For a single dollar, Jacksonville families can spend an October evening trick-or-treating around the concourse of a Triple-A ballpark, poking through a haunted version of the team's own locker room, and catching a glimpse of the mascots that have become minor league celebrities in their own right. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp will host their inaugural Fall Festival on Friday, October 16, running from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at VyStar Ballpark, with tickets priced at $1 per person.
The event is presented by Fun 4 First Coast Kids, according to Action News Jax, which reported on the festival's lineup. The organization runs an online directory and resource calendar covering family events, youth programs, and seasonal activities across Duval, Nassau, and northern St. Johns counties, per Fun 4 First Coast Kids. Its partnership with the ballpark places the Fall Festival alongside a growing calendar of family-oriented seasonal programming across the region.
What's Included for a Dollar
Admission covers trick-or-treating on the concourse, halloween-themed activities scattered throughout the stadium, and access to a haunted clubhouse set up inside the team's actual locker room, the outlet reports. Attendees can also collect treats from vendor tables and meet the Jumbo Shrimp's mascots, while the ballpark's HD videoboard screens Halloween movie classics throughout the evening.
Concessions, holiday treats, and refreshments will be available for purchase, though visitors are prohibited from bringing outside food and beverages into the ballpark. The souvenir store will remain open, and free parking is available in Lot P. The playing field itself will stay closed for the event, with activity confined to the concourse and stadium seating bowl, both of which are stroller and wheelchair accessible.
A Stadium Built for More Than Baseball
VyStar Ballpark has hosted non-baseball autumn gatherings before. In October 2024, the venue partnered with the Jax Melanin Market on a community festival where trick-or-treating entry was collected as canned food donations for local families, according to The Ponte Vedra Recorder. The 11,000-capacity ballpark, owned by the City of Jacksonville, first opened in April 2003 as the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville before being renamed 121 Financial Ballpark in 2020 and taking on its current VyStar Ballpark name in 2025.
Low-cost, controlled venues like the ballpark have become a favored option for family trick-or-treating in Duval County, where local law enforcement enforces annual Halloween safety rules prohibiting registered sex offenders from participating in trick-or-treating events, handing out candy, or displaying holiday decorations, as Hoodline previously reported. The Fall Festival is a local leisure event taking place beyond the peak of summer tourism.
A Franchise Riding High
The Fall Festival arrives as the Jumbo Shrimp enter a new chapter off the field. Prospector Baseball Group acquired the team in December 2025 from former owner Ken Babby after Babby was named chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Rays, a transition that also saw former general manager Harold Craw depart while Matt Goudreau stepped in as team president, according to WUSF.
On the field, the Jumbo Shrimp enter the offseason as reigning champions. The team won the International League championship and the Triple-A National Championship in September 2025, defeating the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the league finals. That title run came after the club drew 359,679 fans during the 2025 regular season, maintaining its long-standing status as the top draw among Florida's minor league professional sports organizations.
The franchise's identity has shifted considerably since its early days. It was formerly known as the Jacksonville Suns, and following Minor League Baseball's 2021 nationwide reorganization, the club was elevated from Double-A to the Triple-A International League while remaining affiliated with the Miami Marlins. Despite the ownership change atop the organization, the team has kept its focus on low-cost family entertainment, leaning on its championship momentum and community partnerships like the one with Fun 4 First Coast Kids to fill the ballpark for events beyond the baseball season.
