Champaign Park District's free Flannel Fest and the Forest Preserve's Eerie Illinois both land Oct. 24
A free Halloween escape room at the Martens Center comes first, on Oct. 20.
CHAMPAIGN - The Champaign Park District's free Flannel Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at West Side Park, 400 W. University Ave., according to the district's event page.
The district lists lumberjack shows by Timberworks LLC, a mustache and beard contest, hot-wing and apple-pie eating contests, pumpkin smashing, free hayrack rides, a mechanical bull, a vendor fair, food trucks and inflatables for children.
That evening, the Champaign County Forest Preserve District holds Eerie Illinois from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Museum of the Grand Prairie in the Lake of the Woods preserve. The district says the event is free, needs no registration and is for all ages, with s'mores, a hayrack ride and a chance to learn about Illinois cryptids.
Earlier in the week, the park district's free Science Exploration program offers a Halloween mystery escape room from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Martens Center, 1515 N. Market St.
Source: Champaign Park District event pages for Flannel Fest and Science Exploration; Champaign County Forest Preserve District event page for Eerie Illinois (opened Oct. 14, 2026).