Tomorrow, October 23, is the night of Woodlake's Not-So-Scary Trick or Treat. It is also the last day to enter your home in the Halloween House Decorating Contest, which doesn't start until a week later. Several other Woodlake events this fall work the same way, with signups that close days before the event itself.
From now through December 8, most of the Woodlake Community Association's calendar happens at two addresses on Woodlake Village Parkway. Most of the dates worth tracking are cutoffs.
Friday Is the Party and the Cutoff
The Not-So-Scary Trick or Treat runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, October 23, at the Pavilion, Picnic Area, TSI and Boathouse. The rain date is Saturday, October 24. This year's theme is a Gene Wilder-style chocolate factory, which the WCA calls a "Chocolate Factory Trick-or-Treat Trail" with a "Golden Ticket Experience."
Registration is required. In mid-October the event page warned that online registration was having problems, and it said residents could register and pay at the WCA office with cash or check instead. If the online form fails you this week, the office is the backup.
The same Friday is the last day to register for the Halloween House Decorating Contest. The contest runs from October 30 through November 2. On October 30 the WCA publishes the list of entered homes, arranged in driving order. This year there are three categories:
- Monster Mash: giant inflatable monsters, friendly ghosts and googly-eyed pumpkins
- Autumn Harvest: corn stalks, mums and pumpkins
- People's Choice: voted on by neighborhood residents
Voting closes at 9 a.m. on Monday, November 2. Winners are announced in the Woodlake Digest, and prizes are delivered to the winning homes.
So the contest field is set the same night the trick-or-treaters come out. A front yard that looks contest-ready on Friday evening has to be registered by then to count.
Two Addresses on Woodlake Village Parkway
After Halloween, the calendar moves to a single stretch of Woodlake Village Parkway. Nearly everything from November into December happens at either the SRC parking lot at 5000 or the SRC Community Center at 5020.
| Date | Event | Location | Time | What to do first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Nov 10 | Cornucopia Maker's Market | SRC Parking Lot, 5000 Woodlake Village Pkwy | 4–7 p.m. | Bring your Woodlake pass |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Veterans Day Event | SRC Community Center, 5020 Woodlake Village Pkwy | 4–5:30 p.m. | Register on the event page |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Thanksgiving Trivia | SRC Community Center, 5020 Woodlake Village Pkwy | 2:30–4:30 p.m. | Register by Nov 10, 5 p.m. |
| Tue, Dec 8 | Holiday Maker's Market | Community Center, 5020 Woodlake Village Pkwy | 4–7 p.m. per event description | Check the event page for final hours |
That puts three events on three consecutive days in the second week of November, all at one end of the parkway. If you plan to attend all of them, the order you sign up in matters more than the order the events happen in.
November 8 to 12, in Deadline Order
Arrange that week by cutoff and it looks like this:
- Sunday, November 8. The Angel Tree 2026 drive, which opened September 1, closes. The gifts themselves aren't due until November 18 and 19, at the WCA office at 14900 Lake Bluff Parkway.
- Tuesday, November 10, 5 p.m. Registration for Thanksgiving Trivia closes, two days before the game. That deadline falls an hour after the Cornucopia Maker's Market opens, so register before you head to the parking lot.
- Tuesday, November 10, 6:45 p.m. The turkey drawing at the Cornucopia Maker's Market closes. Buy any item from a vendor and show your receipt at the Lifestyle Services table to be entered for a 24-pound frozen Butterball. The winner is announced at 6:50 p.m. Only residents can enter, and you need your Woodlake pass.
- Wednesday, November 11, 4:45 p.m. The Veterans Day Event runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the SRC Community Center, with hors d'oeuvres, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and a raffle. The WCA has scheduled "a special treat for everyone on the Patio" from 4:45 to 5:15 p.m., weather permitting. Arrive by 4:45 so you don't miss it.
The Angel Tree deadline needs a second look. The drive closes November 8, but gifts aren't due until ten days later. Anyone who takes a tag has a week and a half to shop, as long as the tag is in hand before the drive closes.
At the Cornucopia market, the timing works against people who arrive late. The market closes at 7 p.m., but the turkey drawing closes at 6:45. Fields Family Food will be serving barbecue, chicken tenders, fish, shrimp, hot dogs, Philly subs, loaded fries and funnel cakes, so dinner and a purchase from a local maker can be one stop. Make that purchase before 6:45 if you want a chance at the turkey.
Before and After, on Village Square Place
Two Woodlake businesses fit around these evenings. Gino's Woodlake, at 14742 Village Square Place, publishes its dine-in, take-out and delivery menus and hours on its own site. A few doors down at 14736, The Treat Shop describes its Woodlake location as serving gourmet donuts, ice cream, milkshakes and North Carolina barbecue.
The Veterans Day Event wraps up at 5:30 p.m. and Thanksgiving Trivia at 4:30 p.m., so both end before most dinner plans start. Both events leave room for a meal or a milkshake on the way home.
Between Events, the Trail Edges Are Growing Back
Some trail edges are being left to grow this year. The WCA has published a Reduced Mowing Areas map, revised in March 2026. It marks the common areas where mowing has been cut back "to create more natural habitat."
The marked areas include the trails to three of Woodlake's Stop-A-Whiles: Beechwood Point, Sunrise Bluff and Watercrest. The WCA describes Stop-A-Whiles as spots along Swift Creek Reservoir set aside "to enjoy the view." The map also marks Central Park, Windy Ridge near Timber Bluff Parkway, Boyce's Cove and Water Pointe. It notes that mowing at Rock Harbour Park will stop entirely in 2027.
The WCA hasn't published a schedule for when these areas will be cut back. The Virginia Cooperative Extension Gardener Handbook gives the general practice for this kind of planting. It says an established meadow or pollinator area should be left standing through fall and winter, because the dead stems shelter dormant insects and give birds places to feed. Where native warm-season grasses are cut at all, the handbook says it typically happens in a short window from mid-February to mid-March. That describes meadows in general, not a WCA plan. Still, it explains why these edges may look shaggier in November than you remember.
Rock Harbor is also getting planting work. At its June 18 meeting, the WCA's Environmental and Maintenance Committee said fall planting was planned at Rock Harbor and West Shore. The committee also recommended $7,000 toward possibly replacing the Rock Harbor Stop-A-While, with timing still to be decided because of concerns that construction equipment could damage the new plantings. Watch the Woodlake Digest for when that work is scheduled.
December Closes Out the Season
The last event of the year is the Holiday Maker's Market on Tuesday, December 8, at the Community Center at 5020 Woodlake Village Parkway. The event description lists it as a 4 to 7 p.m. evening market, with vendors in the indoor hall and on the outdoor patio and lawn, fire pits on the patio, holiday music and a visit from Santa. The heading on the same page shows different hours, so check the listing the week of the market before you plan your evening around it.
If you'd rather sell than shop, the same page covers vendor applications. Each market space costs $20, and vendors can begin setting up up to two hours before the market opens.
Want help with a Woodlake move of your own? At River City Elite Properties, we plan a listing the same way this season runs, starting from the dates that have to be locked in first. Schedule Your Listening Appointment and we'll build your timeline around the Woodlake calendar you already follow.
