For a few years before they signed a lease, Vanessa Griffin and Jessica Vealitzek met at a picnic table in Breezewald Park. Griffin brought a stack of books and Vealitzek gave her recommendations. Their bookshop, Commonplace, is around the corner at 10 E. Main St. It opened on Sept. 19, the same day as Ela History Day and the Antique & Artisan Market across the street at Lions Park.
Commonplace is a small shop, about 2,500 new and used titles, but it reflects how the lakefront fills up this fall. The activity comes from storefronts that are already open and from short-run events on village parkland. The one property meant to be a permanent waterfront destination is Block A at 173 W. Main St. It went back to village control in August, and nothing is scheduled to happen there.
Saturday, Oct. 10, Hour by Hour
Saturday, Oct. 10 shows the pattern clearly. Four separate organizers have plans for the day, and their schedules overlap without being coordinated:
- Noon to 3 p.m. The Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce Fall Wine Walk runs downtown on Main Street and Old Rand Road. It has 22 tasting stops, tickets are $40, the event is 21 and over, and the first 75 people to register get a free tumbler.
- 1 to 5 p.m. Jack O'Lantern World opens its daytime pumpkin patch and Fun Zone at Paulus Park, with inflatables, mini golf and a fall photo-op trail. The organizer calls the daytime festival new for 2026. It runs on three Saturdays: Oct. 10, 17 and 24.
- 1 to 2:45 p.m. Growers unload their pumpkins for the U.S. National Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
- 3 p.m. The weigh-off starts.
- 6:40 p.m. The first timed entry window for the evening jack-o'-lantern trail runs from 6:40 to 7 p.m. After that, windows open every 15 minutes, and the last one is 10:15 to 10:30 p.m.
The Wine Walk ends at 3 p.m., the same time the weigh-off starts. You can spend the early afternoon on Main Street and still get to Paulus Park for the scale, but only if you leave downtown when the tasting ends.
What the Wine Walk Says About Main Street
The Wine Walk roster lists 22 participants, and almost all of them are small, local operations. Visit Lake County's listing names Apres Pastry & Bakery, Aird & Warner, Bubble Tea & Books, Commonplace Books, Craving Gyros, Edward Jones, Ela Historical Society, Koffee Kup, Lake Zurich Florist, Lake Zurich Jewelers, Lolo's Bowls, Mainstreet Art Gallery, Mindful Yoga, Offbeat Music Store, Orchard Prime Meats, Pure Beauty Spa, Scoreboard, Stomping Grounds, Sunset Pavilion, TKO Nisei Dojo, Vault 232 and Via Vici Salon & Boutique.
The route covers a florist, a jeweler, a music store, a butcher, a dojo and the historical society. Commonplace joined the list less than a month after opening. Griffin explained the timing when she talked about the decision to open: "Lake Zurich has had staying power with the coffee shops and restaurants. This is a good addition to the ecosystem."
The shop also plans events. Authors with local ties, including Amy J. Elliott and bestselling novelist Mary Kubica, are scheduled to visit, and the owners plan workshops and a book club. That gives Main Street one more place with its own calendar, separate from the Chamber's.
Paulus Park Becomes a Ticketed Venue for a Month
Jack O'Lantern World is in its sixth year in Lake Zurich, according to Patch. Its first season at Paulus Park was 2021. It runs through Nov. 1. The three-quarter-mile trail has more than 5,000 hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns by more than 50 artisan carvers, plus live carving demonstrations. The beer garden pours Phase Three Brewing Co., and the food trucks are Speedy Tacos and My Funnel Truck.
New this year, according to Patch, is a set of intricately carved 100-pound pumpkins. Themes include America's 250th anniversary, anime, sports and pop culture. The trail also has a ship inspired by the Odyssey and two 40-foot sculptures, a whale and a horse.
Tickets are sold online only, with no sales at the gate. Prices include all fees and depend on the night:
| Night | Ticket range |
|---|---|
| Thursdays | $17.99 to $23.99 |
| Fridays and Sundays | $17.99 to $27.99 |
| Most Saturdays | $17.99 to $29.99 |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | $17.99 to $27.99 |
The rules are strict. You have to arrive within 15 minutes after the start of your entry window. The lights go off one hour after the last entry time. Entry times move earlier as sunset does. The first window is 6:40 p.m. early in the month and 6:10 p.m. by late October. On a Sunday the last entry is usually 9:15 p.m., so a family planning for after dinner has less time than on a Saturday.
Parking is in the west lot at 215 S. Rand Road. The east lot is reserved for accessible parking, older visitors and expectant mothers. Visitors are asked to use the crosswalk over Route 12. The ticketing site lists 225 S. Rand Road instead, while the organizer's page and the Daily Herald both say 215.
The Scale at 3 P.M.
Contestants' friends and family can attend the weigh-off for free, but entering Jack O'Lantern World itself still requires a separate ticket. First place pays $2 per pound, or $2.50 per pound for anything over 2,000 pounds. Second place pays $1.50 per pound and third pays $1.
The giant pumpkins are already in town. The festival reported on Sept. 30 that it had received more than 11,000 pounds of them from specialty growers across the Midwest, including a 2,212-pound pumpkin from Kansas. Those deliveries will be carved into some of the largest jack-o'-lanterns on the trail. The announcement did not say whether the Kansas pumpkin is entered in the competition.
Across From the Promenade, a Lot That Stays Empty
Block A is 10 consolidated parcels covering 1.7 acres, directly across the street from the promenade along Lake Zurich. Over more than 20 years the site drew steady interest but no construction. In September 2025, the village board gave preliminary approvals to The Waterfront Lake Zurich, a proposal from Deerfield-based THG Holdings. It called for a two-story commercial building with a restaurant and 19 townhouses in five three-story buildings. THG had offered $1.05 million for the property in April 2025.
In August 2026, the board voted unanimously to end the sale. Assistant Village Manager Michael Duebner said engineering work found problems with the site, including the need for soil remediation and extensive drainage and stormwater measures.
"For a commercial product, it's just not economically viable. I think it's an awareness that has come forward of what is possible and what isn't possible." Michael Duebner, assistant village manager, to the Daily Herald
The village is paying $415,000 for THG's entitlement costs, including architectural and engineering services and project management. In return it keeps the feasibility studies, plans and other development documents. According to the termination agreement, the village is not discussing a sale or development of the site and is not considering other offers. The board will decide what happens next.
Of all the plans proposed for Block A, this one went furthest in engineering and analysis. So the village now has the most detailed study of the lot it has ever had, and the lot stays empty this October while the wine tasting, the scale and the lantern trail fill the blocks around it.
Sunday and the Weeks After
On Sunday, Oct. 11, the events move inland. The free Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade & Expo runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Staples Park, 501 Red Bridge Road. Fire Station 1 at 321 Buesching Road holds an open house from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The village's leaf vacuuming also starts the week of Oct. 11 and runs into the first week of December. For the final collection week, leaves need to be raked within five feet of the curb by Monday, Nov. 30.
Phase Three Brewing, whose beer is poured in the trail's beer garden, holds its own A Bushel of Apples Fall Fest Oct. 16 to 18. Beelow's Steakhouse has Halloween planned for Oct. 31. Jack O'Lantern World closes Nov. 1. After that, the village's November calendar lists mostly municipal meetings and a Thanksgiving office closure, and the Chamber's November events are business networking. The tasting stops, the trail and the scale are all temporary, and in November the lakefront goes back to the Main Street shops and the empty lot across from the promenade.
If you own a home near Main Street or the lake, the village board's next decision on Block A could affect how your neighborhood is valued. Morrison Home Team follows those decisions closely and can show you where your property stands today. Request Your Free Home Valuation.