Look at who is putting on Marathon's October 2026 events. The Marathon High School Culinary Team is cooking appetizers for a sunset on the Old 7-Mile Bridge. An Interact club sponsored by Rotary is listed on the flyer for Witches in the Hammock at Crane Point. Stanley Switlik Elementary is holding its own Halloween carnival. City Parks & Recreation is lining up spaces for Trick or Treat at the Beach. The newest place for kids to spend an afternoon, the wheel park at Marathon Community Park, exists largely because one local man spent eight years pushing for it.
That's the shape of fall here this year. Our own schools, nonprofits and city departments built the calendar, and most of it happens along a few miles of Overseas Highway between Knights Key and 36th Street. Here is how the weeks ahead break down, starting with the one event that needs a little planning.
Saturday, October 10: Sunset on the Old 7-Mile Bridge
Monroe County, the Tourist Development Council and the City of Marathon are marking America's 250th anniversary with a free Semiquincentennial Sunset Celebration on the historic Old 7-Mile Bridge, Saturday, Oct. 10, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The Pierce August Band will play for dancing, the Marathon High School Culinary Team is preparing Caribbean-inspired appetizers, and the evening wraps up with a sunset toast made with Grimal Grove juices. The county puts sunset at about 7:05 p.m.
The one detail that will shape your evening is parking. There isn't any at the bridge. The county lists three ways to get there:
- Pigeon Key's trolley runs from the City of Marathon's 7 Mile Marina, with complimentary parking at the marina.
- Van service picks up at the 33rd Street/Stanley Switlik parking area.
- On foot from Knights Key, walking in under the bridge.
If you're bringing a grandparent or a stroller, the trolley or the van is probably the easier choice. The 33rd Street lot is worth remembering, because it comes up again two weeks later.
Saturday, October 17: Witches in the Hammock at Crane Point
A week later the action moves to Crane Point Museum & Nature Center at 5550 Overseas Highway. The Chamber calendar lists Witches in the Hammock there twice on Oct. 17, once from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 9 p.m. According to Crane Point's 2026 flyer, the evening includes a witches' parade, a visit from Casper, witch dancing, a haunted torch walk through the hammock, a children's costume contest and hayrides.
Evening admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children. Hot dogs, chili dogs, corn dogs, roasted corn and adult beverages will be for sale. The flyer doesn't explain the daytime listing or give it a separate price, so call Crane Point before you plan a morning visit around it.
Two days later, on Monday, Oct. 19, Crane Point holds its Children's Tour and Concert Series from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The 2026 flyer describes hands-on nature activities first, then "Music from the Keys" played by Mateo, a classical guitar composer. No admission price is posted for this one either. Since it's a quieter weeknight hour in the same hammock, it's a nice choice for younger kids who might find the torch walk too much.
Halloween Weekend: The City, a School, and a Walk
By late October the calendar is mostly in local hands.
Friday, Oct. 23: Trick or Treat at the Beach. City Parks & Recreation is running this one and asking groups to register for a space. Its flyer promises candy, food and fun. The times don't agree between sources. The Chamber calendar lists 5:30 to 7 p.m., and the city flyer says 5:30 to 8 p.m. Neither one names the beach. If your business, club or family wants a space, Parks & Rec is the place to ask, and they can confirm the location and closing time too.
Saturday, Oct. 24: American Cancer Society Hope Walk, Relay for Life. The walk leaves from Marathon Fire and Rescue, and the Chamber lists it from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A kickoff event is listed for Oct. 17 from 2 to 7 p.m., the same day as the witches.
Sunday, Oct. 25: Stanley Switlik Halloween Carnival. Stanley Switlik Elementary School is hosting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Costumes are welcome, the costume parade starts at 12:30 p.m., and the flyer lists candy, games, food, crafts, music, a bounce house and a cake walk. The flyer doesn't give an address or an admission price, so check with the school before you go.
Coming from 25 years in Monroe County public schools, I'll admit the school carnival is the one I'd circle. A cake walk on a Sunday afternoon pays for classroom extras in a way a grant application never quite does.
Friday, October 9: A Movie and a Gala at 5101 Overseas Highway
Before all of that, the weekend of Oct. 9 has an indoor option. Marathon Community Cinema at 5101 Overseas Highway holds an opening-night screening of Coyote vs. Acme on Friday, Oct. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. The cinema describes the film as PG, 1 hour and 43 minutes long, with Wile E. Coyote suing ACME with help from a personal-injury attorney. The event poster shows tickets at $10 for adults, $9 for military and seniors, and $8 for children.
Marathon Community Theatre's annual fundraising gala featuring Jaimie Roberts is listed at the same 5101 Overseas Highway address on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30. Tickets are $95 for VIP preferred seating, which comes with one drink ticket, or $75 for assigned seating, and you can reserve through the box office at 305-743-0994. Saturday's gala overlaps with the bridge sunset, so if you want both, plan on the Friday performance.
The Wheel Park on 36th Street
The clearest example of Marathon building for itself this year sits at Marathon Community Park, 200 36th Street. The city announced a soft opening of the new wheel park on June 23. Kids on skateboards, scooters, bikes and rollerblades had been without a park since 2023. It has rails, quarter pipes, ramps and a pump track, and the Platform Group designed and built it after holding workshops with local skaters.
The price was $1.4 million. Much of the city's cost was covered by a $265,000 donation from the Florida Keys Community Center, a nonprofit started by local entrepreneur Matt Sexton, who had pushed for the park since 2019. "This has been through three city managers, three city councils," Sexton told Keys Weekly. "We were doing summer camps here back in 2012 and watching the tiny (old) park degrade." He credited Christina and Tina Belotti for championing the original park. Muralist Claudio Picasso, one of the first artists to work on the old park, has signed on to paint an art installation across the finished setup.
The park is open sunrise to sunset for any non-motorized wheels. Some of the rest is still planned work. A city engineering update dated Aug. 11, 2026, expected landscaping to finish that week and a formal opening within a couple of weeks. It also said the splash pad contract had been signed, with construction estimated at six to eight weeks once a permit is issued. The same memo expected a restroom to be running before the next Seafood Festival. I haven't found a later update confirming any of those dates, so think of the splash pad and restroom as coming, not here yet.
Two Storefronts Worth a Stop Between Events
Two local businesses fit the same homegrown pattern. Kenia Montes De Oca owns Paradise Cuban Restaurant at 2603 Overseas Highway, which Keys Weekly profiled in June as a reimagined Cuban eatery. Farther up the road, Valerie Stone runs Hooked in the Keys at 9585 Overseas Highway, an arts-and-crafts store, gallery and classroom in one. If your kids made a costume plan and then changed their minds, a craft shop with a classroom is a handy place to stop.
The October Calendar at a Glance
| Date | Event | Where | Cost listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Coyote vs. Acme opening night, 7 p.m. | Marathon Community Cinema, 5101 Overseas Hwy | $10 adult, $9 military/senior, $8 child |
| Fri.–Sat., Oct. 9–10 | Marathon Community Theatre gala with Jaimie Roberts | 5101 Overseas Hwy | $95 VIP preferred seating, $75 assigned seating |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Semiquincentennial Sunset Celebration, 5–7:30 p.m. | Old 7-Mile Bridge | Free |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Witches in the Hammock, evening 6:30–9 p.m. | Crane Point, 5550 Overseas Hwy | $15 adult, $5 child |
| Mon., Oct. 19 | Children's Tour and Concert Series, 4:30–6 p.m. | Crane Point, 5550 Overseas Hwy | Not listed |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Trick or Treat at the Beach, from 5:30 p.m. | Beach not named; confirm with Parks & Rec | Not listed |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | ACS Hope Walk, Relay for Life | Departs Marathon Fire and Rescue | Not listed |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Stanley Switlik Halloween Carnival, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Stanley Switlik Elementary | Not listed |
The Chamber's later pages already list a Hope Walk Luminary Event on Nov. 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the FKCA/Zonta Festival of Trees Christmas party on Dec. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m.
If you're planning to come to the bridge on Oct. 10 and you've been wondering what it's like to live in Marathon year-round, I'm happy to talk it over with you, in English or Spanish, with no pressure at all. Look for me with Natallie M Liz on the trolley from 7 Mile Marina. Let's Connect.
