"Since Valley doesn't have a designated downtown area to shop, it's a safer option if you want to skip the neighborhood trick-or-treating." Annabel Thompson, program coordinator for Valley Parks and Recreation, told the Valley Times-News this while describing the Fall Festival. She was talking about Halloween, but the point applies to the whole month.
In other towns, the public calendar collects around a courthouse square or a main street. Valley's collects at the Sportsplex and Valley Community Center at 130 Sportsplex Dr. This October, three of the four community events the paper has announced take place at that address. All times below are Eastern, as the Valley Times-News lists them.
One Address, Most of the Month
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | A Heart for Hospice | Valley Sportsplex, 130 Sportsplex Dr. | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Cinema in Centerfield | Valley Community Center gym, 130 Sportsplex Dr. | About 7 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Banking on Hope | Renasant Bank, 3216 20th Ave. | Starts 11 a.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Fall Festival | Sportsplex, 130 Sportsplex Dr. | 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., hayrides until 10:30 p.m. |
Oct. 10 shows the pattern most clearly. One property hosts a daytime vendor fundraiser and then an evening movie, about four hours apart.
Oct. 10 Starts With Vendors and Ends With Ghostbusters
The day begins with A Heart for Hospice, a memorial fundraiser for Chattahoochee Hospice. The family of Polly Nix Porter is hosting it with local food and craft vendors. Her son, Colby Conway, told the paper the family plans to make the fundraiser an annual event, with every year's proceeds going to hospice. He described her this way: "She got along with everybody. She could bump into you on the street and say 'excuse me,' say 'hello,' and y'all would be best friends for the rest of your lives afterward."
You can donate in person at the Sportsplex from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you can't make it, the family has put a donation bucket at Daniel's Drive Inn and also accepts gifts by Cash App at $ccspeanutwagon or Venmo at @ccspeanutwagon.
That evening, Cinema in Centerfield starts around 7 p.m. in the Community Center gym. The film is "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," rated PG-13. Admission is free. Staff will sell popcorn, candy and drinks, and you can bring your own food instead.
The location tells you something about how Valley's events end up where they are. The movie nights began in May with plans to show films at the city ballpark in Langdale. Repeated rain pushed the series indoors to the gym. Thompson said "it worked out; it was cooler. We could start it a little bit earlier." About 30 people came to the outdoor showing of the live-action "How to Train Your Dragon" in May, despite the weather. Parks and Rec is now looking at quarterly movie nights and a blanket license that would let it show films anywhere in the Community Center, including a possible poolside movie night.
Oct. 17 Moves to 20th Avenue
Banking on Hope is the only event this month away from the Sportsplex, and it shows a second gathering place. The Renasant Bank branch at 3216 20th Ave. will hold its second annual fundraiser starting at 11 a.m. on Oct. 17. Proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. Branch Manager Nancy Warren-Holland and Head Teller Jamie Bonner organized it. The participating food trucks will donate part of their tips. As of the paper's Oct. 2 story, these five trucks had signed on:
- Dirty Dozen Doughnuts
- Monster Sandwich PTC
- Soda Splash
- Big Daddy's DGF
- Lee's Lemonade and Treats
The track record makes this more than a bank parking lot event. Warren-Holland said Renasant has partnered with the foundation for 10 years. Over that time, the Valley branch has raised more than $265,000, the most of any Renasant branch in Alabama. She gives the credit to local generosity: "I love the Valley, and it's specifically because if you need something, they're going to show up for you."
Oct. 30 Brings Halloween to the Ballfields
The Fall Festival returns to the Sportsplex on Friday, Oct. 30, the night before Halloween. Here is how the evening is laid out:
- 5:30 p.m. The trick-or-treat trail opens along the long sidewalk to the concession stand in the middle of the baseball complex. Booths from businesses and organizations hand out candy, and there are carnival-style games.
- During the festival Food trucks park in the lot for families who skip dinner at home. A DJ brings a photo booth for costumes. Thompson said she hopes some Community Center employees will dress as princesses and superheroes for photos.
- 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Haunted hayrides.
Police and first responders will be on site. Thompson described the evening as low-key, with no alcohol. Local businesses and organizations can host a booth for free. The only request is that they bring plenty of candy. The booth sign-up link is in the Valley Times-News announcement.
Coffee Before Any of It
For a Saturday morning before the Oct. 10 vendors, Valley now has a new stop. The Porch Coffee Co. is at 1909 41st St. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce held the ribbon cutting on National Coffee Day. The shop is in a house with a wraparound porch.
The house has some local history. At the ceremony, Mayor Leonard Riley said, "the city tried to buy this house at one time, but I'm glad we didn't." He also pointed out that the shop is locally owned. The shop is owned by David and Rachel Templeton. David Templeton said it took exactly five months to open, and the whole family pitched in. David Templeton described what he thinks the shop gives the city: "this is what this little city needed: a place to come and gather." That echoes what Thompson said about the Sportsplex. Both are answers to the same missing piece.
Parks and Rec Has Already Asked for More Room
The facility's limits came up at a late-September City Council work session on the 2026-27 budget, which the Valley Times-News reported on Sept. 29. Parks and Recreation director Jon Neal reported a strong year. His department brought in $59,000 more than expected and is now fully staffed. He mentioned expanding flag football for boys and girls and possibly creating a hall of fame at the Community Center for standout local athletes.
He also asked for upgrades at the facility everyone is using. Neal said the Sportsplex and Community Center need restrooms and a concession area. He suggested a splash pad for children and warned that the Community Center pool's pump room "is 25 years old and is on its last legs." He gave the reason in tournament terms: "We have lost out on hosting some tournaments because we lack adequate restrooms and concession areas." He also noted that Auburn is breaking ground on a $40 million softball complex. Council Member Kendall Andrews responded, "I would like to see us out front on something." As of that session, these were proposals, not approved projects.
The same session gave an update on how people get around town. The city is building a new road that will offer another way from Shawmut to Langdale without using Highway 29, connecting 20th Avenue by 30th in Shawmut to 40th in Langdale. Crews are putting box culverts at three wetland crossings, and Webb Utilities of Wadley won the bid to surface the road next year. The city expects to sell a 17-acre site next to the road to a developer in the new year for more than $3 million, and that site will become a commercial zone. City Clerk/Treasurer Cathy Snowden said rental tax revenue has already gotten a boost from the new businesses in the Village Square shopping center.
For now, Valley's October happens mostly in one ballfield complex and its gym, with a stop on 20th Avenue and coffee on 41st Street. The Fall Festival closes the month on Oct. 30 at the Sportsplex, with hayrides running until 10:30 p.m.
If you're a Valley homeowner wondering how the Shawmut-to-Langdale road or the proposed Sportsplex upgrades could affect your part of town, The Hayes Team is glad to talk it through with you. Schedule your free consultation and home valuation, and we'll give you clear, local answers along with the next steps.
