Trunk-or-Treat, Food Trucks and Free Trees: Xenia Station's Last Friday Night of the Season

This Friday, Oct. 30, Xenia Station hosts three things at once. The Xenia Food Truck Rally holds its 2026 season finale and its fourth annual Trunk-or-Treat. The City of Xenia Tree Committee hands out free trees. Beggars' Night follows the next evening. Most people will treat this as a Halloween night out. The part with the longest life is the seedling, because Friday falls in the window when Ohio State University Extension says trees go in the ground well. The giveaway also closes at 6 p.m., two hours before the rally ends.

So plan the evening around the trees first and the tacos second.

The Friday schedule at 150 S. Miami Ave.

Everything takes place at the Xenia Station Bike Hub, 150 S. Miami Ave.

The giveaway hours come from the City of Xenia's announcement, and the rally hours come from the Dayton Daily News. Saturday's hours match the city's Beggars' Night page and WHIO's 2026 Halloween guide, which lists Xenia, Beavercreek and Fairborn for Oct. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you're bringing kids in costume, you can get them a bag of candy on Friday and another on Saturday without the two nights overlapping.

Why the trees go first

The Dayton Daily News reports that 500 potted tree and shrub seedlings will be available. Each adult can take two, so 250 people taking their full share would clear the tables. The giveaway runs for the first two hours of a four-hour evening. Anyone who shows up at 6:30 for dinner will find the tree tables done for the day.

The giveaway is also open beyond city limits. The Dayton Daily News says non-Xenia residents can take part, and participants must be 18 or older. Neighbors from Beavercreek, Wilberforce or anywhere else in Greene County are welcome to the same two-tree limit.

The Xenia Gazette printed the varieties on the committee's list:

• Red oak
• Swamp white oak
• Red maple
• Eastern white pine
• Emerald Green arborvitae
• Persimmon
• Eastern redbud
• White flowering dogwood
• Arrowwood viburnum
• Northern bayberry

The city's own post names red maple, red oak and eastern redbud "and more," and points to a flyer for the full list. Expect some varieties to go faster than others. If you want one in particular, getting there close to 4 p.m. gives you the best chance.

The timing works for the trees, too

Ohio State University Extension names two good planting windows: April through mid-June, and late October through mid-December. A seedling picked up on Oct. 30 lands at the very start of the fall window. That leaves about six weeks to get it in the ground without rushing.

OSU Extension's basic steps for planting a container tree are:

1. Pick a species that fits the spot's soil, sun and space.
2. Dig a hole three to four times as wide as the container.
3. Set the tree so the root collar sits slightly above ground level.
4. Water thoroughly once it's planted.
5. Water deeply every day for the first two weeks, then switch to weekly watering.
6. Use mulch to hold in moisture, but don't pile it on, since too much can invite pests and disease.

The first step matters most with this list. A red oak and a northern bayberry need very different amounts of room. Before you choose at the table, think about where each one would go in your yard, including what's overhead and how close it would be to the house.

What's on the food truck lineup

Once the trees are in the trunk, the rally becomes the main event. The Dayton Daily News lists these trucks as scheduled for the finale:

• Tasty Bacons
• Quench Your Thirst
• Mama G's Cool Treatz
• The Smoqehouse
• G's Concessions

Two craft and item vendors, Allyscraaafts and Rurally Sweet, will be set up too. Food truck lineups often change in the last few days, so treat this list as the plan as of this week.

For Trunk-or-Treat, several vendors will hand out candy, and some participants will give out treats from their car trunks. People who aren't vendors but want to hand out candy can register as trunk-or-treat participants through a link in the Dayton Daily News story. Organizers are also looking for event sponsors at three levels, named Bewitched Bronze, Spooky Silver and Ghoulish Gold, with perks such as free vendor spaces and sponsored social media posts.

How a pandemic parking lot became a Friday habit

The rally didn't start at Xenia Station. In a 2023 interview with WYSO, organizer Heather Stewart, owner of MadCab Events, said the rallies began during the pandemic in a vacant lot on Xenia Towne Square before moving to the station. She called 2023 the fourth season. That year's schedule opened with a First Friday kickoff, followed by Friday rallies through the summer from 4 to 8 p.m.

The Trunk-or-Treat has now become a fixture of its own. This year is the fourth, and the Dayton Daily News confirms that Friday's event is the last rally of 2026. If you've meant to get to a Friday rally all summer and haven't, Friday is the last chance until next year.

Getting there by bike or by car

The venue was built for bikes, which is why so many Xenia evenings end up here. Greene County Parks & Trails lists Xenia Station as an access point for the Creekside Trail, the Little Miami Scenic Trail and the Ohio to Erie Trail. Miami Valley Trails calls the station a hub for four trails. It notes that the Ohio to Erie Trail starts there heading north, and that this local stretch is also known as the Prairie Grass Trail. The Xenia-Jamestown Connector also links in at the station.

Riding in works well for dinner and candy, but not for two potted trees. If seedlings are part of your plan, bring the car and use the on-site parking. The city's Xenia Station page lists parking and restrooms among the facility's features, which helps if you're spending four hours there with costumed kids.

A plan that covers all of it:

• Around 4 p.m.: Drive in, go to the tree tables, and load your seedlings.
• Around 5 p.m.: Walk the trunks and vendor tables while the kids are still fresh.
• Before 8 p.m.: Eat from the trucks before the season's last service ends.
• Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m.: Beggars' Night on your own street.
• Over the next six weeks: Plant, then water daily for two weeks and weekly after that.

Admission is free, and the trees are free until 6 p.m. or until the 500 seedlings run out.

If the seedling you bring home has you thinking about the yard around it, whether that means planning your next home or getting your current one ready to sell, we'd be glad to talk it through with you, at whatever pace suits you. Reach out to Beacon Home Group to schedule a consultation.