Cranberry Township's Great Pumpkin Festival is tomorrow, Friday, October 23. It still has a pumpkin patch, crafts and costumes. This year it also uses the Armstrong Great Lawn behind the Municipal Center and ends with something new: a Halloween Movie on the Lawn at 7 p.m. The film is 2019's "The Addams Family."
That one addition changes who the evening is for. The festival used to be built around preschoolers and early-elementary kids. Now it has a closing act that older siblings and parents can stay for. It also extends a pattern that has been building at 2525 Rochester Road for about two years. The township keeps putting its seasonal events on the same patch of grass, and this year that patch gets Halloween too.
Last Year's Festival Was Built for Little Kids
The 2025 version, held Friday, October 24, had a narrower audience. The township's October 2025 announcement described pumpkin picking from an outdoor patch, crafts, games and snacks, "designed for ages 1 to 8." A sensory hour ran from 5 to 6 p.m., and the general session started at 6:30. Families were asked to register. The Butler Eagle's coverage that week described the activities and the sensory hour. It didn't mention a movie, because there wasn't one.
That schedule suited a toddler's bedtime. It didn't give a ten-year-old much reason to come along.
What's Different Friday Night
The 2026 announcement keeps the core of the event and changes how the evening is laid out.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Friday, Oct. 24 | Friday, Oct. 23 |
| Location | Municipal Center | Municipal Center and Armstrong Great Lawn |
| Sensory option | Separate 5–6 p.m. hour | Sensory-friendly room during the event |
| Main session | From 6:30 p.m. | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Audience | Designed for ages 1–8 | Designed for ages 1–8, all ages welcome |
| Closing event | None | Halloween Movie on the Lawn, 7 p.m. |
Cranberry Township and Giant Eagle are presenting the event, which is free and happens rain or shine. Costumes are encouraged. The lineup includes a pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, games, crafts, snacks, a photobooth and sponsor booths.
The new storywalk is a good reason to use the whole lawn. It's a self-guided loop around the Armstrong Great Lawn featuring "Here a Creak, There a Shriek!" by Kelly Conroy. Kids can follow the pages around the lawn between crafts.
The sensory accommodation has changed shape. Last year it was a separate hour before the main event. This year it's a sensory-friendly room that stays open during the event, so a family that needs a break can step away without leaving.
The festival activities wind down at 7:30, half an hour after the movie starts at 7. That gives families a choice between packing up and finding a spot on the grass. The township's event calendar listing blocks the evening out from 5:30 to 9 p.m., which is about how long the whole night runs if you stay for the movie. Bring a blanket or folding chairs, and dress for a late-October evening outdoors.
Why the Lawn Can Hold a Movie Night
Halloween is the latest event to move onto the Armstrong Great Lawn. The township describes the lawn as a pedestrian-friendly shared space that connects the Municipal Center to the wider community. Its grand opening was planned for Friday, May 16, as part of Celebrate Cranberry.
The lawn was already in use before that. Santa's First Stop on November 22, 2024, was its first public gathering, ahead of the official opening. Since then, the Town Square Market has used it for food trucks, live music and themed events, and Celebrate Cranberry activities have been held there.
Holiday kickoff, summer markets, the township celebration, and now Halloween with a screen at the end. Santa's First Stop already showed the lawn could handle an evening crowd, since it ran from 6 to 8 p.m. that November. This year the township is adding a Halloween movie to the Great Pumpkin Festival and calling it a new part of the event.
Halloween Week, in Order
The festival falls in the middle of a full week. Here's what's on the public calendars from today through Saturday, October 31.
- Tonight, Thursday, October 22: Teen Craft Night. Cranberry Public Library hosts teens from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Franklin Station South Meeting Room, where they'll make spell books. The schedule is on the library's events calendar.
- Friday, October 23: Great Pumpkin Festival. The festival runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Municipal Center and Armstrong Great Lawn, 2525 Rochester Road, and the movie starts at 7.
- Thursday, October 29: Halloween STEAM. The library runs two sessions in its Children's Common Area. A sensory-friendly session runs from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed by a general session from 6 to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, October 31: Trick-or-treat. The township's announcement sets trick-or-treating for 6 to 8 p.m., rain or shine.
Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so trick-or-treat doesn't compete with a school night. The township's notice says each homeowner decides whether to participate. It asks those who aren't taking part to keep exterior lights off, and those who are to keep walkways, steps and porches well-lit and clear. Drivers are asked to slow down and watch for children crossing between homes.
The library is running the same kind of split as the festival. Its Halloween STEAM program on October 29 offers a short sensory-friendly session before the general session. Families who use those options can plan the week around both events.
The Same Push Shows Up at Community Park
Halloween isn't the only place the township is stretching its schedule. In late August, Cranberry Township Community Park opened synthetic-turf infields on Fields 3 and 4. The Seneca Valley Baseball and Softball Association was there for the ribbon cutting, and township Supervisor Anthony Bertolino threw a ceremonial first pitch.
As the Butler Eagle reported, township engineering director Michael Malak said the grass infields had trouble in wet weather: "Every time it rains, it would affect the infields." He said the goal of the turf was to increase hours of play and keep the fields available later into the fall and earlier in the spring. In the same article, association president Mike Fabus said of the past season, "This (past) year, we probably missed the most in the last three years."
So this fall, the township has turf infields meant to keep games going later in the season and a festival that now runs into the evening.
What Comes Next on the Lawn
The next event on the township calendar brings the lawn back to where it started. Santa's First Stop is on the township calendar for Friday, November 20, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road. The listing doesn't have program details yet. It is the event that first brought a crowd to the Armstrong Great Lawn in 2024, and this year it comes four weeks after the lawn's first Halloween movie.
Settling in for the movie on Friday, or getting the porch light ready for October 31? The shared spaces and community traditions that make Cranberry Township's Halloween week work also matter to people looking at homes here. If you're thinking about what your Cranberry home might be worth before next spring, Zita Billmann can prepare a clear, local picture. Request a Free Home Valuation.