m., and registration is required.
Oct. 17: Notre Dame Weekend
Notre Dame is the biggest home game this month, and it's on a Saturday, the same day as several regular local events. The Provo Farmers Market is at Pioneer Park, 500 West Center, every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this month. At the BYU Museum of Art, Open Studio runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The theme is Farm Animals, it's free, it's open to all ages and you don't need to register. The Covey Center for the Arts has a Petty/Prine Co-Bill Tribute at 2 and 7 p.m. on its Main Stage.
The MOA is on campus, so the kickoff time matters most for that one. The Farmers Market and the Covey are both on West Center Street, away from the stadium.
If you're going to the game, a Sept. 4, 2026 guide from Utah Valley's visitor bureau says the green-marked public lots are free. Lots 1 through 11 require Cougar Club permits, and Lot 58 is for disability parking. An accessible shuttle serves the disability lot from three hours before kickoff until one hour after. The same guide suggests arriving at least an hour early, carpooling, taking UVX and waiting out the crowd after the game instead of leaving with everyone else. UVX stops at BYU Stadium Station. UTA's Ticket As Fare page doesn't list BYU football right now, so a game ticket shouldn't be counted on as a bus fare.
Oct. 24: The Open Saturday
The city's biggest Halloween event for kids is on the Saturday when BYU is playing away at UCF. Provo City's Villains & Heroes Halloween Carnival is at the Recreation Center, 320 W 500 N. There are two sessions, 3 to 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $8 for Rec Center members and $10 for nonmembers.
The week around it fills up downtown too. FilmQuest runs Oct. 22 through 31, with screenings at Velour Live Music Gallery and activities at other downtown venues. On Thursday, Oct. 22, the library has Felted Jack-o-Lanterns for tweens, 4:15 to 5 p.m., with registration. On Friday, Oct. 23, the Covey hosts the Utah Valley Vocal Artist Showcase from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $14.82 to $22.34, which includes a $3 service charge.
Before or after the carnival, the Farmers Market is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pioneer Park. It's the second-to-last outdoor market of the year.
Halloween Week, From Monday On
Most of the weeknight events in the last week of October are run by the library and the BYU museums. Here they are in order:
- Mon., Oct. 26. The Bean Life Science Museum's 2026 Halloween Family Night runs 6 to 9 p.m. It's free and has crafts, a spooky program and a photo booth. There's no candy. The same evening at 5 p.m., FilmQuest shows "The Rise of the Beehive," a block of Utah short films. Tickets are $15, or $8 for students.
- Tue., Oct. 27. "Learn It: The History of Halloween" is 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the library's Shaw Programming Room #260.
- Thu., Oct. 29. Fiesta de Halloween is 7 to 8 p.m. in the library's Young Special Events Room #201, with Halloween games and treats. Register online.
- Fri., Oct. 30. Paranormal Percussion, a Halloween drum show, opens its two-night run on the Covey Main Stage at 425 W. Center St. at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $19 to $52.
All month, CLAS Ropes Course at 3606 W Center runs its Halloween Cruise. The boats are pirate-themed and decorated with more than 100 carved jack-o'-lanterns, and there are daytime and evening departures. It runs through Oct. 31, and you need a reservation.
Oct. 31: Everything on One Saturday
October 31 is the busiest day of the month.
It's the last outdoor Saturday for the Provo Farmers Market at Pioneer Park, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that, the market takes a break and moves indoors to Provo Towne Centre, 1200 Towne Centre Blvd. The winter market runs Saturdays from Nov. 21 to Dec. 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. That leaves two Saturdays in November, Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, with no market at all.
From 3 to 6 p.m., Downtown Trick-or-Treating covers six blocks of Center Street, from 100 East to 500 West. The city's listing says it "usually" extends a block or two up University Avenue as well. Pioneer Park is at the west end of that stretch, so the market and trick-or-treating are on the same street.
That evening, Paranormal Percussion plays its second night at the Covey, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., also on Center Street. FilmQuest ends its run downtown. The CLAS Halloween Cruise has its last sailings. BYU hosts Arizona State, kickoff time still not announced.
The kickoff time decides how the whole day goes. A night kickoff means game traffic arrives after downtown trick-or-treating has ended. An afternoon kickoff puts two Center Street events and a home game in the same few hours. BYU usually announces kickoff times closer to game day, so watch the schedule page that week.
November, Briefly
After Halloween, BYU plays at Utah on Nov. 7. Baylor visits on Saturday, Nov. 14, and Cincinnati closes the home schedule on Saturday, Nov. 28. Both kickoffs are TBA. The winter Farmers Market opens at Provo Towne Centre on Nov. 21, the week between those two games. Elsewhere in town, MOOYAH has reopened in its new location at 2319 N 400 W. The brand's listing put the grand opening on Sept. 12.
Planning around game weekends is also something to think about when choosing where to live in Provo. Some streets get busy several Saturdays every fall, and others are hardly affected. If you'd like help figuring out how a location fits your schedule, Foundry Group knows Utah Valley week to week as well as by the numbers. Schedule a consultation today.
