This weekend's best plans in Richmond Hill's Historic Village are coming from a small group of people. On Saturday, October 24, a business improvement area with a $150,000-a-year budget will send children door to door along Yonge Street with treat bags. On Sunday, a City heritage guide and the Richmond Hill Historical Society will lead a free ghost walk through the backstreets. Nobody needs a ticket for either one.

Across Major Mackenzie, on the green space beside the Central Library, sits the project that is supposed to become the Village's front door. Dave Barrow Civic Square broke ground on July 15. York Region reports it is on track to open in 2028. The Village's comeback is running ahead of its centerpiece, and this weekend shows what that comeback looks like.

Saturday starts in a co-working space

Families check in for the Third Annual Spooky Village at Flex Space Inc., 10225 Yonge Street, Unit R, in the rear building. Children sign in there and pick up an official treat bag and a trail card. Then they follow the route past participating Historic Village businesses, which will hand out nut-free treats. Trick-or-treating starts at 1 p.m. Restrooms, first aid and event support are available at both the start and the finish.

The starting point says a lot about how the Village is changing. Flex Space is co-owned by Lena Guirguis, vice-chair of the Richmond Hill Business Improvement Area. She told YorkRegion.com this year that she thought the area looked neglected and distressed when Flex Space opened in 2022. She also said the Village has

"come tenfold in the right direction" in four years, with owners filling most empty storefronts and using municipal grants to fix facades.

In the same article, Guirguis said the BIA represents 289 businesses between Major Mackenzie Drive and Crosby Avenue, and that its budget is still smaller than the budget of the BIA for Main Street, Unionville. Spooky Village, now in its third year, is presented by that same BIA.

The event is free, but the BIA strongly encourages registration so it can give participating businesses enough candy for every child on the route. Walk-ins are welcome. You can register on the Spooky Village event page.

The finale is in an 1897 schoolhouse's courtyard

The afternoon ends in the courtyard of the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. A Halloween dance party, free face painting and free glitter tattoos all start at 3 p.m., and the costume parade steps off at 3:30.

Covernotes Tea & Coffee House shares that courtyard, at 10268 Yonge Street. The building went up in 1897 as the former Richmond Hill High School and later became a courthouse with jail cells in the basement, according to a York Region profile. The same profile says that basement now holds the heating and cooling systems for the café's building and the theatre next door. Covernotes calls itself family-owned and serves Certified Fair-Trade coffee and more than 100 organic loose-leaf teas. Its posted Saturday hours run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., so it's still open after the parade.

Sunday belongs to the backstreets

The second half of the weekend is older and quieter. The City's Haunted Village walk leaves McConaghy Centre, 10100 Yonge Street, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, and Heritage Hilda shares ghost stories along the way.

It is one of the City's Walk and Learn Historical Tours. Heritage Services runs them with the Richmond Hill Historical Society, and they are free with no registration. The route covers a 200-year-old neighbourhood, a stretch of Yonge Street, the historic Village backstreets and the Presbyterian cemetery.

Saturday has one more option for families with older children. Halloween at the David Dunlap Observatory runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on October 24 and costs $23.41, according to the City's seasonal events listing.

What fills the storefronts between the two

The trick-or-treat route runs past the businesses Guirguis described filling those storefronts. DIBS Scratch Bakery, at 10220 Yonge Street, takes online orders for cakes, cookies and cupcakes and posts its weekly hours on its own site. The bakery says it is not a dedicated vegan or gluten-free kitchen and that cross-contamination is possible, which matters for families sorting the day's treats.

A few doors south, at 10133 Yonge Street, Evolution Cycles ran its 2026 King Race Series on Tuesday nights from May 12 to August 25. The shop describes it as a friendly, all-ages mountain-bike event. It is a year-round business in the Village, not a seasonal pop-up.

The BIA business directory shows how much of this stretch is now about eating. Its member list includes Behesht Restaurant at 10165 Yonge, El Bocho at 10133, Grill Gate at 10185, Tochal Restaurant at 10255, Oyaji Sushi at 10341, Aneal's Taste of the Islands at 10220 and The Rising Sun at 10330. Tavazo Dried Nuts & Fruits is at 10309, and Ana Pastry is around the corner at 26 Church Street South. The directory lists members rather than confirming hours, so check before you plan a meal around one. In a June 2026 photo caption, YorkRegion.com noted that some observers describe the Village as a district where many restaurants are thriving at night.

The square that will one day host this weekend

Dave Barrow Civic Square was designed for exactly this kind of weekend. The City calls it Richmond Hill's sixth destination park and a gateway to the historic Village. The plan includes the Richmond Hill Bowl, an outdoor amphitheatre with a permanent stage for concerts, movies and community performances. It also includes illuminated Richmond Hill letters with programmable lighting, a seasonal skating rink that becomes an events lawn the rest of the year, and woodlands, meadows and a marsh connected by new trails.

The park keeps the existing memorial bench and the sandblasted quote from Dave Barrow, "It's all about community." Barrow served Richmond Hill for more than 30 years, including as mayor from 2006 to 2021.

The finish date depends on which document you read. The City's groundbreaking release expects construction to run from summer 2026 to the end of 2027. The City's parks projects page says construction should finish in early 2028, weather permitting. YorkRegion.com reports an opening in 2028. The same outlet reported that certain features and rising costs pushed the price up by $4.5 million more than expected, and that councillors approved reserve funds in April to cover the difference.

So until 2028, the Village's public events will be held where they are this weekend: in a co-working space, a theatre courtyard and the side streets. That is two more Halloweens at least.

Before you head out

• Parking. The BIA lists five free public lots at the Central Library, Lorne Avenue, Elgin Barrow Arena, Ransom Park and the RHCPA.
• Arnold Crescent. It is closed between Major Mackenzie Drive and Elizabeth Street through December 2026 for underground infrastructure work. Local and emergency access remains, and other drivers are directed via Major Mackenzie and Yonge.
• Yonge and John. Metrolinx says work on the Yonge North Subway Extension there includes lane reductions, turn restrictions, relocated bus stops and a shifted east-side sidewalk, and that the construction zone will stay in place for several years.
• Central Library. The branch at 1 Atkinson Street is open with limited hours and spaces while its renovation continues. Posted hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and areas still under work are closed. RHPL expects the refreshed branch in late fall.
• Coming up at the theatre. The RHCPA hosts The Good Brothers on October 30 and Matthew Good and His Band on November 7, so the courtyard will be busy again soon.

Many of the Village's streets will feel the changes coming to Yonge and Major Mackenzie over the next few years. If you'd like to talk through what that means for your own home, the team at Shaheen & Company knows these blocks well and would be glad to hear from you.