In Bellaire, the Pumpkin Patch Comes Nine Days Before the Construction Equipment

The Nature Discovery Center's Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival opens Saturday, October 17, and continues October 18 at 7112 Newcastle Street. Nine days after the festival opens, on October 26, the Center plans to bring construction equipment to the same park so it can rebuild the play space that families have used there for years. That play space is the first of Bellaire's two best-known family parks to be redone with community fundraising. Evergreen Park is next, and its plan is still being written. Bellaire's fall calendar follows the same order. The festival falls before the rebuild, the city's own events fill the gap, and the next playground decision comes in the weeks right after.

The Festival Has a Deadline This Year

On October 7, city officials and Nature Discovery Center board members broke ground on the Enchanted Woods Nature Play Space and Cottage Classroom at Russ Pitman Park, at the northwest corner of Evergreen Street and Newcastle Drive. Community Impact reported that the existing play area hasn't been upgraded in more than a decade.

There's still no exact start date for construction. Development director Darenda Dorsey told Community Impact that equipment is due on site October 26, with completion expected sometime in 2027. Neither the Center nor the city has said publicly whether the current play area will be fenced or closed once work starts. Families planning regular visits this winter can check with the Center directly.

The festival itself is on the Center's event page. Saturday runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Center promises pumpkins, games, crafts, food, photo spots and animal encounters. The admission and ticket details on that page are labeled as information from the 2025 festival. Last year, entry to the grounds was free, while games required an Activity Wristband and the wagon ride required a timed ticket, boarding on Evergreen Street at the south end of the park. The Center hasn't confirmed whether 2026 works the same way.

What Replaces the Old Play Space, and Who Pays for It

Enchanted Woods started with a vision from former Executive Director Henry Owen. TBG Partners and StudioRed Architects designed it, and Forney Construction is building it. The site plans from August divide the new play space into three areas:

• Imagination Meadow
• Discovery Creek
• Nature Workshop

The Cottage Classroom sits at the center of those three areas, with air conditioning and an outdoor observation deck. That room matters for a park whose programs run year-round in a Houston climate.

The project costs $2.5 million and is funded through a capital campaign. Campaign chair Meghan Lutschg said at the groundbreaking that the campaign had reached 88% of its goal as of October 7. The tracker on the Enchanted Woods project page showed $2,226,204 raised, or 89%, when the research for this post was gathered. That leaves the Center a little under $275,000 short as the equipment arrives. Any money spent at the festival counts as a donation to the Center's general operations, according to the terms it published last year.

Mayor Gus Pappas attended the groundbreaking with Mayor Pro Tem Winfred C. Frazier and council members Todd Thurber, Ross Gordon and Catherine Lewis. Community Impact quoted his remarks:

"They come here because of the Nature Discovery Center."

Evergreen Park Is Next in Line, Without a Shovel Yet

The second rebuild is moving more slowly, and on purpose. The "We Are Evergreen" committee formed in September 2024 and is co-chaired by Brad Mills and Kristi Coffey. It's working on a phased redevelopment of Evergreen Park that could include an all-abilities playground, a renovated pool complex and flexible green space. The project is part of the city's fiscal year 2026-28 strategic plan and raised nearly $700,000 in 2025.

The timeline has already slipped once. Two design concepts were shown at an open house in November 2025, and City Council was expected to vote on a final concept in January 2026. Instead, the committee went back to collect more feedback. Community Impact reported Mills's explanation that the group wanted that input "before we take any actions overturning dirt or raising the first dollar." That round brought in more than 600 survey responses, along with focus groups, workshops and neighborhood meetings.

The phasing is tentative, but it follows the same order as Russ Pitman Park:

1. Phase one: the park's northeast quadrant, which holds the playground.
2. Phase two: the next section the committee works through.
3. Phase three, under consideration: the pool complex.

The city's October calendar lists a special City Council session for October 12 at 6 p.m., with workshops on the Evergreen Park Conceptual Plan and on cost-allocation and user-fee studies. Once Council approves a concept, the committee plans to refine the scope, work out cost assumptions with the city and put together a phased fundraising packet with naming opportunities. A conceptual plan doesn't authorize construction or commit any funding. Bellaire's second playground rebuild is roughly where Enchanted Woods was before its design was finished and its money mostly raised.

The Rest of October, Away From the Construction

While the Center's site changes hands, most of the month's events take place at two other venues. Evelyn's Park runs a weekly schedule, and the City of Bellaire books the Great Lawn at 7008 S Rice Ave. These are the dated evening and weekend events from the eve of the festival through Halloween:

• Friday, October 16: Friday Night Live Music with Just Fan Fiction at Betsy's at Evelyn's Park, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Saturday, October 17: 90s In The Park Bellaire's Retro Gala at the Evelyn's Park Event Center and Lawn, 6:30 to 11 p.m. It's the same evening as the festival's first day.
• Thursday, October 22: Live music with Dave Wheeler at Betsy's, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Friday, October 23: Party at the Pavilion featuring Mango Punch! on the city's Great Lawn, 7 to 9 p.m., moved from its original October 2 date. The Critter Taylor Band plays Betsy's the same night.
• Saturday, October 24: Bellaire Diwali 2026 at the Civic Center, 7008 S Rice Ave, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
• Thursday, October 29: Live music with Mia Walker at Betsy's, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Friday, October 30: Friday Night Live Music with Texas Turbines at Betsy's, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Saturday, October 31: Bellaire Open Air Halloween Market at Evelyn's Park, noon to 4 p.m.

Evelyn's Park also keeps a steady weekday routine. Its listings include Yoga in the Park on Monday mornings, Tai Chi at the Solar Pavilion and evening Inferno Hot Pilates on Tuesdays, Art in the Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and Circle Time on Fridays at the Trevilion. Evelyn's Park labels part of its own grounds the "Great Lawn" too, so for city events, the address to look for is 7008 S Rice Ave.

December on the City Calendar

The city's December calendar lists four holiday dates. Only the Pavilion concert is listed at the Great Lawn, and the city calendar gives no venue for the other three:

The Enchanted Woods equipment will have been on site for more than a month by the December dates. Mills had hoped to hold the Council workshop on Evergreen Park's concept between October and November. The Center expects Enchanted Woods to be finished sometime in 2027.

The LaRose Kaileh Group follows Bellaire's park projects, from the Enchanted Woods campaign to each step of the Evergreen Park plan, because they shape the streets around Russ Pitman Park and Evergreen Street. If you'd like to talk through what these changes may mean for a home nearby, Request a Private Consultation.