The Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival ran on the downtown square for more than 30 years. This weekend it is on Airport Road. The 37th annual festival is at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds for the second year in a row, so the downtown square's biggest October event now happens somewhere else.
That shift changes how a Conroe fall works. Fall used to center on one big downtown weekend. Now it runs on smaller, dated events spread across the city through mid-November. Those events don't land evenly, and the date with the most going on in Conroe this fall is a Saturday in early November.
The festival weekend, at its new address
The fairgrounds share a site with the Lone Star Convention & Expo Center at 9055 Airport Road. According to the 2026 festival schedule reported by the Houston Chronicle, hours are 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11. The carnival had an extra Thursday night from 6 to 10 p.m. Parking is free in the North Parking Lot off Carl Pickering Memorial Drive.
Adult admission is $20 for one day or $35 for the weekend through Friends of Conroe, the nonprofit that runs the festival. Children 12 and under get in free.
The second year at the fairgrounds brings real changes. All music is now on one stage. Geno Delafose and Wayne Toups played Friday, Mike Ryan and Casey Donahew play Saturday with Donahew as the headliner, and Bayou Roux closes Sunday. Vendors moved into an indoor, climate-controlled space. Food booths take cash or card in place of the old BlastPass system. Friends of Conroe also added its own catfish booth, along with new activities for kids.
The festival's own website still shows some old copy. The festival information page shows the 2025 year in its banner. The entertainment lineup labels the weekend Saturday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 12, which match the 2025 calendar. The 2026 dates are Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11.
What the square does with October now
Without the festival, downtown's fall runs mostly through its theatres. Stage Right's Frankenstein plays the Crighton Theatre at 234 N. Main St. from Oct. 16 through Nov. 1. Its three weekends cover the second half of October and end the day after Halloween. The Crighton's listing links to tickets, but showtimes and prices weren't posted on the pages we checked, so look at the ticket page before you plan dinner around a curtain time.
The city's own calendar has a gap too. The City of Conroe special events page currently lists no fall festival, trunk-or-treat or movie night. Its next posted events are December holiday events at Heritage Place, 500 Metcalf St. The Oscar Johnson Jr. Community Center lists Nov. 11 as a holiday closure, not a public ceremony.
So October is open, and two places outside downtown have filled it with pumpkins.
The pumpkin end of town
7 Acre Wood at 4401 N. Frazier St. says pumpkins have arrived. The Houston Chronicle's pumpkin patch guide puts the start of its season at Sept. 24, with hayrides and fall activities. Daily admission is $10 and seasonal hayrides are $5. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Those daily hours make 7 Acre Wood a weekday option as well as a weekend one. Weekdays also don't overlap with Frankenstein's weekend runs.
Grand Central Park offers a lighter-commitment version. Its Boo Bash & Pumpkin Stash runs Oct. 1 through 31 at The Finding Place, 750 Grand Central Parkway. It has a pumpkin photo setup and free decorating kits while supplies last, available during the center's regular hours. Bring a pumpkin home, decorate it on the porch, and you're done.
Saturday, Nov. 7, is when it all lands at once
Each event in October has its own stretch of days. The first Saturday in November is different, because four separate events in Conroe land on that date.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | November Artisan Market | The Lake House, 1039 Lake House Drive |
| 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Thrill at the Mill | 7 Acre Wood, 4401 N. Frazier St. |
| 1 p.m. | "Saddles to Strategy: Pershing's Transition from Cavalry to Command" | Heritage Museum of Montgomery County |
| 6:30 p.m. | Lifespan of a Fact | The Owen Theatre |
The times overlap less than the table might suggest. The Artisan Market at The Lake House ends at 1 p.m., the same time Bernie Sargent starts his Pershing talk at the Heritage Museum. The market has maker demos, a DJ, pet adoptions and food trucks, and its page lists no admission price. The museum page doesn't give an address or admission price for the talk, so check with the museum first.
7 Acre Wood's Thrill at the Mill runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and overlaps both daytime events. If you're with kids, you'll likely end up choosing between the market and the mill.
The evening goes to The Players Theatre Company, which opens Lifespan of a Fact at the Owen Theatre on Friday, Nov. 6. It plays at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7, 13 and 14, with 1 p.m. matinees on Sundays, Nov. 8 and 15. Ticket prices weren't on the pages we checked. If the Nov. 7 showing doesn't fit, the Sunday matinee keeps the next day open.
For more of a country-fair weekend, P-6 Farms' Fall Fest in Montgomery ends that same weekend. It runs weekends from Oct. 3 through Nov. 8 at 9963 Poole's Road. The farm lists Nov. 7 and 8 as American Heroes Weekend, and earlier dates include dueling pianos Oct. 16 and 17 and Halloween activities on Oct. 31. It's outside Conroe, but it's the other large fall event still open on these dates.
The following week shifts to The Lake House
After Nov. 7, the calendar moves to one venue. The Lake House at Grand Central Park hosts two events in two days.
- Lakeside Live, Friday, Nov. 13, 6 to 8 p.m. Zach and the 45's play, with food and dessert trucks. The listing includes a registration link and no price, so register ahead of time rather than just showing up.
- Cars in the Park, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 to 5 p.m. The organizer lists it as free and open to the public.
That same Friday and Saturday also have 6:30 p.m. showings of Lifespan of a Fact, and its run ends with the 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 15. You could do the concert on Friday, the cars Saturday afternoon and the play Saturday night, all without leaving Conroe.
After Nov. 15, the calendar thins until December
Once Lifespan of a Fact closes, the Owen Theatre's next listing is Conroe Conjuring with Harry Mauer on Nov. 27. The theatre describes it as a monthly evening of family-friendly magic. After that come the city's holiday events. The City of Conroe special events page lists a Tree Lighting Ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 6:30 to 7 p.m. It also lists the Toby Powell Conroe Christmas Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both are at Heritage Place, 500 Metcalf St. The page doesn't give a year, and some of its images carry 2025 file names, so treat both dates as unconfirmed until the city posts its 2026 schedule.
Two things stand out about Conroe's fall in 2026. The square's October no longer revolves around the festival, and the busiest day on the calendar has moved to Nov. 7. Between those dates are Frankenstein at the Crighton, pumpkin season at 7 Acre Wood and Grand Central Park, and two nights of Lifespan of a Fact at the Owen.
We keep a calendar like this because these dates shape how Conroe weekends actually go, not only how a listing reads. If a fall move to the Conroe area is on your list, Aqua Terra Real Estate can help you get to know the area from where events like these actually happen, starting with a drive past the fairgrounds, the square and The Lake House.
