The Ellensburg Bull greets visitors to Unity Park, a half-acre park at Fourth Avenue and North Pearl Street. An old bank building that housed the Downtown Ellensburg Visitor Center once stood on that spot. Crews started tearing it down on Feb. 22. The park opened 189 days later with a ribbon cutting, bands and dance performances. CWU's announcement dates that opening to October 2024.
This fall, Unity Park and the few addresses around it carry most of downtown's calendar. The art walk openings, the season's last farmers market, Halloween and the tree lighting all happen within a short walk of the bull. Your October and November mostly come down to knowing which days this corner gets busy.
A Corner Built to Hold a Crowd
The Daily Record's account of the opening explains why the city's events keep landing here. The park has a raised concrete stage with a curved brick wall that carries sound across the lawn. It also has a circular lawn, seating and lounge areas, and a small building with ticketing and restrooms. The site used to be Rotary Park plus the bank building. A small pocket park and an office were replaced by a space built for performances.
The bull was always going to come back. Brad Case, Ellensburg Parks and Recreation Director, said at the opening, "There was never a doubt that the bull would come back to its home."
What turns the corner into a hub is its neighbors. The Ellensburg Farmers Market sets up across the street, on Fourth Avenue between Ruby and Pearl. Going up Pearl, Gallery One is at 408 N. Pearl and the Clymer Museum of Art is at 416 N. Pearl. A Saturday market, two galleries and a performance lawn all within a block of each other explain most of the dates below.
The Art Side of the Block Opens Friday
The season starts on Friday, Oct. 2, with the First Friday Art Walk from 5 to 7 p.m. That night the Clymer Museum of Art opens "Storytellers," a group show of work by three artists from Central Washington University's Department of Art + Design.
- Grace Goetz is a current student working toward a degree in Art Education. Her paintings draw on nature and the passage of time.
- Rita Tumbusch earned a BFA in Studio Art in 2026 and paints about self-identity and mental health, working in oil and ceramics.
- Christine Dunlap earned her BFA in 2020. Her paintings draw on 19th-century literature and what she calls the "hidden self."
The museum is also showing two paintings it recently bought. Couple in Living Room came from a private collector in Toronto. Winsome Win shows a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress crew getting ready for a mission and came from an auction house in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Alongside them, the museum has hung John Clymer's Spanish-American Western paintings from the 1930s, including Man With A Sack and Men Panning For Gold. It is the first time in decades these works have been shown. The show runs through Nov. 15. The museum's regular hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, so weekday visits are limited.
Oct. 2 starts earlier on campus. CWU holds a public ribbon cutting for its new North Academic Commons from 2 to 3 p.m., with self-guided tours starting at 3 p.m. The 104,200-square-foot building is on East Dean Nicholson Boulevard next to Brooks Library. You can do the campus tour mid-afternoon and still reach Pearl Street before the galleries open at 5.
The Week Downtown Fills With Visitors
The following week, downtown Ellensburg hosts PLACES, Washington's statewide conference on historic preservation, placemaking and economic vitality. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the state Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation put it on. The Ellensburg Downtown Association expects about 400 Main Street attendees from Oct. 7 through Oct. 9.
The conference is for registered attendees only. The organizer's FAQ says attendees register for the full conference, and mobile tours cost extra. Even so, residents will notice it on the street. Two paid walking tours on Thursday, Oct. 8, run from 9 to 11:30 a.m. "Ellensburg Through a Main Street Lens" costs $20 and visits Unity Park. "The Art of Observing Main Street" costs $30 and moves through the park as well. The attendee guide lists both Gallery One and the Clymer as venues for partner events.
So the conference uses the same block as the rest of this calendar. On a Thursday morning in early October, groups of preservation professionals will be walking the corner where you usually buy produce. Expect a busier downtown that week, especially around coffee and lunch.
Late October, From Soup Bowls to Halloween
Gallery One holds its Soupline Fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 23, from 6 to 9 p.m. A $40 ticket includes a handmade bowl by Lindsey Salmonson plus soup, bread, cookies and a drink. A $30 ticket covers the same meal without the bowl. A silent auction offers larger bowls.
Halloween weekend starts a night early at CWU. Its all-ages Night of Ghost Stories runs Oct. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m., starting in the North Academic Commons Atrium.
Saturday, Oct. 31, is the busiest day on the corner all fall. The farmers market runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the last weekend of October. The market hasn't printed a specific closing date, but that rule makes Oct. 31 the expected final Saturday of the 2026 season. Two hours after the market closes, Downtown Trick or Treat begins at Unity Park, 417 N. Pearl St., from 3 to 5 p.m. Families check in for a map and a candy bag, then visit downtown businesses for treats. The event also has live entertainment and Touch-A-Truck.
That puts the season's last market morning and downtown's biggest children's event on the same corner on the same day. If you want one last market haul before the stalls close, shop early, take your bags home, and come back in costume.
How the Corner Changes in November
Once the market closes, the block's calendar moves indoors and toward the holidays.
- Friday, Nov. 6. Gallery One opens The Art of Giving: Holiday Gift Show with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. during that month's First Friday Art Walk. The show stays up through Dec. 24.
- Saturday, Nov. 7. The Ellensburg Downtown Association runs its Downtown Fall Clean Up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers check in at 109 E. 3rd Ave., #1, then rake, sweep and pick up litter.
- Saturday, Nov. 14. The Ellensburg Holiday Market runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Teanaway and Umtanum halls at the Kittitas Valley Event Center. It is away from the corner, and it runs two hours longer than a summer market Saturday.
- Sunday, Nov. 15. "Storytellers" closes at the Clymer, so you have six weeks from its Oct. 2 opening to see it.
- Friday, Nov. 27. The Moments to Remember Tree Lighting brings the season back to Unity Park from 3 to 6 p.m., with performances, family activities, and Santa and Mrs. Claus.
- Friday, Dec. 4. The First Friday Art Walk returns from 5 to 7 p.m. On the same day, Gallery One starts its Community Holiday Stocking Project, which runs through Dec. 24.
The tree lighting is the day after Thanksgiving. If you're hosting family that weekend, it gives you a free downtown outing within a few steps of the bull. Under the Chamber's Art Walk listings, hours can vary by venue. Gallery One is the only Nov. 6 venue confirmed so far, so check individual galleries before you plan a route.
Planning Around the Busy Days
Pin three dates to the fridge. On Oct. 2, the campus ribbon cutting and the Clymer opening make a good half-day outing. During Oct. 7 through 9, about 400 conference visitors will be downtown, so midweek errands and lunches will be busier. On Oct. 31, the expected last market and Downtown Trick or Treat fill the same corner from morning into late afternoon.
The rest of the calendar is easy to manage. Soupline takes a ticket, the Gift Show reception is free during the Art Walk, and the Fall Clean Up only asks you to show up with a rake. When the park opened, planners said they intended to hold movie nights, downtown events and other activities there. This fall's schedule shows how much of the town's calendar now runs through that half-acre.
Every event above is scheduled, not yet held. Before you go, check the Ellensburg Downtown Association, Gallery One, the Clymer Museum or CWU for any changes. For more on how downtown evenings have been changing, see our earlier post on the three new kitchens that kept downtown Ellensburg open past 8.
A home within walking distance of the bull, the galleries and the market comes with something a listing photo can't show. You get a calendar on your doorstep from the first Friday in October through the night after Thanksgiving. If you own near downtown and wonder what that location means for your home's value this season, Rau Peterson Team can give you a clear, local read. Get Your Instant Home Valuation and see how your corner of Ellensburg compares.
