With Halloween festivities beginning in Denton, the city partnered with the Denton County Transit Authority to create a park-and-ride option for visitors during the weekend events.

The details: Starting Oct. 3, visitors can use the ride share on Saturdays and Sundays to safely get around downtown Denton for Halloween activities, according to the city’s social media pages.

The ride-share option will run from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. The ride shares will be available until Nov. 8.

The service will go from Golden Triangle Mall at 2001 I-35 E. and run to either the Oak/Oakland lot at 301 E. Oak St. or the city’s development services center at 401 N. Elm St.

What else: North Central Texas College also partnered with the city to provide public parking at 319 Sycamore St. during the following days and hours:

• Thursdays: 5-8 p.m.

• Fridays: 5-10 p.m.

• Saturdays: 2-10 p.m.

• Sundays: 2-10 p.m.

In 2025, Denton was designated as  the Halloween Capital of Texas by the Texas Legislature, and while there are pumpkin patches and ghost tours all month, forecasted rain could affect outdoor activities this weekend.

The Blocktober Party and Pumpkin Drop already was rescheduled from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8 due to the rain in area, according to a social media post from the city.

With wet conditions expected, here are seven indoor Halloween activities for the first weekend of the 31 Days of Halloween. This list is not comprehensive.

Dracula (1931): Local brewery Toasty Bros. Gallery & Taproom will host guests for a viewing of the 1931 “Dracula” film, starring Bela Lugosi. 

• Oct. 2, 8 p.m.

• Free (admission)

• 104 N. Bell Ave., Denton

Chicken Salad Chick announced in a social media post it will open a storefront in the Rayzor Ranch shopping center.

The details: Chicken Salad Chick serves a variety of chicken salad flavors on sandwiches, by the scoop or by the tub.

The chain restaurant also offers family-sized meals, catering options and a variety of sides, such as fresh fruit, pimento cheese, broccoli salad, grape salad, mac and cheese, soups and pasta salad.

An opening date has not been set, though construction on the former Salata location that Chicken Salad Chick will occupy is expected to finish by Nov. 1, per previous reporting.

• 3420 N. I-35, Ste. 100, Denton

The Texas Education Agency is asking state lawmakers to spend $97.3 billion on K-12 education initiatives and staffing in the next two years, up from about $91 billion in the current state budget.

The details: During a Sept. 29 hearing on the agency's legislative appropriations request, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath noted that the TEA is "largely a pass-through vehicle to fund schools around the state of Texas." This means that while funding would be allocated to the agency under Article III of the state budget, the majority of that money would be sent to school districts, outside of funds used to pay TEA staff and cover operations for associated entities, such as the State Board of Education.

The TEA is asking for about $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2027-28 and $47.7 billion for fiscal year 2028-29, totaling $97.3 billion for the 2028-29 biennium. Morath said those amounts would "preserve 100% of all funding for public schools" through the Foundation School Program, which is the state's main funding source for K-12 schools, and other initiatives.