5 Things to Do in Downtown DSM This Week: Oct. 9-15

Spooky season is settling into Downtown Des Moines (DSM), but Halloween fun is only part of what’s happening this week. Thousands of glowing pumpkins are lighting up the night, a classic creepy family is taking over the big screen and even a literary dinner is getting a supernatural twist. Beyond the Halloween happenings, you can shop your way through decades of vintage finds or head to Casey’s Center as hockey season gets underway. Whether you’re looking for a family outing, planning a night with friends or ready to try something completely different, there’s a lot happening in the heart of the city to add to your October calendar. Here are five can’t-miss things to do in Downtown DSM this week.

Iowa Wild Hockey Opening Night

Friday, Oct. 9 – Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 | Casey's Center
Hockey season is back in Downtown DSM! The Iowa Wild return to Casey’s Center for opening weekend with back-to-back games against the Rockford IceHogs and a different lineup of extras each night.

Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 at 7 p.m.: Opening Night with a magnet schedule giveaway for the first 1,500 fans, $2 Beer Night through the end of the first period and $3 off Fireball Friday drink specials.
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 at 6 p.m.: Kids Opening Night with 2-for-1 Confluence beers until puck drop, the Coca-Cola Local Concert Series and a postgame autograph session.

Pick your night, grab your Wild gear and get ready to welcome hockey back to Casey’s Center.
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Pumpkins After Dark: Jack-O-Lanterns Come Alive!

Friday, Oct. 9 – Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 | Water Works Park
More than 10,000 hand-carved jack-o’-lanterns are about to light up Water Works Park for a brand-new Halloween experience in Downtown DSM. Pumpkins After Dark takes you on a family-friendly walk through glowing pumpkin displays stretching from Lauridsen Amphitheater and the Manatt Great Lawn to Arboretum Road and the Des Moines Biergarten. And if haunted houses aren’t your thing, you’re in luck. There are no actors waiting around corners and no jump scares, just thousands of pumpkins transformed into works of art. Bring the kids, grandparents or your most Halloween-loving friends and see Water Works Park in a whole new light. The experience runs on select nights throughout October.
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Totally Rad Vintage Fest

Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 | Iowa Events Center
Dust off your nostalgia because Totally Rad Vintage Fest is taking over the Iowa Events Center from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Shop your way through the ’80s, ’90s and Y2K with vendors specializing in vintage clothing and accessories, plus throwback toys, home goods and other finds from decades past. When you need a break from digging through the racks, test your skills in the Free-Play Vintage Arcade, check out relics from the past inside the Rad Rewind Museum or strike a pose at one of the throwback photo ops. Whether you lived through these decades or just wish you had, prepare for a totally tubular trip back in time.
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Big Grove Moves on the Patio The Addams Family

Movies on the Patio: The Addams Family

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 | Big Grove Brewery
They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they’re taking over the patio at Big Grove Brewery. Grab a seat for an outdoor showing of “The Addams Family” and spend your Tuesday night with Morticia, Gomez and the rest of everyone’s favorite delightfully strange family. Bring your own crew, settle into a cozy spot and order a craft brew and something to eat from the taproom while you watch. It’s an easy way to add a little spooky-season fun to your week without anyone jumping out at you. And keep those Tuesday nights open because “Hocus Pocus” and “The Goonies” are coming to the patio later this month.
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Oscar Wilde Night

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026 | Royal Mile
Dinner is getting a little more dramatic at Royal Mile during its annual Oscar Wilde Night. This year’s evening takes inspiration from “The Canterville Ghost”, pairing Wilde’s wit and supernatural storytelling with a four-course dinner and a few spirits of both the cocktail and ghostly varieties. Your $75 ticket includes the meal, two cocktail pairings, dramatic readings from the story and Oscar Wilde anecdotes throughout the night. Doors open upstairs at Royal Mile at 5:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 6 p.m. Come for the Cornish hen with port glaze and stay for the chills, laughs and phantom fun woven throughout this one-of-a-kind literary night out.
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Take your spooky-season fun just outside Downtown DSM with the Spooky Sprint at Big Creek State Park on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026.

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The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the largest regional business, economic development and talent development organization in Iowa and the second-largest regional chamber of commerce in the country, serving multiple counties in Greater Des Moines. Together with more than 400 Investors and an Affiliate Chamber of Commerce network of more than 7,200 Regional Chamber Members, The Partnership helps businesses grow and advances quality of life in Greater Des Moines with one voice, one mission and as one region, contributing to a vibrant regional economy.