Sunday, October 25, 2026

Fredericksburg · Stafford · Spotsylvania · Caroline

Good morning, FXBG.

Braehead’s pumpkin season and the Girlfriend Getaway both wrap today, and you already have those details. So this Sunday gets a different kind of errand: it’s the last Sunday to vote early before Nov. 3. After that, we’ll get you through Halloween week without twelve open browser tabs.

In today’s Rundown:

Registrar offices in the city, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Caroline are open 11 a.m.–4 p.m. today. It’s the second and final Sunday of early voting. After today, you have weekday hours plus one more Saturday (Oct. 31, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.), and then it’s Election Day at your assigned precinct: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 6 a.m.–7 p.m.

One catch: you can only vote early in the locality where you’re registered. A Stafford voter can’t just pop into the office on Caroline Street.

What’s on the ballot: Everyone gets the U.S. Senate race, a U.S. House race, and three proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution. Two counties add local questions:

Mailed ballot still sitting on the counter? Drop boxes are open at registrar offices during early-voting hours and at every polling place until 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you mail it during the final week, take it inside and ask the clerk to hand-stamp the postmark.

City election info → https://www.fredericksburgva.gov/2216/November-3rd-Election-Information

Stafford early voting → https://staffordcountyva.gov/news_detail_T5_R1247.php

Spotsylvania elections → https://www.spotsylvania.va.us/239/Office-of-Elections

Caroline registrar → https://co.caroline.va.us/285/General-Registrar

Amendments + local questions (state list) → https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/candidate-list/november-2026-proposed-constitutional-amendments/

The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center is holding its open house and fall fundraiser this afternoon in the old Maury School gym. There will be refreshments and a free tour of the center’s archive of maps, documents and other historical records from around the region. Some historical prints from the collection are up for auction.

It’s the rare fundraiser where you can come for the free tour and leave with a 19th-century map of your own neighborhood. No pressure. Some pressure.

Heritage Center open house → https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/calendar-item/central-rappahannock-heritage-center-open-house/

Earlier, with dirt under your nails: The Central Rappahannock chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society is planting a native pollinator garden at Mayfield Meadows from 10 a.m. to noon. Bring a trowel, gloves and water. The site has no street address. It starts at the cul-de-sac at the end of South Street in Mayfield, and it isn’t wheelchair accessible.

Planting details → https://www.centralrappvnps.org/event-details/planting-mayfield-meadows

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the candy gets spread across the whole week. Here’s the short version:

Tonight: Faith Baptist Church’s trunk-or-treat runs 4:30–7 p.m. at 4105 Plank Rd. It’s free, but you need to reserve a ticket for every person, adults included. The 4:30 arrival slot was already showing full, so aim for a later one.

Thursday, Oct. 29: Spotswood Elementary’s community trunk-or-treat runs 5–7 p.m., with games, prizes and trunk voting. Costumes should be school-appropriate.

Friday, Oct. 30: Laudenbach Brewing hosts a free trunk-or-treat from 4:30–7:30 p.m. at 45 Centreport Pkwy, with costume and vehicle contests, a food truck, and Halloween music bingo at 6:30. The grown-ups get a reason to come too.

Saturday, Oct. 31, downtown: The Costume Stroll starts with pre-stroll fun at 8:30 a.m. in VRE Lot B on Caroline Street, then heads down Caroline to Market Square at 9:30 sharp. Strollers and wagons are welcome, but bikes aren’t. Halloween at the Market runs 9 a.m.–1 p.m. in Hurkamp Park. Treats on the Streets (trick-or-treating at participating businesses) and the kid-friendly Haunted FXBGO! bus at Market Square both run 10 a.m.–noon.

Scarecrow Fest + Halloween morning → https://fxbg.com/find-things-to-do/scarecrow-fest/

Full trunk-or-treat roundup → https://www.fredericksburgparent.net/2026/10/19/587934/your-2026-guide-to-trunk-or-treats-around-fredericksburg

Faith Baptist tickets → https://faithva.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3910541

🕰️ Clocks fall back next Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 a.m., the morning after Halloween. You get an extra hour of sleep, if the sugar crash cooperates.

🏗️ Housing watch: The city Planning Commission’s hearing on “two-over-two” stacked townhomes is still set for Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 p.m. Look for the packet early in the week.

The 601 Caroline St address does double duty. It’s the Fredericksburg Visitor Center (the address listed for Treats on the Streets), and the city’s early-voting office is upstairs in Suite 500. Next Saturday, the last day of early voting runs into the Costume Stroll a few blocks away.

If you’re a city voter, either go today or plan Saturday’s ballot for before 8:30 a.m. or after lunch. Parking near a costume parade is a sport we don’t recommend.

What’s your Halloween plan: trunk-or-treat, downtown, or holding down the porch? Reply and tell me your neighborhood’s best-kept candy secret.

Forward this to the neighbor who asks “wait, when is trick-or-treating?” every single year.

The FXBG Rundown

A little more local. A lot more interesting.