On Saturday, October 17, Gorham is running a coordinated daylong event that the town calls Go Outside, Gorham and also refers to as the Fall Event Series. It opens with a one-mile run through downtown and ends after dark with free outdoor films at Lavoie Bike Park, 150 Weeks Road. The rain date is October 24. Organizers planned to announce by 5 p.m. on October 16 whether the event moves.
The town's planning documents explain the route. Gorham Recreation, the Gorham Conservation Commission with Greater Portland NEMBA, and the Maine Outdoor Film Festival built the day "in and around the Gorham Village area." The sponsorship packet frames it as an opportunity that arrives "as Gorham's village continues to grow and our trail network gains regional attention." Many towns have a fall festival. This one is laid out to start downtown and end at a bike park, and the schedule follows that order.
The confirmed schedule, in order
Here is every time and place that has been published as of October 4. The gaps are listed further down.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 7 to 10 a.m. | Pancake and breakfast sandwich service at Plow Day | Parsons Dairy Farm, 321 Buck Street |
| From 8 a.m. | Maine Antique Tractor Plow Day and Crafters Market | Parsons Dairy Farm, 321 Buck Street |
| Morning, start time TBA | 1st annual Gorham Morning Mile | Downtown Gorham |
| 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Friends of Baxter Memorial Library book sale | Shaw Gym, 75 South Street |
| 9 a.m. | Free pop-up yoga hosted by The Village Maine | Preble Street Commons |
| 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Lunch at Plow Day | Parsons Dairy Farm |
| 4 to 7 p.m. | Spooky Bike Ride | Ends at Lavoie Bike Park |
| 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Pizza and beer garden | Lavoie Bike Park, 150 Weeks Road |
| 6:30 p.m. | Maine Outdoor Film Festival Selects screening | Lavoie Bike Park |
The day has three locations: the Village in the morning, Buck Street around midday, and Weeks Road at night. If you plan around those three, the rest of the day falls into place.
The morning stays within walking distance of the Village
The Gorham Morning Mile is billed as the event that "will kick off a full day of events and activities." It's a one-mile fun run or walk through downtown, and every finisher gets a medal. Advance registration on Race Roster is $14.83 with fees, and race-day registration is $20. The course map is listed as "coming soon," and no start time has been posted. Check the registration page during the week before the race.
The race page lists three things to do afterward: the Gorham Farmers Market, the Baxter Memorial Library Book Fair, and a free 9 a.m. pop-up yoga class at Preble Street Commons hosted by The Village Maine.
The library lists it as the Fall Book Sale by the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library. It runs at Shaw Gym, 75 South Street, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, October 16, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Maine 3-Railers will put on a train show alongside it. The Friday hours are the useful part. If Saturday is already full, you can shop the sale the evening before while the shelves are still full.
The town's market listing gives the Farmers Market as Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., May through October, in the municipal building parking lot. That listing still carries a 2024 date, though, so confirm the 2026 location and final market day before you plan around it.
If your family already knows the Village from summer, this is familiar ground. The same streets carried Summer Thursdays at Little Falls all season. October 17 extends that walkable core into a full Saturday.
Midday, the farm on Buck Street runs its own long-standing event
Parsons Dairy Farm's annual Maine Antique Tractor Plow Day and Crafters Market isn't part of the town's official lineup. It falls on the same Saturday, starts at the same hour, and opens at 8 a.m. at 321 Buck Street. According to the farm's notice in the Gorham Times, farmers will be preparing the ground for next year's crops using antique tractors and implements brought from across New England. You can also expect members of the Maine Antique Tractor Club, dozens of local vendors, an auto show, mini-horses, and baby cows.
Food is served in the sugar shack. Breakfast runs from 7 to 10 a.m. and includes pancakes with Parsons maple syrup and breakfast sandwiches. Lunch runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries, and the farm specifically recommends the maple-glazed onions.
Those meal windows make the day easier to plan. A family can finish the Morning Mile and the book sale in the Village, drive out to Buck Street for lunch and the plowing, and still have the afternoon free before the bike ride begins at 4. Plow Day also shows the farming side of Gorham that the Village events don't, which fits the day's overall route outward from the center.
Why the night ends on Weeks Road
The town says its trail network covers more than 50 miles across public, quasi-public, and private land. The Trailforks figures on the town's trails page count 138 trails and 65 miles. A trail guide produced by the town and Presumpscot Regional Land Trust describes Weeks Road Land as about 4 miles of mostly mountain-bike trails. The same guide lists Tannery Brook, the Claire Drew Trail, the Cross Town Trail, Shaw Park, and the Sebago to the Sea Trail. Greater Portland NEMBA, the regional chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, says it has a volunteer Gorham crew working on bridge replacements, reroutes, and tread repair in 2026. Its project page also describes expansion work at Lavoie Bike Park and the neighboring Knolly Roller.
Ending the town's showcase day at Lavoie Bike Park makes that work visible to everyone who comes for the movie, including people who have never ridden a trail.
The Conservation Commission and GPNEMBA's first annual Spooky Bike Ride runs from 4 to 7 p.m. and ends at the bike park. The film festival's page suggests this plan: ride in, park your bike, grab a chair and warm clothes, and stay for pizza, beer, and films.
The pizza and beer garden opens at 5:30 and runs until 8:30. The beer garden is hosted by Rustic Taps. Rustic Taps is a Gorham business. The Gorham Times profiled it as a mobile bar and catering company with vintage trucks and wood-fired pizza ovens, founded by Dave and Jessica Golden. Its farm on Brackett Road grows produce in greenhouses for its catering. Like the event itself, the night's food and drink come from Gorham.
Films start at 6:30 and run about 90 minutes. Admission is free because local sponsors are covering it. The Selects program currently lists five short films:
- It Takes Two to Tandem, 6.6 minutes, about two riding partners marking ten years of tandem trips on their favorite trails
- The Maine Race, 17 minutes, about three Portland runners competing to be the top Mainer at Cape Elizabeth's Beach to Beacon 10K
- Last of a Kind, 13.2 minutes, about an aging Vermont woodsman and a way of life that is disappearing as the land develops
- House of Light, 13.75 minutes, about Dr. Sally Snowman's final days as keeper of Boston Light
- The Search for Milliseconds – Jackson Goldstone, 30.9 minutes, about a downhill racer's last run of the World Cup season
The festival notes that the program may change. Its advice for an outdoor screening in Maine in October is to bring warm clothes and a blanket. There will be some camp chairs on site, but bring your own if you have a favorite. The program ends around 8 p.m. on a mid-October evening, so a headlamp for the walk back to the car is a practical addition.
Details Gorham hadn't published as of October 4
These pieces still need confirming:
- Gorham Recreation's Fall Festival. It's one of the day's three main events, but no readable source gives its 2026 location, hours, or activities. Gorham Recreation's MyRec page has a flyer image that may include them.
- The Spooky Bike Ride's start point and route. So far, the only confirmed detail is that it ends at Lavoie Bike Park. It's also unclear whether riders need to register.
- The Morning Mile course and start time. The course map is still listed as coming soon.
- The "Trail of Events." In May, the town invited local businesses to add specials and activities to the day. No list of participating businesses had been published as of October 4.
- Weather. If the event is postponed, the call comes by 5 p.m. Friday, October 16, and everything moves to October 24.
The confirmed parts are enough to build a full day around. The town has said this "Trail of Events continues to grow," so the list of businesses taking part may get longer between now and the 17th.
The Scoville Foley Team has worked in Gorham long enough to see the Village and the trail network grow up side by side, and we're glad to see the town celebrating both on one Saturday. If you have questions about Gorham, from which neighborhoods are close to the Weeks Road trails to how much the Village has changed lately, Amy Foley and the team are happy to talk it through. Contact Us anytime, and we may see you at Lavoie Bike Park for the films.
