Jamaica Plain has two big fall Saturdays this year. They fall two weeks apart, and both ask for some preparation. The 43rd annual Lantern Parade at Jamaica Pond is on Saturday, October 17. Halloween falls on a Saturday on October 31, so the JP Canine Costume Parade lands on the holiday itself. Most of what happens in between is hands-on too. There's a community mural to paint, a lawn program on poisonous plants, and a drop-in ink printing session at the Arnold Arboretum. Each one asks you to bring or build something.
The neighborhood's main art weekend is already off the calendar. Jamaica Plain Open Studios was set for September 26–27. Jamaica Plain News reported that the storm canceled it and it won't be rescheduled. So the art-making this fall moves to a community center on Danforth Street, a set of tennis courts on South Street, and a lawn at the Arboretum.
The Lanterns Get Built This Week
The Lantern Parade starts at a worktable. Spontaneous Celebrations, the community arts center at 45 Danforth Street, has been running lantern-making workshops since late September. The last three are this week:
- Tuesday, October 13, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 14, 6 to 8 p.m.
- Thursday, October 15, 6 to 8 p.m.
If you'd rather build at home, the Jamaica Plain Gazette reports that ULA Cafe and the Boing toy store sell $5 lantern-making kits. City Feed and Supply has ready-made lanterns for a $10 donation. Spontaneous Celebrations also says lanterns will be for sale on the day.
The parade itself is listed as "Dusk at Jamaica Pond" on Saturday, October 17, with a rain date of Sunday, October 18. The Gazette traces the tradition back to 1984 and says it draws thousands of residents to the water's edge for the evening procession. The 2026 materials don't give an exact start time, a gathering spot, or a route. Gathering points and clock times from older parade years shouldn't be read as this year's plan, so check the organizer's site before you head to the pond. The site is also where volunteers sign up for setup, lantern prep, parade support, and cleanup.
The Rest of Lantern Weekend Fills the Daylight Hours
The parade is at dusk, which leaves the day open. Two other events fill it.
On Saturday morning, the Arnold Arboretum runs an Oak Collection Tour from 10 to 11:30 a.m., starting at the Centre Street Gate. Mid-October is when the oaks start to turn, and the tour finishes hours before the lanterns come out.
On Sunday, the Jamaica Plain Historical Society presents 3 Centuries of a Black Family in JP, from Slavery to Freedom at First Church in Jamaica Plain, 6 Eliot Street, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The listing says it's free, open to the public, and offered in a hybrid format. October 18 is also the parade's rain date. If Saturday gets washed out, the talk and the parade end up on the same Sunday, one in the afternoon and one at dusk.
A Mural That Spells Out the Court Rules
The project that best shows what this season is about takes place on a Thursday afternoon. JP Centre/South Main Streets is putting up a mural at the South Street Courts, 52 South Street. It caps a community effort to set best practices for sharing the courts among pickleball, basketball, tennis, and other players.
Anyone can come help paint. The Painting Party runs Thursday, October 22, from 4 to 7 p.m., with music and treats. Ruby Rose of Bullseye Mural Co designed the mural together with the South Street Youth Center.
Halloween's Busiest Stretch Runs From Noon to 3
October 31 is on a Saturday this year, and three neighborhood events are scheduled for that afternoon. Here's how the day lines up, using times the organizers have posted:
- Noon – Registration for the 22nd JP Canine Costume Parade opens on the lawn of First Baptist Church, 633 Centre Street. To enter the costume contest, you have to register your dog in person with a $10 fee. All proceeds go to Shultz's Guest House Dog Rescue in Dedham.
- Noon – The Arboretum's Wicked Plants: A Botanical Halloween opens on Hunnewell Lawn and runs until 3 p.m.
- 1 p.m. – The dog parade leaves First Baptist Church and heads down Centre Street. Over at the Arboretum, children's storytime begins on Hunnewell Lawn.
- 1:30 p.m. – Once all the dogs reach Loring Greenough House at 12 South Street, they walk the red carpet. Brad Brown of the Blue Frog Bakery emcees. Judges include City Councilor Ben Weber and Dr. Jonathan Levine of the JP Animal Clinic, with more to be announced. Prizes go to first, second, and third place.
The organizers welcome spectators. The parade's sponsors are TCB – The Cooperative Bank, The Mindful Mutt Doggy Day Care and Boarding, First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist, and Happy Tails Market.
The third event is in Hyde Square. The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports that the Hyde Square Task Force's annual Halloween Fiesta is set for Saturday, October 31, at Mozart Park. It will have live performances by the organization's youth ensembles, plus seasonal games and crafts. The Task Force's Artes Culturales program, which is enrolling now, is where children ages 6 to 13 study Bachata, Salsa, piano, drums, and voice, and create original theater pieces based on Afro-Latin myths. The Gazette notes the Task Force has been in the neighborhood for 35 years. A 2026 start time hadn't been posted at the time of writing, so check with the Task Force before you plan your afternoon around it.
If It Rains on Halloween
The rain plans move both afternoon events to Sunday, November 1, but on different schedules. The dog parade lists November 1 as its rain date. Wicked Plants moves to November 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. That Sunday was already busy. The Arboretum's Rhythms in the Garden with the Iris Percussion Quartet is scheduled for noon to 1 p.m. on November 1 in the Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden, with its own rain date of November 8. A wet Saturday would push three Halloween-weekend events into a single Sunday.
Food on the Way Home
There's one more option for Halloween night. Jamaica Plain News reported in September that Tacoswey and Suya Joint would serve outside the Green Street MBTA station through October. Tacoswey planned to run Tuesday through Saturday, 3 to 10 p.m., and Suya Joint planned to be there some days. If that schedule holds, October 31 is Tacoswey's last listed Saturday at the station.
November Keeps the Hands-On Theme
After Halloween, the calendar has three more dated events.
- Botanical Ink Printing: A Drop-In Program, Saturday, November 7, noon to 2 p.m., Hunnewell Lawn at the Arnold Arboretum.
- Mah Jongg Madness Fall Fundraiser, Tuesday, November 10, 5:30 to 9 p.m., at the Footlight Club, 7A Eliot Street. It benefits JP Centre/South Main Streets and includes instruction along with open play.
- I'm Edwina – A Memoir of a Childhood in Jamaica Plain: 1900–1920, a Jamaica Plain Historical Society book talk on Saturday, November 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m., at the Connolly Branch Library, 433 Centre Street. It's free and open to the public.
The ink printing session is billed as drop-in. The mah jongg fundraiser teaches the game on the spot, so you don't need to know how to play.
For small business owners, JP Centre/South Main Streets also hosts LuMeNet – Lunch for Mentoring & Networking on Thursday, October 15, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., at the JP Branch Library. It's free, lunch is included, and the organizers ask attendees to RSVP. Their events page carries an older publication date even though it lists 2026 events, and one workshop on it has already been postponed. Check it again close to any date you're planning around.
Mission Realty Advisors follows Jamaica Plain week by week, from the workshops on Danforth Street to the red carpet on South Street. That's the same local knowledge we bring to pricing and timing a sale here. If you're wondering how fall in JP affects when your home should go on the market, request a Market Strategy & Home Valuation and we'll go through it with you.