At 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, the car show at Marburger Plaza wraps up and the trunks start closing. Five hours later and a few blocks of downtown Waller away, Sonic Seduction starts its set on the outdoor stage at the Waller Feed Store.
The next Saturday follows the same pattern. The city's Fall Festival at the plaza ends at 2 p.m., and a Texas country set at the Feed Store starts at 7:30 p.m.
Waller's two busiest fall Saturdays split by time of day. The city's events at 1218 Farr Street happen in daylight, and the Trunk-R-Treat bans alcohol outright. The restored 1948 grain mill at 2614 Washington Street takes over after dark. On both weekends, a family can do the plaza in the afternoon and the mill at night.
Two Saturdays, Hour by Hour
| Saturday | Daytime at Marburger Plaza | Evening at Waller Feed Store |
|---|---|---|
| October 31 | Brite Nites Trunk-R-Treat and Car Show, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Sonic Seduction, 8 to 11:45 p.m. |
| November 7 | Fall Festival and Small Business Showcase, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Matt Mercado, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. |
On both dates, about five hours separate the end of the plaza event from the first song at the mill. Each venue sets its own hours, and the gap between them is what makes it possible to do both.
Halloween at the Plaza Runs on Car Show Rules
The 7th Annual Waller Brite Nites Trunk-R-Treat and Car Show is part trick-or-treat and part car show. The City of Waller's listing promises food, "stunning cars," music and a bucking bull. Registration costs $15 to show a car and $30 for a vendor spot. The listing also says plainly that no alcohol is permitted.
The 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. window matters. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the plaza event finishes well before sunset. Families can still go door to door in their own neighborhoods that evening without the two overlapping. With no alcohol allowed, the Trunk-R-Treat is set up as a family afternoon.
What Fills the Five Hours in Between
The Feed Store doesn't wait for the band. It opens every day at 11 a.m., the same hour the Trunk-R-Treat starts, and describes itself as family-friendly and dog-friendly. So the gap between the plaza and the stage is open time, and you don't have to drive home to wait it out.
The food hall has four kitchens under one roof: an Italian counter for pastas and pizzas, a Greek kitchen, a taco kitchen and a burger kitchen. If one person in your group wants gyros and another wants a burger, you can still eat at the same table. Kids still wound up after a bucking bull can head for the arcade's car racing games, and the adults can play pool in the professional pool hall, cornhole or darts. The indoor/outdoor bar pours craft cocktails and local beer, which the Trunk-R-Treat does not allow.
Put together, the city's afternoon and the Feed Store's evening cover the whole Saturday. The plaza covers the hours built around kids, and the mill covers the rest.
A Grain Mill That Has Always Been Where Waller Gathers
The building's history explains why it works as a meeting place. According to the Waller Feed Store's history page, local businessman Jim Haney built it in 1948 as a grain mill and feed warehouse. Feed arrived by train and went out from there to area farms. In 1951, townspeople turned out to fight a warehouse fire there. Ownership later passed through several families, and the building became a landmark before it was restored into its current form.
For decades, farm trucks lined up at those walls for grain. Now the lines at the same building are for tacos and a cover band.
The Feed Store's Halloween Weekend Starts Friday
The Feed Store spreads Halloween across two nights. On Friday, October 30, it hosts "80's 80's and more 80's Halloween Eve" with Mr. Wonderful from 8 to 11:30 p.m. The Eventbrite listing promises New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure "and all of your new wave favorites from the 80's."
Halloween night itself belongs to Sonic Seduction, 8 to 11:45 p.m. Because the Feed Store's party runs Friday as well as Saturday, households with young trick-or-treaters can do the plaza and their own street on Saturday and still catch a costume-night show on Friday.
This Saturday, October 24, is the warm-up. Checkered Past plays rock and 80s from 8 to 11:45 p.m. The Feed Store calendar has the full lineup.
November 7 Repeats the Pattern, With a Cause Attached
A week later, the plaza hosts the Fall Festival and Small Business Showcase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The City of Waller's listing says the event supports children with Hyper IgE "JOB" Syndrome. It promises kids' activities, vendors, entertainment and food trucks.
The showcase invites local small businesses as well as general vendors. If you run a side business or a storefront in town, it's an affordable way to get in front of neighbors, and registration is through the Waller EDC registration page.
The festival ends at 2 p.m. Matt Mercado, whom the Feed Store bills as a Texas country singer, starts at 7:30 p.m. The event is titled "Matt Mercado Returns to Waller Feed Store!", so this is a repeat booking. His set ends at 10:30 p.m., an hour or more before the Halloween weekend bands finish, which is easier on anyone with a Sunday morning to get to.
The Weeknights Around Both Saturdays
The Feed Store's regular events repeat every week, before, between and after both weekends.
- Monday: Bingo Night at 6 p.m.
- Tuesday: Karaoke & Open Mic Night at 7 p.m., the same night as the APA Pool League, also at 7 p.m. League questions go to 979-530-7362.
- Wednesday: Music Bingo at 7 p.m.
- Thursday: Ladies Night from 4 to 10 p.m., with live music plus $5 house martinis and glasses of wine. 9-Ball Pool Tournaments start at 7 p.m. with registration at 6, in a race-to-3, double-elimination format.
If you're reading this on Thursday, October 22, Ladies Night is on until 10 tonight. The 9-ball bracket starts at 7.
Plan around these two Saturdays the way the venues have already laid them out. Spend the afternoon at Marburger Plaza and the evening at 2614 Washington Street. On October 31, leave time for trick-or-treating on your own block in between.
Pamela Kinney has spent more than 20 years helping Houston-area families, renters and small business owners settle into communities like Waller, and these fall Saturdays are a good look at how this town spends its time. If the Small Business Showcase has you thinking about a storefront or commercial lease in Waller, or you have questions about a home or rental nearby, The Real Estate Agency of Houston can talk it through with you, step by step and without pressure. Let's Connect.
