One Lexington Weekend, Two Harvest Festivals, and the Bikeway Between Them

Lexington's first October weekend has two harvest festivals on back-to-back days. Both sit a short walk or ride off the Minuteman Bikeway. Follen Church's 188th East Village Fair runs Saturday, October 3, in East Lexington. LexFarm's Harvest Festival runs Sunday, October 4, on Lowell Street. The Bikeway stretch you'd use between those two neighborhoods was closed for much of the past year. It reopened on June 30, which makes this weekend the first easy chance to treat the trail as the route between them.

So plan the weekend around the Bikeway, and leave the car at home.

The stretch that came back this summer

The Minuteman segment between Maple Street and Bow Street was closed for the second phase of a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water-main project in Arlington and Lexington. The contractor was RJV Construction Corporation of Westwood. In November 2025, the Town's closure notice predicted weekday closures between Bow and Maple through spring 2026, with the path reopening on weekends. MWRA's June 30, 2026 resident update confirmed that segment had reopened to the public.

The temporary bike lanes on Massachusetts Avenue between Maple and Bow, put in as the detour, stayed in place after the reopening. In that June update, MWRA said the Town was keeping them to test whether there was community interest in making them permanent, and that the markings would come out if the Town decided against it. The sources reviewed for this post don't settle whether they stay. For this weekend, that just means two parallel routes along that part of East Lexington.

The remaining work nearby shouldn't get in the way. MWRA's August 20 update said the Maple Street work was nearly finished and no further excavation or traffic impacts were expected there. It also said a meter job in the Maple Street and Lowell Street median would run until October 2026 without affecting traffic patterns. A permanent trench patch on Maple is planned for November, and final curb-to-curb paving comes in spring 2027. The crew then moves to Summer Street in Arlington, starting in October 2026.

The weekend at a glance

The Town's Harvest Fest is free, sensory-friendly, and billed as multigenerational, with family games, activities, and crafts. As of this week, though, the Recreation registration page lists Harvest Fest 2026 as "This Activity Full." If you didn't register, Saturday belongs to East Lexington.

Saturday in East Lexington

The East Village Fair is older than most of what surrounds it. Follen says the first fair was held in 1839 by the "Ladies of East Lexington" to raise money for a church, with a children's toy shop and the Brigade Band, and the tradition has continued almost every year since.

This year's fair fills the grounds between Follen Church and the Waldorf School. The Lexington Observer's event listing describes it this way:

Items available at our Flea Market include general housewares and home decor, books for all ages, costume and fine jewelry, gently used toys and games, and Finer Fleas!

Besides the flea market, the listing names children's games, home-baked goods, cheese, cider, cider donuts, ice cream, music, plant and produce sales, and booths from local organizations. There is also a free Paint-A-Pumpkin courtesy of Wilson Farm and a cider-pressing demonstration.

One piece runs on a shorter clock. The Halloween costume swap, hosted by LexZeroWaste and LexFUN, is inside the Waldorf School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. That's an hour before the fair closes. Families looking for October 31 costumes should go there first.

Getting there by bike is short. Follen's contact page says the Minuteman passes very near the church. Heading west on the trail, after Fottler Avenue, you can cross the soccer fields and pass the Waldorf School to reach the church. Those directions are on a page from 2025, so check the path on the day. If you drive, the Observer listing notes free parking in the lot and on nearby streets. No 2026 rain plan turned up on Follen's event page. If the forecast turns, check there Saturday morning.

The ride to Lowell Street

LexFarm's own directions from the Lexington section of the Minuteman show how close the farm is to the trail:

1. Leave the Bikeway at Bow Street.
2. Follow South Rindge Avenue to Rindge Park.
3. Pick up the Arlington Reservoir path.
4. Watch for the farm entrance about 0.2 miles along the path.

Bow Street is one end of the segment that reopened in June, so Sunday's ride starts from the same section of trail that came back this summer. LexFarm notes that its fields connect Lowell Street to Silk Fields Farm, the Arlington Reservoir walking path, and the D route of ACROSS Lexington. The Town's 2026 ACROSS map shows the Minuteman, the Community Center, and the routes around the Reservoir. It tells users to follow the ACROSS logos and arrows, but it doesn't give turn-by-turn directions.

Sunday at the farm

LexFarm asks people to register and buy tickets in advance. It takes $2 off for attending by bike, and Friends of Lexington Bikeway will host a bike corral. Walkers and cyclists can enter from the Arlington Reservoir path. That corral is the only dated fall 2026 activity for Friends of Lexington Bikeway in the sources reviewed for this post, so Sunday is the one time this season the trail group and the farm are working the same afternoon.

Here is what LexFarm lists for the afternoon:

• Live bluegrass from The Recliners
• Del Sur empanadas, crepes from Crepe Du Jour, and craft beer from Arlington Brewing Company for guests 21 and over
• LexFarm-grown vegetables, and a farm store open for veggies, drinks, ice cream, and finger food
• Nature crafts, seed saving, veggie races, face paint, and the goats and alpacas
• A community art project using natural fabrics and plant colors, plus plant ID walks
• An "Ask the Farmer" table for gardening and farming questions, nonprofit info tables, merchandise, and a silent auction that is already open

If you drive to Lowell Street instead, MWRA's crew is still working on a meter in the Maple Street and Lowell Street median area into October, and MWRA says that job isn't affecting traffic patterns.

Where October goes from here

The rest of the month has fewer events. Saturday, October 10, Visit Lexington's calendar lists a free opening party for Bloch Performing Arts' first Lexington studio spaces. The listing gives no time or street address yet. Saturday, October 24, LexArt holds its outdoor artisan market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 130 Waltham Street.

The Lexington Farmers' Market has its last summer session on Tuesday, October 27, at Fletcher Park. It normally runs 2 to 6:30 p.m., but it closes at 6 p.m. throughout October. That leaves four Tuesdays after this weekend for the fall produce the East Village Fair and LexFarm put on display.

Cary Memorial Library's calendar takes over in November. The Friends book sale is Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1874 Massachusetts Avenue. In Lexington Center, Commune All Day Cafe is planned for 7 Depot Square, the former Lexington Liquors space. The proposed menu includes George Howell coffee, breakfast sandwiches, boba, tacos, and gelato. Patch's most recent report said permits were in progress and the opening was planned for the winter, with no date set.

For this weekend, there's a Saturday at the fair, a Sunday at the farm, and the Minuteman Bikeway connecting East Lexington to the Reservoir path.

At Plunkett Properties, our family has worked in Winchester and the surrounding towns, Lexington among them, for more than 30 years, and we keep track of weekends like this one along with the buildings and blocks around them. If you own a Lexington home, a condo, or a rental near the Bikeway and want to talk through what's changing nearby, we're glad to help. Contact us anytime.