Ballston Spa Car Show October 2026: Downtown Closures and Timing

The 24th Annual "The Way We Were" Car Show runs Sunday, October 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Sunday, October 18 as the rain date. Most people in the village think of it as a Front Street event. The plan the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association filed with the village describes something bigger. Show cars and parking reach Fairground Avenue past Brookside Museum, the Waverly Square lot, and Ballston Avenue as far as Galway Street. The show has grown, and its footprint grew with it. If you live or run errands downtown, planning around that footprint matters more than knowing the start time.

Why the show spills off Front Street

The numbers explain it. In its September 1 letter to Mayor Fran Rossi Jr., the BSBPA said past shows have had more than 450 registered vehicles, and that with good weather this year's count could get close to 500. That isn't a stretch. The association counted 485 participating cars at the 2022 show.

Front Street between Milton Avenue and West High Street can't hold that many cars plus food vendors. So the request adds more streets in layers:

• Main route: Front Street from Milton Avenue to West High Street/Route 67, plus Low Street to West High Street, lined with cars, trucks, and food vendors from BSBPA members and community groups
• Overflow: Bath Street from Front Street to East High Street
• Motorcycles: one lane of Bath Street on the Generations Auto side
• Extra overflow if turnout reaches the high end: Charlton Street, plus Science Street and Court Street up to Walnut Street

The operations and safety plan in the same village agenda packet goes further. It lists more parking along Fairground Avenue just past Brookside Museum and in the Brookside Museum lot. It also lists the west side of Bath Street up to the bridge before Washington Street, Ballston Avenue to Galway Street, and the Waverly Square lot. The east side of Bath Street stays open for police and fire access.

The letter and the plan don't list exactly the same overflow sites. The letter mentions the grass at Old Iron Spring, Wiswall Park, and the Ballston Spa Public Library lot. The operations plan names a different set. Both were in the packet for the village board's September 14 meeting, where trustees approved the show and accepted the submitted street-closure plan. The letter says a map of the route and closures will be provided, so check ballston.org for the final version before you plan a drive across the village that morning.

The day runs on an earlier clock than the posted hours

"9 to 4" covers the hours spectators walk the street. The street itself changes hands much earlier. Here is the timeline from the operations plan:

1. 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. Setup, including road closure signs along the route
2. 6 a.m. Show cars start entering the route
3. 8 a.m. The BSBPA has asked for fire company and police help at three pedestrian crossings: Front Street at Milton Avenue, Front Street at Bath Street, and Charlton Street at Old Iron Springs
4. 9 a.m. The show officially opens
5. Noon No more show cars are admitted, or earlier if the show reaches capacity
6. 3 p.m. Awards in Wiswall Park
7. 4 p.m. The show officially ends
8. 4:30 p.m. Show cars must be cleared from the route

So if you have an early Sunday errand on Front Street, you'll be dealing with signs before sunrise and arriving show cars from 6 a.m. The plan doesn't say when ordinary traffic gets back onto the closed streets, only that show cars must be gone by 4:30. The BSBPA warns that roads close quickly and says all show cars must enter on Charlton Street. If you live near that entrance, expect most of the early-morning arrivals to come your way.

Side streets stay usable. Volunteers will place and watch over DPW roadblocks where side streets meet Front Street. You can drive down those streets but can't turn onto Front. Getting home is easier than getting across downtown.

Wiswall Park's turnaround

Wiswall Park, at Front and Low streets, hosted the last Ballston Spa Farmers' Market Saturday of the season yesterday, October 3, along with the market's Autumn Festival. The market had run there Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. since June 13. Eight days later, the same park hosts the car show's 3 p.m. awards. Categories include Best in Show for both car and truck, President's Choice, Mayor's Choice, Best Engine, Best Paint, Best Stock, Best Import, Farthest Traveled, and Oldest Vehicle.

If you only want one part of the day, the awards are the easiest to plan around. They come late, after the noon admission cutoff, so the field is set and the morning arrival rush is long over.

Last year's show included food and craft vendors, live music, children's activities, and a trophy ceremony. For 2026, the published materials confirm food vendors and the awards. The vendor application offered spots in food, merchandise, and promotional categories.

The Front Street you'll be walking has changed since last October

Spectators fill Front Street from curb to curb on show day, and the street looks different than it did at the 23rd show. Three changes this year are worth knowing about.

Upstate Retro Clothing opened at 49 Front Street on May 21. It sells curated clothing from the '80s and '90s. At a show built around nostalgia, a vintage clothing shop on the route fits right in.

Kim's Place is the new name of the former Front Street Deli at 39 Front Street, now run by owner Kim Tribley. NEWS10 reported the name change in May. The Saratogian covered its grand opening ribbon cutting in August.

O'Brien Pharmacy at 4 Front Street changed hands but kept its name. The Kelly family's Kelly's Pharmacy group bought it effective July 1 and kept all six staff members. It said the name and operation would stay, according to the Daily Gazette.

The BSBPA's car show materials don't list participating storefronts or show-day specials. The association did say it would notify Front Street and Low Street businesses about the closures ahead of time. If a stop at one of them is part of your Sunday, check with the shop directly.

Just off the route, Back Barn Brewing now runs the former Real McCoy taproom at 28 Washington Street. The Duanesburg brewery partnered with proprietor Mike Schaffer after Real McCoy shut down unexpectedly in December, and the taproom reopened on February 28. Back Barn's posted Ballston Spa hours are Friday 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday 1 to 8 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 6 p.m., with Monday through Thursday closed. Those hours were posted in July, so confirm them before you go. If they still hold, the taproom opens at 1 p.m. on show day, two hours before the awards. The show's parking along the west side of Bath Street ends at the bridge before Washington Street.

Brookside carries the rest of the month

The Saratoga County History Center at Brookside Museum, 21 Fairground Ave., is in the show's overflow zone on October 11, with parking planned in its lot and along Fairground Avenue. For the rest of October, it hosts most of what's happening downtown. Its remaining programs at the museum start three days before the car show and run nearly to Halloween:

• October 8, 6 to 8 p.m. Saratoga County Public History Awards 2026, honoring Christopher Carola and Mary Ann Fitzgerald
• October 15, 2 p.m. "Luther Forest: A Family, A Woodland, A Legacy," a curator's tour
• October 18, 2 to 3 p.m. "Leaves and Trees," a children's story time and craft for ages 3 to 8
• October 24, 3 p.m. "Sounds in Autumn: The Epilogue Trio," a free concert with required registration because seating is limited
• October 29, 7:30 p.m. "Andy Rooney: A Lucky Life, with Paul Grondahl"
• October 30, 6 to 8 p.m. "Brookside Presents: Her Self-Inflicted Decapitation (2026)," with $5 tickets

Watch for one date clash. October 18 is both the car show's rain date and the day of the Leaves and Trees story time. If rain pushes the show back a week, Brookside's lot and Fairground Avenue are listed as show parking on the same afternoon a group of young kids is booked inside. If you're registered for story time, check the forecast early that week.

As of October 1, Brookside's upcoming-events calendar shows no 2026 Trunk or Treat. Last year's ran October 25, 2025. The October 30 screening is the museum's last October listing.

If you live along the car show route and have ever wondered what your home on one of those streets would sell for, Rebekah O'Neil can give you a clear starting point. Get an instant home valuation, then let's talk through what makes a walkable spot in the village valuable to buyers.