There's a lot at the corner of Dauphin and Catherine streets that holds pumpkins for most of October. Visit Mobile lists the Dauphin Way United Methodist Church pumpkin patch from Oct. 11 through Oct. 31, 2026. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. In 2022, Mobile County's event listing called it the patch's 23rd season, set up across the street from the church.
When the pumpkins are gone, the lot is used again. From late October through Christmas, most of Old Dauphin Way's shared seasonal events happen on property that belongs to a congregation. That includes a pumpkin lot, a former church education building, a parish lawn on Old Shell Road and a church parking lot farther west on Dauphin. The district's year-end calendar depends on what those owners decide to do with their land.
The Season, Date by Date
- Pumpkin patch, Dauphin & Catherine, through Saturday, Oct. 31.
- Trunk-or-Treat, Sunday, Oct. 25, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., on the pumpkin patch lot.
- ODWA Plant Swap, Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 to 11:45 a.m., Central Midtown, 4 N. Ann St. Free.
- Christmas Nights in Lights, selected nights from Nov. 6 through Dec. 27, 6 to 9 p.m., Dauphin Way Baptist Church, 3661 Dauphin St.
- Second Saturday Vendors Market, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Central Midtown, 1260 Dauphin St. Free.
- Old Dauphin Way Holiday Party, Thursday, Dec. 3. Details are still to come.
- Lighting Up Midtown Festival, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 to 9 p.m., St. Mary's Parish, 1453 Old Shell Road.
- White Christmas, Sunday, Dec. 13, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, 1507 Dauphin St.
Five of those eight events are hosted by a congregation on its own property. The other three are held at Central Midtown, which is also church property.
The Methodist Corner Hosts Three of Them
Dauphin Way United Methodist Church shows up at both ends of the list. On its Trunk-or-Treat page, the church describes the event as open to the entire community. It moves its regular evening programming to the Pumpkin Patch lot for that day. In December, the White Christmas program is on the calendar at the 1507 Dauphin St. campus, with details still to be posted.
This year the patch is a joint effort. The church's 2026 volunteer training notice says the surrounding Midtown United Methodist churches are sponsoring it. The church's 2025 notice said proceeds went to Missions and Outreach, including Meals on Wheels, the Society of St. Stephen, Leinkauf Elementary School and the USA Wesley Foundation. That list covers last season, so ask at the patch where this year's money goes.
The same campus is where the neighborhood association does its business. The Old Dauphin Way Association has represented Mobile's largest historic district since 1974. The district covers more than 3,000 structures across 766 acres. The association holds its general meetings at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, and its site says Old Dauphin Way residents are welcome. Annual dues are $25 per household.
A Former Classroom Building Hosts the Plant Swap and the Market
The association's biggest public event of the fall is held a few blocks away. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the ODWA Plant Swap takes over Central Midtown at 4 N. Ann St. from 10 to 11:45 a.m. Mobile County's listing calls it the oldest and largest continuing swap in the Mobile area. It's free. The swap runs from mid-morning to just before noon on Halloween, which leaves the afternoon open for costumes.
Central Midtown sits on the campus of Central Presbyterian. AL.com reported in 2019 that the church repurposed its education building and turned former classrooms and other rooms into artist studios. Today the building is home to dozens of artist studios, a pottery studio called Moon Struck Makers Space, and nonprofit tenants including Family Promise, Love All Pantry and Mobile Urban Growers. It also has hot desks and space for events and workshops.
That's why the Second Saturday Vendors Market works there. It's a free market of local makers, artists and farmers that runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month in 2026. Two dates are left this year, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12. The December market lands the day before White Christmas at the Methodist church, so that weekend has events on both Dauphin Street campuses.
St. Mary's Is Adding an Afternoon to Its Tree Lighting
For years, Lighting Up Midtown has been an evening event. St. Mary's Parish describes it as an annual, free tree-lighting with Christmas activities, built around its "enormous outdoor Christmas Tree." Last year NBC 15 listed the Dec. 5, 2025 event as the 13th Annual Midtown Christmas Tree Lighting.
The format changes in 2026. Mobile County's listing says the longstanding tradition will be combined with a new all-day festival on Saturday, Dec. 5. It runs from 2 to 9 p.m. at 1453 Old Shell Road, with a vendors' market, live music, seasonal food and pictures with Santa. No performers or vendors have been named yet, and the listing doesn't mention admission. The parish's Facebook event page is where updates are expected.
A tree lighting used to fill one evening. The 2026 version runs seven hours. It falls two days after the ODWA Holiday Party on Dec. 3 and a week before the last Second Saturday market.
The Light Show's Campus Is for Sale
The biggest attraction of the season is just west of the district, and it shows most clearly how much the calendar depends on who owns the land. Christmas Nights in Lights is a drive-through show of more than one million lights synchronized to your car radio. It's set up at Dauphin Way Baptist Church, 3661 Dauphin St. Visit Mobile lists 35 nights from Nov. 6 through Dec. 27, 6 to 9 p.m., at $9.99 per person. Children 2 and under get in free, and pets can come along as long as they stay in the car. The operator's ticket page calls 2026 its second season at the church. The longest stretch of shows starts Dec. 4 and runs every night through Dec. 27, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day included.
The church has said publicly that it's moving. On its website, Dauphin Way Baptist says it "made the difficult decision to sell the current property and start the relocation process." WKRG reported in August 2025 that the 19.31-acre site with three buildings had officially gone on the market. In a FOX10 interview in November 2025, Pastor Lee Merck said the church didn't yet know where its next home would be. No buyer, future use or move date has been reported since. For now, Sunday worship still meets at 3661 Dauphin St., and the lights are scheduled to come on there Nov. 6.
Getting there this year may involve some construction. The City of Mobile and ALDOT started a $14 million overhaul of the Dauphin Street corridor from Rimes Road to Sage Avenue this spring. The work includes smart signals, brighter street lighting, resurfacing and new curbs and gutters, and it's expected to take about two years. Nick Amberger, the city's executive director of engineering and infrastructure, told FOX10 that traffic will keep moving:
"Some temporary widening is being done so we can accommodate two lanes of traffic the entire time when work gets underway."
On a night in late December when the show is busy, it helps to know where the lane shifts are before you join the line of cars.
Each of these events depends on a property owner agreeing to host it, and each of those owners can make a different choice in a future year. If you'd like to talk through what's happening with church campuses and other big properties along Dauphin Street, or what the corridor work means for your block, Chrissi Moore keeps track of these changes in Midtown. Call Chrissi today.
