Things to Do in Las Vegas, Oct. 9–11, 2026

Sunset Park can hold only so many knights. The Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival caps its crowd at 25,000 people in the park at once, which is a great many people to fit inside a 16th-century English village, and a fair hint at how busy the second weekend of October is about to get.

It is busy in the best way. Between Friday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 11, the Las Vegas Valley has an art festival on the lawn in Summerlin, a Japanese festival on Water Street, a homecoming game, a pumpkin patch whose weekend tickets are going fast and a jazz concert in a Henderson park that costs nothing at all. Here are seven picks, with something for families, something for date night and three that are free. Plans change, so check each link before you head out.

Summerlin Festival of Arts

In its 30th year, the Summerlin Festival of Arts still runs on a simple idea: more than 100 fine artists from across the country, picked by a jury, set up on The Lawn at Downtown Summerlin, and everyone else wanders. There are children’s activities, so the smallest critics have something to do while the grown-ups work out whether a painting would fit over the couch. Admission is free. The couch question is where it gets expensive.

Before you go: Friday–Sunday, Oct. 9–11, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. · The Lawn at Downtown Summerlin · Free · Festival details

Age of Chivalry Renaissance Festival

For its 32nd year, the festival turns Sunset Park back into that English village, with full-contact jousting, archery and blacksmithing demonstrations and more than 100 artisans. The activity list also runs to camel rides, axe throwing and a juggling school, which reads like the brochure for a very specific summer camp. Friday and Saturday go until 10 p.m., so it doubles as date night, and a new pub crawl is ticketed separately.

Before you go: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9–10, 10 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. · Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset Road · Single-day and three-day tickets online, with lower prices for seniors 60 and up and kids 6–11; kids 5 and under free; $5 more per ticket at the gate, cards only; check the current price before you buy · Free parking; no pets except service animals · Festival site

Aki Matsuri Japanese Festival

Aki matsuri means fall festival, and Henderson’s 17th edition takes the job seriously. The day brings odaiko big-drum performances, a taiko showcase with groups from Sacramento, Pasadena and San Diego, a sake tasting and seminar, kids’ activities and a mikoshi parade at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. Public odori dance workshops run at 4:35 and 7:35, and the classic matsuri odori hour starts at 8. By then, watching starts to feel optional.

Before you go: Saturday, Oct. 10, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; the city says stage times can change · Water Street Plaza, 240 S. Water St., Henderson · Free · Outdoors, rain or shine · Free parking in the Water Street and City Hall garages; no shuttle · Festival details

Gilcrease Orchard Fall Harvest

The pumpkins at Gilcrease Orchard are sold by weight, 75 cents a pound. Picking one turns into a small lesson in physics and family budgeting. A Fall Harvest ticket at the historic northwest orchard covers the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a straw maze and a wagon ride. Tickets are timed and sold online only, and weekend slots go fast: by Oct. 3, the only entry times left on either day were around noon or later. Buy before you drive out.

Before you go: Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10–11, 7 a.m.–2 p.m.; arrive within 15 minutes of your ticket time; last entry 1:30 p.m. · 7800 N. Tenaya, northwest Las Vegas · $6 plus fees, online in advance only; no tickets on site; no refunds or rescheduling; kids 5 and under free; pumpkins extra; no pets · Fall Harvest details

UNLV Homecoming: Rebels vs. North Dakota State

UNLV’s homecoming game is, by the school’s count, a first-ever matchup. North Dakota State is in its first season as a Mountain West member, so Saturday is a conference game, and one nobody in the stands has seen before. It is also UNLV’s Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

Before you go: Saturday, Oct. 10, kickoff 4 p.m. · Allegiant Stadium · End-zone seats $50 Oct. 4–9, fees included; $55 on game day · current UNLV students free · Single-game tickets

Zombie Run 5K and 1-Mile Walk

Henderson’s Zombie Run is back, and costumes are encouraged, from Halloween clothes to full undead. The 5K is chip timed, the 1-mile walk suits the shufflers and the first 300 participants get a medal and a dry-fit shirt. The city also recruits volunteer zombies to spook runners on the course. Some people will call that motivation. As early-evening dates go, it is an unusual one.

Before you go: Saturday, Oct. 10, 5:30 p.m. · Wildhorse Golf Course, 2100 W. Warm Springs Road, Henderson · 5K $45 through Oct. 9, $50 on race day; 1-mile walk $35, then $40 · Race details

Christine Tassan et les Imposteures in Solista Park

Guitarist and vocalist Christine Tassan and her band, les Imposteures, play jazz manouche, the guitar-driven swing of Django Reinhardt, and they have played it as far afield as the Django Reinhardt festival in Samois-sur-Seine, France. On the band’s own tour calendar, the Henderson stop sits between Kingman, Ariz., and Santa Cruz, Calif., and it is the one marked free. Bring low-back chairs or a blanket. Pets are welcome. It may be the most relaxed sentence in this whole guide.

Before you go: Sunday, Oct. 11, 2 p.m. · Solista Park, 1890 Via Firenze Road, Henderson · Free · The city lists it as “Christine Tassan & Les Impostures Jazz Concert” · Concert details

At 5 p.m. Sunday the gates close at Sunset Park, and the valley returns to its usual century. Monday can wait.

Good to know: Event details were checked on Oct. 3, 2026, and can change without notice. Please confirm dates, times and prices with each organizer before you go. The Pulse isn’t the organizer of these events. Spot a change? Drop us a line at hello@thepulseofvegas.com.