Downtown Pasco's October Ends at Peanuts Park: Taco Sprint, the Last Market Saturday, and a Día de los Muertos Run

On Saturday, Oct. 31, two of downtown Pasco's long-running events are scheduled for the same spot at the same hour. The Pasco Farmers Market wraps its 2026 season that morning, 8 a.m. to noon at Peanuts Park. The 5th annual Día de los Muertos Fund Run starts that same morning at what its organizers call "the beautifully rebuilt Farmer's Mercado." Runners go from there to the Columbia River and back.

The Mercado is the market pavilion at Peanuts Park. The overlap shows how much of downtown Pasco's calendar now runs through that one block, and the Taco Sprint on Oct. 10 starts nearby too. The rest of this post covers the whole month, built around that pavilion.

One Pavilion, Rebuilt for More Than Saturdays

Peanuts Park and the farmers market officially reopened on March 11, 2022, after a $5.8 million renovation that started in March 2021. The project added covered market areas, replaced concrete features and bathrooms from the 1970s, and upgraded the site's infrastructure for food trucks and events. The money came from a federal Community Development Block Grant loan, two Washington legislative appropriations, and the City of Pasco's General Fund.

The market's current listing puts it at 426 W. Lewis St. The city describes the park as sitting south of Lewis Street and east of Fourth Avenue. The park was dedicated in 1977, and it hosts both the farmers market and the Cinco de Mayo festival.

The park also got something new this summer. On July 25, the city unveiled a bronze statue of Noburo "Peanuts" Fukuda, the park's namesake. Fukuda was a retired railroad worker who rode his tricycle around Pasco for decades, picking up litter and handing out candy and peanuts to kids. He died in 1993. The sculpture is the first major public art project commissioned by the Pasco Arts & Culture Commission. The commission's 2022 call for art drew nine proposals, and artist Seth Vandable was chosen in 2023. If you haven't stopped by the park since July, the market's last Saturdays are a good time to see it.

Oct. 10: The Taco Sprint Covers the Same Few Blocks

The first big downtown event this month is food, and it's a short walk from the park. The Pasco Taco Sprint is a smaller version of the spring Pasco Taco Crawl. It runs Saturday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A punch card gets you into four downtown restaurants.

• Tri-Cities Afghan Food cooks out of the Pasco Specialty Kitchen, so the stop gives you a look inside the shared kitchen too
• Guadalajara Style
• Jocho's Tacos Restaurant
• Cecee's Tacos

You can buy punch cards ahead of time for $12 and pick them up on the day at CD Little Wine Shop, 106 N. 4th Ave. Proceeds go to the Boys & Girls Club. The full crawl held its 10th year this spring, April 17 through May 2, 2026, with taco trucks and restaurants across downtown taking part. The October sprint condenses that into a single afternoon. The crawl's website lists past winners of the Best Taco in Pasco award, which makes a handy guide if you're choosing a stop for a second round.

Oct. 31, Hour by Hour

The race's main listing on RaceRoster gives this schedule for Saturday, Oct. 31:

1. 7 a.m. Face painting begins
2. 8 a.m. Kids Run, a loop around historic downtown
3. 8 a.m. Pasco Farmers Market opens at Peanuts Park for its final Saturday of 2026
4. 8:30 a.m. Half marathon start
5. 9:10 a.m. 5K and 10K start
6. Noon The market closes for the season

The same RaceRoster page also has a more detailed schedule with different times. It lists face painting at Cafe Con Arte from 8 to 8:55 a.m., the kids' run at 9:15 a.m. and the main run at 9:20 a.m. Organizers say they'll email registered runners before race day with parking and other details, and they post updates on Instagram and Facebook at @ddlmrun. Check those channels for final times before you plan a market run around the race.

Either way, the race and the market overlap at Peanuts Park during the market's morning hours. The published materials don't say how vendors and race staging will share the space or whether any streets will close. If you're coming just for produce, expect a busier block than a normal October Saturday, at least until the runners head out toward the river.

Running for a Name

The run is built around remembrance. Its organizers describe it this way:

"DDLMrun is a way to pay tribute to those who are no longer with us. You honor yourself and others by prolonging your life, as physical activity has proven to do."

If you register by Monday, Oct. 5, at 11:59 p.m., you can submit one name to be added to the veladora, or prayer candle, design on the back of the event shirt. There's no extra charge for this. Shirts aren't included in the registration price.

Registration costs $35 for the 5K, $45 for the 10K and $55 for the half marathon through Oct. 21. After that, prices go up to $45, $55 and $75. All proceeds go to a scholarship endowment at Columbia Basin College for students in Benton and Franklin counties. Organizers say the run has raised more than $55,000 in scholarship support since it started. Shirt pickup is at Cafe Con Arte in downtown Pasco on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m., or on race day. You can register on the Día de los Muertos Fund Run page.

Breakfast Before, Gelato After

Two of Pasco's newest Mexican restaurants sit a few doors apart on the 1300 block of North 20th Avenue. Either one works as a breakfast stop on the way downtown or lunch after the market.

Casa de los Chilaquiles, 1315 N. 20th Ave., moved into the former El Mirador space. The Tri-City Herald reported its grand opening in April and its focus on Mexican-style breakfast. On a race morning, it's the obvious pick for runners and the people cheering them on.

Con Sabor A Mexico, 1320 N. 20th Ave., held its grand opening on Sept. 16. The menu includes pollo asado and quesabirria. It also has a sister restaurant in Sunnyside.

For something sweet after the race, Heavenli Coffee n' Scoops at 939 S. 10th Ave. serves coffee drinks alongside rotating, house-made gelato. It had been open just over a month when the Herald wrote about it on Sept. 28. Ordering a coffee and a gelato in one stop covers a whole family coming off a 5K.

If the Afternoon Calls for Costumes

Once the market closes and the runners are home, Halloween takes over. Mid-Columbia Libraries is holding a "Too Cute to Spook Fall Party" from 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the West Pasco Branch, 7525 Wrigley Dr., with crafts, games, apple cider and candy. Earlier that week, the Pasco branch at 1320 W. Hopkins St. hosts "DIY: Halloween Headbands" on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 6 to 7 p.m. That gives kids time to make something to wear before Saturday.

Pasco's farm festivals keep going past the downtown events. Visit Tri-Cities lists the Country Mercantile Harvest Festival at 232 Crestloch Road through Oct. 31 and the Middleton Farms Fall Festival at 1050 Pasco Kahlotus Road through Nov. 1. Middleton Farms runs one day longer than everything else on this list, so you can fit in one last pumpkin stop on Sunday, Nov. 1.

If a morning at Peanuts Park has you wondering what your own place is worth, Shana Brown can help. Shana grew up in the Tri-Cities and can run the numbers whenever you're curious, with no pressure attached. Get your free home valuation, then come find us on Saturday morning by the Fukuda statue.