Weekend Spotlight is a round-up of the five best events to check out in Delaware over the coming weekend, curated by Arts + Culture Editor Cannon Taylor. This edition covers Oct. 9-11, 2026. What should be on our radar for future editions? Let us know!
Sweet Revenge
Lantern tour will divulge Dover’s dark past
Friday, Oct. 9. John Bell House. 43 The Green, Dover. 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $15.
It seems unlikely one could commit a double murder in Dover from nearly 3,000 miles away, but that’s exactly what Cordelia Botkin did. In 1898, she mailed arsenic-laced candies from San Francisco to the wife and sister-in-law of a man she had an affair with.
Botkin’s story is one of many you may hear at First State Heritage Park during its spooky Dark Dover Lantern Tour, which will be riddled with period-accurate costumes and plenty of jumpscares.
If you can’t make it this weekend, don’t fret — the tours continue every Friday through Oct. 30.
Mystery Meat
Apple-Scrapple Festival returns to Bridgeville
Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10. 101 North Main St., Bridgeville. Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Free.
Come celebrate the Mid-Atlantic’s gift to American cuisine, scrapple, in Bridgeville this weekend. This mystery meat made from pig offal has amassed a cult following locally in no small part thanks to the town’s annual Apple-Scrapple Festival.
This year features festivities like carnival rides, a Little Miss Apple-Scrapple pageant and a scrapple-slinging competition (as if those piggies hadn’t gone through enough already). It’ll also commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bridgeville’s RAPA Scrapple, the biggest scrapple producer in the world.
Have some scrapple with maple syrup or between two slices of bread, and you’ll surely understand what the hype is all about.
Nothing ‘Plein’ About It
Artists take to the streets to paint downtown Dover
Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10. Biggs Museum of American Art. 406 Federal St, Dover. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Artist Registration: $20 Friday, $40 Saturday. Workshops: $20.
En plein air — the French tradition of painting outdoors — isn’t for the faint of heart. Mosquitos, rain or gusts of wind can easily sabotage an painter’s masterpiece.
This week, a group of brave artists will set up their easels across downtown Dover to paint whatever muse they can find in their surroundings, whether it’s a historic building or a natural landscape.
The week culminates in an awards ceremony on Saturday, 2-4 p.m. There will also be artist workshops at the Biggs Museum on Friday. Work from this and past years’ competitions will be on display at the Biggs Museum through Nov. 8.
Story Sample Platter
Wilmington film festival shows work from across the world
Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11. Theatre N (221 W 10th St.) and The Screening Room (1313 N Market St.). Times vary. Tickets: $10-25 per screening, $150 for all-access pass.
From a short comedy about data centers (“Data Hum”) to a modern day “Breakfast Club” set in inner city Philadelphia (“The Good Lyfe”), this year’s Wilmington International Film Festival will be packed with a sample platter of stories to experience.
Now in its second year, the film festival will feature 39 films from 12 countries, as well as an anime day, an Italian dinner/movie combo (“Primavera”) and a leadership summit about Delaware’s creative economy.
If you want to maximize the number of films you see, be sure to attend the Film Brothers Festival of Shorts on Saturday.
Calling All the Monsters
Halloween celebration in Bellefonte to bring witches, spooky pets
Saturday, Oct. 10. 800-900 Block of Brandywine Boulevard, Wilmington. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free.
High-energy hags are bringing the party to The Shoppes of Bellefonte for its annual Boo-Tique and Monster Market. The Wilmington Witches (yes, that is a real organization) will hold their “Witches Walk” at noon. If the videos from past years are to be believed, their parade quickly turns into a synchronized dance party.
Following the Witches Walk will be a costume contest for humans and a parade for paranormal pets.
The day will also feature vendors, face painting, live music and food trucks, plus a “Theatre of the Macabre” art exhibit to check out inside Bellefonte Arts.