The Crescent Park Carousel's hours page lists two dates for October 2026. The first was this past Saturday, October 3, for the Great Townie Pumpkin Festival. The second is Saturday, October 17, the day the New England Witches Guild parade comes down Bullocks Point Avenue and ends at the park. The schedule shows no regular weekend hours after that and no stated last day of the season. As of today, the carousel's last listed ride day is parade day.
That overlap says something about how Crescent Park's season ends now. The two biggest events left on the park's fall calendar come from a parade that arrived from Wickford in 2024 and a concessionaire who started serving clam cakes in June. Neither was part of a Riverside October three years ago. Both now meet at the carousel during the final weeks of its season.
| Date | What's happening at Crescent Park | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Witches Parade from Riverside Square to Crescent Park | Steps off at 11 a.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Witches Guild festival in the park | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Looff Carousel rides | Noon, last ride at 4:45 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Joe's Clam Shack 1st Annual Trunk or Treat | 4 to 7 p.m., per the organizer's full announcement |
A Small Number of Riders on the Park's Biggest Day
The carousel's hours page includes an operating detail that matters more on October 17 than on a quiet summer afternoon. Each ride is limited to 25 to 35 people to protect the upper and center bearings until they can be replaced. The ticket booth may close any time after 4 p.m., and the line may close up to 30 minutes before the 4:45 p.m. last ride so staff can serve everyone already inside.
Put that next to the parade schedule. The Witches Guild says its parade leaves Riverside Square at 11 a.m., runs one mile down Bullocks Point Avenue, and ends at Crescent Park, where the festival runs until 4 p.m. with live music, vendors, food trucks, a beer garden and free kids' activities. The carousel opens at noon, about an hour after the parade starts. EastBayRI described last year's crowd as hundreds of spectators and marchers along the route. A crowd that size reaching a building that takes a few dozen riders at a time means lines.
The rest of the carousel's rules stay the same. Tickets are $2 each, never expire, and are sold by cash or card with a convenience fee for card. Children 3 and under ride free with a paying adult. On Sensory Friendly Saturdays, the band organ stays off from noon to 3 p.m., which covers most of the parade-day hours.
The Parade Moved to Riverside to Make Room
The Witches Parade has only been in Riverside for two seasons, but it started a few years earlier. Nancy Rafi organized a witches dance at Wickford's Horribles Parade in 2021. It drew 147 costumed dancers, and she formed the Rhode Island Witches Guild a few months later.
After three years in Wickford, the event moved to Riverside in 2024. WPRI reported that the organizers wanted to add a festival and make room for more participants. Chapter head Sandie Gauthier told the station that earlier years had drawn hundreds of dancing witches. The first Riverside parade was on October 19, 2024. The second was on Saturday, October 18, 2025. This year's is October 17, the third straight year on the third Saturday of the month.
The reason for the move explains the route. Bullocks Point Avenue gives the parade a mile of road, and Crescent Park gives the festival space at the end, something a one-day spot in someone else's parade couldn't offer. The carousel's own events page now lists the parade kickoff at Riverside Square as part of its calendar.
The Clam Shack Changed Hands in the Spring
On parade day, the food closest to the carousel will come from a concessionaire finishing his first year. The stand's recent history shows how unusual it is for that business to be settled by October.
Blount Seafood ran the Crescent Park concession during the 2021 season and did not renew. The company said it had outgrown the dated facility. Dune Brothers LLC, run by Chef Nicholas Gillespie and his wife, Monica, signed a 28-month agreement that ran from July 1, 2024, through October 31, 2026. On paper, this month would have been the end of that contract.
That isn't how it went. In early April, the city announced that Dune Brothers would not return. WPRI reported on April 15 that Gillespie wanted to come back, and that the city said Dune would not run the shack in 2026. A week later, EastBayRI reported that the departure followed missed show-cause hearings the City Council had called over outdated licenses. City Solicitor Mike Marcello told the council that the city and Dune Brothers had mutually dissolved the contract. The two outlets explain the change with different levels of certainty.
The city had already put the stand out to bid, with bids opening on March 31, 2026. Its procurement record lists Joe's Snack Shack as the winner. On the night of April 21, Joseph Dourado, whom EastBayRI described as having East Providence roots, sat through two hours of the council meeting before the members unanimously approved his contract. Tracy Johnson, who oversees carousel operations including the concession stand, said the building still needed the previous operator's equipment removed and a couple of small roof leaks fixed by city staff. A fire inspection had been done and the water was back on. She said a June opening was more realistic than May.
June is when it opened. The city announced a grand opening for Saturday, June 13, with clam cakes, chowder and other counter-service food.
October 24 Is the Clam Shack's Event
The week after the parade, the park's calendar belongs to the concession stand. Joe's Clam Shack is holding its 1st Annual Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 24, at Crescent Park. The event is free and includes decorated trunks handing out treats and trinkets, raffles, and music from DJ Anthony Medeiros. The organizer's full announcement, last updated October 2, lists the hours as 4 to 7 p.m. A shorter teaser on the same site lists 4 to 6 p.m. If you plan to arrive late, check the end time with Joe's first.
The announcement calls the event a thank-you at the end of a successful first season as Crescent Park's concessionaire. It notes that the shack, at 684 Bullocks Point Avenue, is just steps from the historic Looff Carousel. The kids' menu includes hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders and dough boys, and adults can order from the regular menu. Joe's is still taking volunteers to decorate a trunk, including local businesses, organizations, families and individuals.
The carousel's posted hours do not include October 24. Unless that changes, the Trunk or Treat will take place next to a closed carousel building. If so, the clam shack, which was barely ready to open in April, will host the park's last scheduled public event of the season after the carousel's final ride day has passed.
Planning for October 17
The carousel's guidelines and the Guild's schedule make parade day simple to plan:
- Decide whether you're watching the parade or riding the carousel first. The parade leaves Riverside Square at 11 a.m. The carousel doesn't open until noon.
- Ride before late afternoon. The ticket booth may close any time after 4 p.m., and the line can close up to 30 minutes before the 4:45 p.m. last ride.
- Bring cash or plan on the card fee. Tickets are $2, and they never expire, so leftovers will still work next season.
- Expect quieter rides early. The band organ stays off from noon to 3 p.m. on Sensory Friendly Saturdays.
- Call before you go if the weather looks bad. The carousel closed September 26 and 27 because of weather. For updates during storms, it asks visitors to check its hours page or call (401) 435-7518.
- Know the parking rules. The Guild provides parking and a shuttle for parade participants. It has not posted spectator parking instructions or road-closure notices.
The festival's free kids' activities include a bounce house, face painting and crafts, and they run all day in the park, whether or not you get on the carousel before the line closes.
Crescent Park's season shows how much a neighborhood calendar can change in a few years, and The Blackstone Team follows those changes block by block across East Providence. If you want to know how Riverside's parks, events and businesses factor into a move or a sale, The Blackstone Team will walk you through it. Schedule a private market consultation.
