Waunakee's Farmers Market and Its Halloween Walk Changed Hands This Year

"The market was probably Waunakee's best-kept secret, really nice and great vendors, but the time was a little bit of a challenge." That was Nic Stapel of Cellanie Farms speaking to the Village Board on May 18, a few weeks before his farm took over the Waunakee Farmers Market from the Chamber of Commerce.

Downtown's fall walk went the opposite way. Local retailers used to run the Witch's Walk. The Waunakee Area Chamber of Commerce now runs it as the Mystic Night Market. So the Chamber handed off one tradition and took on another. October 2026 is the only month when both run, which puts Waunakee's fall on two calendars at two ends of the village.

The market moved to a farm, and to Saturday mornings

For years the farmers market met on Wednesday afternoons in Reeve Park, behind the Historic Train Depot at 100 E. Main St. In April the Chamber announced that Nic and Betsy Stapel of Cellanie Farms would take over operations. They partnered with Livable Communities by Don Tierney and moved the market to Saturday mornings at Simon Crestway and Water Wheel Drive. The Village lists the new season as every Saturday from June 6 through October 31, 8 a.m. to noon, and calls the spot a new location meant to start new traditions.

The rules changed along with the address. The market is now producer-only, so only the people who make a product can sell it, and vendors must now carry insurance, which wasn't required before. Stapel explained the reason to the board:

"What we had in the past was a situation where folks could bring in other products from other places and that local spirit wasn't being represented. So, we think we can reinvigorate and fortify our local culture by increasing that standard."

On June 1, the Village Board voted unanimously to give the market about $3,550 in one-time funding. The money covers signs and a portable power station for the weekly performers, since live music is one of the changes meant to draw bigger crowds. Before opening day, Stapel said eight local vendors had signed on, including Buck & Honey's for breakfast and Laufenberg Meats for protein, with room for 30 vendors in all. He also said a farm store was planned at the site so local producers would have shelf space on non-market days.

That leaves four Saturdays: October 10, 17, 24 and 31. The last market falls on Halloween itself. Cellanie Farms' season page confirms the October 31 end date and hasn't announced anything special for the day.

The Halloween walk moved to the Chamber, and stayed on Main Street

The Mystic Night Market is Thursday, October 8, from 5 to 8 p.m. downtown. The Chamber calls it a completely reimagined version of the Witch's Walk, "with more stops, more interaction, more to taste, and more reasons to wander." Tickets cost $15, and check-in is at the Chamber of Commerce at 100 E. Main St. That's the Depot building next to the market's old home in Reeve Park.

Chamber director Ellen Schaaf told the Waunakee Tribune that the event was "designed to highlight local small businesses." The paper added that the Chamber helps participating businesses with marketing, and that the timing gives shops a chance to build customer loyalty "with the holidays right around the corner." The Tribune's preview promised 15-plus stops. The ticket page now lists 22 and says more are coming. Listed stops include:

• Drinks: Lone Girl Brewing, Red & White Winebar and Tasting Room Waunakee
• Sweets: Lundy's Ice Cream, Especially Stroopwafel and Sour Batch Gals
• Shops: Pageberry Mercantile, Red Barn Company Store, Rocks & Relics, Junky Janko Market, Evie and Co Boutique, Wild Eye Collective, Waunakee Furniture ETC and Wisconsin Candle Company
• Flowers and plants: Sweet Pea Floral and Leaf & Bloom
• Others on the list: AM Headspa, Hello Gorgeous Salon, Urban Linked, Midwest Merch Designs, author Amanda Sherer and the Chamber itself

The ticket page promises "mystic treats, giveaways and more," with a mystic drink at several stops. It doesn't spell out what each stop will offer. The Chamber's own wording is "No two stops will be exactly the same."

A new evening address one week earlier

One of those 22 stops didn't exist in September. The Tasting Room held its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Thursday, October 1. The Main Street lounge serves craft cocktails, premium cigars, and curated wine and beer, and it plans live entertainment and events. The Chamber directory lists it at 114 E. Main St., Suite 109, with Jason Smith as the contact. Lone Girl Brewing is in Suite 101 at the same address.

The Waunakee lounge is a second location. The Tasting Room's website lists the original at 800 W. Broadway in Monona and gives hours only for that spot. Check Waunakee's hours before you head over.

Taken together, the two moves shifted downtown's busy hours. The market brought daytime traffic to Reeve Park on Wednesdays, and now it's gone from Main Street. What downtown added this October is evening activity: a Thursday night walk and a new lounge one door down from a taproom.

The October calendar, in order

The daytime and nighttime events alternate all month, so here they are by date.

1. Thursday, October 8, 5–8 p.m.: Mystic Night Market, starting at the Chamber Depot, 100 E. Main St.
2. Saturday, October 10, 8 a.m.–noon: Farmers market at Simon Crestway and Water Wheel Drive.
3. Wednesday, October 14, 3–6 p.m.: Boo Bash, the Chamber's business trick-or-treat. Pick up the list of participating businesses at the Chamber Depot or on the Chamber's Facebook page, then go door to door across town.
4. Saturday, October 17: Market in the morning, then Halloween at the Farm at Schumacher Farm Park, 5682 State Highway 19, from 5 to 9 p.m., with family activities and wagon rides.
5. Saturday, October 24: The second-to-last market.
6. Tuesday, October 27: Schumacher Farm Park's Fermented Homemade Condiments workshop.
7. Saturday, October 31, 8 a.m.–noon: The last market of the season, on Halloween.

Some regular events keep going after the market closes. The Chamber calendar shows a Friday fish fry at Rex's Innkeeper and Wednesday trivia with King Trivia at The Lone Girl every week into November. Schumacher Farm Park's Lefse Making Workshop is November 21. If you'd rather stay closer to the city, the Northside Farmers Market runs Sundays through October 25 at the Northside TownCenter, across from Warner Park.

What's coming to Water Wheel Drive

The market's new corner sits on the same street as Waunakee's next park project. Water Wheel Park is planned for an undeveloped site of about 13.2 acres at 1230 Water Wheel Drive, land the Village describes as having wetlands and environmental corridor status. The Village Board approved the park's conceptual plan and cost estimate on February 16, 2026.

According to the Waunakee Tribune's report, the approved plan is for low-key recreation. It includes trails, an open-air shelter, prairie restoration and a viewing area on high ground. Some paths will be crushed limestone, and a separate loop will be paved and open to bikes. Construction is estimated at $757,386, against the $3 million the Village originally set aside in its capital plan. Work was originally scheduled to start in 2028. Parks Director Mike Axon said the Village would try to move it up, though no new start date has been announced. Public sources don't say whether the market's Saturday corner sits on the park parcel. For now, both are reasons to drive out Water Wheel Drive, and the market has four Saturdays left.

When we work with homeowners in Waunakee and North Madison, details like a market moving to a new corner or a park plan getting approved are the kind of local knowledge we put to use. If you've been wondering how changes like these affect what your home is worth, The Collective Wisconsin can walk you through it. Request your free home valuation and we'll start with your street.