Downtown Bothell's October Runs Through One Newly Painted Corner

Until this fall, the corner of Bothell Way NE and Main Street was a spot you drove past. The City of Bothell called it "a once-overlooked corner of downtown Bothell" when it invited the public to dedicate Triangle Junction on Saturday, September 26. The corner is now an outdoor gallery of six murals. The timing worked out well. A week later, October's events began lining up on both streets that meet at that corner.

No single group runs October in downtown Bothell. An arts nonprofit, the City, a handcrafted-market business, a vendor festival, and McMenamins each put out their own listings. No one calendar shows the whole month. Put on a map, though, the events fall along two streets and one park. Triangle Junction is where the two streets meet.

The Corner Itself

The Bothell Arts Commission chose six artists from more than twenty applicants. Each artist took on the theme "Intersection." For a corner where two of downtown's main streets cross, the theme fits literally.

• Julio Velela, a Bothell resident and graphic designer, painted the downtown places and activities that bring people together.
• Devika Kapoor combined Warli folk art from India with present-day Bothell scenes.
• Ananda Basak worked with music and bold color.
• Luke Brannon painted Where We Meet, based on haiga, the Japanese form that pairs images with haiku.
• Taylor Ruhland painted Confluence and Currents, about how waterways, wildlife, and plants depend on each other.
• Students from the Alyssa Burnett Center filled their mural with rainbows, transportation, geometric forms, and future aspirations.

The City has a page on the Triangle Junction project for anyone who wants the background before visiting. The murals don't have hours, so you can see them on the way to almost anything else this month.

Five Organizers, One Footprint

Here is the month in date order, with who runs each event. Most confusion about downtown Bothell events comes from the organizer column.

1. Thursday, October 8, 5 to 8 p.m. The Arts Alive Bothell Art Walk, run by Arts Alive Bothell. Free.
2. Friday, October 9, 7 p.m. The McMenamins Anderson School Homecoming Party in Haynes' Hall, celebrating the building's 95th birthday with Nite Wave and DJ Dance Dance. 21 and over.
3. Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Halloween Market at Park at Bothell Landing, 9919 NE 180th St. The Chamber lists it as "Halloween Market" and the organizer, Artisan Alley PNW, calls it "Artisan Alley Halloween in-the-Park."
4. Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The 4th Annual Crow Fest on Main Street, rain or shine.
5. Friday, October 23, 8 to 11 p.m. Time Warp: Halloween Dance Party at McMenamins Anderson School.
6. Friday, October 30, 5 to 7 p.m. Trick-or-Treat on Main Street, run by the City of Bothell.
7. Saturday, October 31, 3 to 8 p.m. McMenamins Spooky Family Fun at Anderson School. Free and open to all ages.

The order shows two dense stretches. October 8 through 10 has three events on three straight days from three different organizers. October 30 and 31 puts the City's trick-or-treat and McMenamins' family event on back-to-back days. Because a different group runs each one, no single announcement covers either stretch.

The addresses tell the rest. The Art Walk, Crow Fest, and Trick-or-Treat all happen on Main Street. Every McMenamins event is at 18607 Bothell Way NE. The market is at the Landing. Triangle Junction sits where Main and Bothell Way meet.

How Each Event Actually Works

The formats vary as much as the organizers, and those differences shape how each evening goes.

The Art Walk has no fixed route. You pick up a passport and map at any participating business and can start or finish at any stop. The Arts Alive locations page has stops on both sides of the corner. On Main Street they include Willard Art & Frame at 10101 Main St, Ohh, Macarons at 10035, the Bothell Kenmore Chamber at 10031, Sugar Rush Candy Store at 10030, and First & Main Design Market at 10100. The Bothell City Hall Gallery is at 18415 101st Ave NE. Along Bothell Way NE, the list includes Six Oaks Apartments at 18333 and Make Apothecary at 18728. Inzpire Wellness is at 10116 NE 185th St. The list also includes Banner Bank and Wanderlust Book Lounge. Check their addresses on the night, because the directory's listings for those two don't match.

The Halloween Market is a seasonal booking. The Chamber listing promises 40-plus artisans and bakers, food trucks, face painting, a raffle, and trick-or-treating. Admission is free. Artisan Alley PNW says it holds its Bothell markets in October and December. If you miss this one, the next is two months away.

Crow Fest is bigger and runs in any weather. About 70 small, local handmade businesses fill Main Street, along with food trucks, free family activities, tarot readings, tattoos, and professional photo sessions. The Begin at Bothell listing encourages visitors to stop into the street's shops, bars, and restaurants between booths.

Trick-or-Treat on Main Street has the most logistics. More than 30 local businesses and community groups turn Main Street and 101st Ave NE into a trick-or-treat trail. Storefronts will have door greeters, and community groups will run outdoor booths. Bothell Fire, Bothell Police, Bothell Parks, and Bothell Public Works will bring decorated booths and specialty vehicles. Free parking is available in the Bothell City Hall Parking Garage, on city streets, and in the gravel lot at Park at Bothell Landing. A map of participating businesses goes up on the City's event page one week before the event, which puts it around Friday, October 23. BASIS Independent Bothell is this year's sponsor.

The McMenamins events split by age. The October 9 homecoming is 21 and over. Spooky Family Fun on Halloween is free and open to all ages. Saturday the 31st follows the City's Friday trick-or-treat, so a family can do both on consecutive evenings without repeating anything.

Eating Between Stops, by Street

The same split between Main Street and Bothell Way NE that organizes the events also works for planning dinner. Every place below has current hours or fall 2026 activity on its own site.

On Main Street, The Bine Beer & Food at 10127 Main St lists hours "as of 03/01/2026" and keeps a live tap list. It's a short walk from both the Art Walk's Main Street stops and the trick-or-treat route. The Cottage, a block off Main at 10029 NE 183rd St, offers onsite dining and takes reservations.

On Bothell Way NE, McMenamins Tavern on the Square at 18607 Bothell Way NE is open daily for dine-in and takeout. That makes it an easy dinner before the homecoming party or Time Warp in the same complex. Spring Bistro at 18105 Bothell Way NE is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and takes reservations. Next door at 18117 Bothell Way NE is Side Hustle Local, Bellevue Brewing's downtown Bothell location, announced in January 2025. Its site shows an October 14 beer event that has already sold out and free weekly bingo through November 23. Farther up the corridor, Agave Cocina & Tequilas is at 18505 Bothell Way NE, Suite 103. Its Bothell page shows a guest review dated October 3.

This bench of restaurants has drawn notice outside the city. In December 2025, Seattle Met named Bothell its 2025 Seattle Culinary Suburb of the Year. Its writer kept "guiding me north along Bothell Way." The piece points to cost as a big reason. T55 Pâtisserie cofounder Katie Pohl said the team looked at every building in Seattle's Chinatown-International District before choosing Bothell, partly because the older Seattle spaces left code upgrades to tenants.

One Opening to Watch

Aamrai Indian Kitchen & Bar has said it is aiming to open in Bothell in the second week of October 2026. It hasn't announced an address. If it opens on schedule, it will arrive during the October 8 to 10 stretch, so look for an address announcement before then.

For more on the downtown blocks after the Halloween decorations come down, our downtown Bothell guide and our notes on weekends in Bothell cover the rest of the year.

At Deepti Gupta Real Estate, we keep track of what is opening, moving, and changing along Main Street and Bothell Way NE because those details affect how a Bothell home is valued and presented. If you're thinking about what your place near downtown Bothell is worth, Schedule a Consultation and we'll go through it with you.