There's a cemetery in Urbana around the ruins of a church that burned to the ground on November 18, 1961, and the cause was never determined. In 1822 Zion Episcopal Church was one of only two buildings in Urbana. Buried in its graveyard are many of the area's early settlers and some of the soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Monocacy. On the Thursday before Halloween, Urbana Regional Library will lead a walk from its front steps to that cemetery.
That walk is the last stop on a late-October calendar built almost entirely by local institutions: the library, the fire company, the county parks staff and the Villages of Urbana Community Association. Most of it is free, and most of it happens within a short drive of home. The well-known farm festivals around Frederick County charge per person. Lined up date by date, the free local schedule turns out to be the fuller option for this month.
The Calendar, in the Order It Happens
Here is the sequence for the rest of October 2026, starting this Saturday.
- Saturday, October 10, 1 to 4 p.m. The Villages of Urbana Annual Fall Festival and Beer Garden. The association's public news feed lists it with an RSVP. The full details, including the location, are only visible after logging in to the community portal, so check there before you head out.
- Sunday, October 18, noon to 3 p.m. Urbana Volunteer Fire & Rescue holds its free Public Safety Open House at 3602 Urbana Pike. Expect emergency vehicles, first responders and safety information for families.
- Tuesday, October 27, 5 to 7 p.m. The Villages of Urbana Trunk or Treat with Urbana Regional Library staff at Shafer's Mill Community Center, 9228 Shafers Mill Drive.
- Thursday, October 29, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Urbana Regional Library Ghost Walk. It's for all ages and costumes are optional. The group leaves from the library steps and walks to Zion Cemetery, telling ghost stories about local haunts along the way. If it rains, the program moves to the Small Conference Room, room 302 on the library's second floor.
- Friday, October 30. Frederick County's Walktober nature scavenger walk around Urbana District Park meets at shelter #4. It's free, but you have to preregister through the county calendar.
There's one more piece. The Urbana Library Farmers' Market sets up in front of Urbana Regional Library at 9020 Amelung Street on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and one participating farm describes the season as running from May until October. That leaves October 11, 18 and 25 as possible market Sundays. The market hasn't posted its last date for 2026, so confirm before you plan a shopping list around the 25th.
Put the market's library address next to the Trunk or Treat and the Ghost Walk, and the library stands out. Three of the month's local events start or happen on its grounds or with its staff.
Why the Walk Ends Where It Does
The Ghost Walk could end anywhere. It ends at Zion because the cemetery is about as close to Urbana's starting point as the town gets.
The Maryland Historical Trust's inventory of the site says Zion Episcopal Church was organized and built around 1802 as an extension of All Saints Parish in Frederick. Bishop Clagett consecrated the building. On April 2, 1804, the parish limits were set in a long description that traced the Monocacy, the Georgetown Road, Little Seneca and the Linganore. From 1831 to 1840 the church also ran a parochial school. It remained one of the community's main churches until the 1961 fire.
The first vestrymen were William Brashear, Elisha Beall, Thomas Sprigg, John Montgomery, Roger Johnson, John Simmons, Adam Kramer and George Kesler. One of those names is on a street in the town center. Today John Simmons Street runs through the Villages at Urbana shopping center. The inventory doesn't say whether the street was named for the vestryman, but the shared name connects the 2026 shopping district to a church record from more than two centuries ago.
According to the inventory, the cemetery now surrounds the overgrown ruins of the church. That's what the Ghost Walk group will reach after dark on October 29, with soldiers from the Battle of the Monocacy buried among the stones.
What the Same Week Costs at the Farms
The farms around Urbana run excellent fall seasons, and some of their dates overlap the local calendar. Their prices show how much free programming the local week adds up to.
| Farm | Signature October draw | 2026 price per person | Key dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Meadows Petting Farm, Ijamsville | Trail of Jack-O-Lanterns, a lit pumpkin walk with fire pits | $16, ages 2 and up | Oct. 16–18, 23–25, 30–31, 6 to 10 p.m. |
| Green Meadows Petting Farm, daytime | Farm admission with one pick-your-own pumpkin included | $18, ages 2 and up, credit only | Pumpkin patch through Oct. 31 |
| Summers Farm, Middletown | Five-acre corn maze, pumpkin train, wagon rides | $15.95 weekday, $19.95 weekend for adults online; $4 more at the gate | Fireworks Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 around 7:30 p.m. |
| Gaver Farm, Mt. Airy | Seven-acre corn maze and 65+ attractions | $14.50 weekdays, $24 October weekends | Daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fall Finale and Maker's Market Oct. 31–Nov. 1 |
For a household of four, an October weekend at Gaver comes to $96 in admission before anyone buys a pumpkin. Four tickets to the Green Meadows Trail of Jack-O-Lanterns come to $64. Every event in the local list above has no listed admission fee.
A few details that might change your plans:
- Green Meadows lets visitors who only want a pumpkin use the patch entrance and pay $9 per pumpkin. The Trail of Jack-O-Lanterns includes trick-or-treating for ages 13 and under from 7 to 8 p.m., and Sunday nights add free hayrides through 8 p.m. The farm is closed Mondays and Tuesdays unless otherwise noted.
- Gaver Farm doesn't require a ticket for hayrides or pumpkin picking. You pay for pumpkins at the Farm Market after you pick them. October weekend tickets are limited online.
- Summers Farm holds on-farm trick-or-treating on October 30 and 31. For October 26, its festival page lists hours of 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., while its ticket page lists weekday admission from 1 p.m. and offers extended-hours tickets for entry from 11:30, so check which ticket you need before going that day.
- Brookfield Pumpkins in Thurmont is a longer drive but has free admission through October 31. On Friday, October 23, from 11 to 11:45 a.m., Frederick County Public Libraries is holding a free storytime there.
The overlaps matter if you're trying to fit everything in. The Ghost Walk on Thursday the 29th doesn't conflict with any of the farms' signature nights. The Walktober walk on Friday the 30th does fall on a Trail of Jack-O-Lanterns night and on Summers Farm's first trick-or-treat night. On Sunday the 18th, the fire company open house ends at 3 p.m., which leaves time for a Green Meadows Trail evening that starts at 6.
Dinner Near the Town Center Has Shifted This Fall
If dinner comes after the Ghost Walk or the Trunk or Treat, the restaurant options near the town center have changed this fall.
Frederick Pulse reported on September 22 that Urbana Lodge, at 3335 Worthington Boulevard, planned Sunday, September 27 as its last day. The restaurant opened in summer 2025 in the space Buffalo Wild Wings had held for years. The same owners plan to turn it into Maharaja Palace, which they describe as a "Royal Dining Experience" built around aromatic spices. Frederick Pulse's report said no opening date had been announced.
At 3501 John Simmons Street, the former Greene Turtle space is going to Masa Sushi & Hibachi. In July, Frederick City Media reported "Coming Soon" signage there. The shopping center's property listing now shows Suite 101A as occupied by Masa. We haven't seen a public opening date, so call ahead before you count on a table.
Vesuvius Italian & Wine Bar, at 3290 Bennett Creek Avenue, held its grand opening on April 29, 2026. Its website takes reservations and online orders. Of the three, it's the one with a confirmed open door for the week of October 26.
A Workable Last Week
If you want to string it all together, here's one version. Sunday the 25th could be the farmers market, if it's still running. On Tuesday the 27th, bring the kids to Shafer's Mill for the Trunk or Treat at 5. On Thursday the 29th, be at the library steps by 6:30, walk to Zion Cemetery, and get to Bennett Creek Avenue with time left for dinner. On Friday the 30th, if you registered in time, meet at shelter #4 in Urbana District Park for the county's scavenger walk. Leave Saturday the 31st for whatever the kids still have the energy for.
Not one of those stops has a listed admission price, and the farthest is a short drive from home.
Each of these events depends on a group of neighbors who organize it. That's the kind of thing The Trish Mills Team notices when we talk with Frederick County families about where they live. If this October has you wondering what your Villages of Urbana home is worth these days, Get Your Instant Home Valuation and we'll be glad to walk you through it, ghost stories optional.
