At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, October 16, Adam Greuel and Sarah Vos start a free songwriting workshop at Thrasher Opera House on Mill Street. They perform as Rucksack Revolution. Greuel is known from Horseshoes & Hand Grenades and Vos from Dead Horses. The workshop is open to fans and local musicians and runs until 6:30 p.m. The duo takes the stage again at 7:30 p.m. for a ticketed show, which was listed at $30 when it was announced in September. They are touring their August 2026 album, Polish Flats and Watercress.
Saturday morning at 10 a.m., the gates open at the Toll/Londowski Family Farm on County Road J, north of town. The 26th annual From the Land Folk Art Festival runs that day until 4 p.m. and again Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Green Lake's October has a shape, and that weekend shows it best. A ticketed evening in a 1910 hall on Friday leads into a two-day outdoor festival with no show scheduled against it. The rest of the month follows the same pattern, and the season was published months ago.
The weekend that holds both stages
This is how October 16 through 18 lines up, using the times posted by the venue and the festival.
- Friday, October 16, 5:30 p.m. Free Rucksack Revolution songwriting workshop at Thrasher Opera House.
- Friday, October 16, 7:30 p.m. Rucksack Revolution concert.
- Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From the Land Folk Art Festival at W1648 County Road J.
- Saturday and Sunday, 1 p.m. Speaker in the Ole Carriage House at the farm.
- Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Festival's second day.
The Thrasher schedule for the season lists no show on either festival day. The festival closes hours before a 7:30 p.m. curtain would rise, so the hall and the farm do not compete for the same evening. Anyone who wants both Friday night and the festival can have them.
Why a 200-seat room sets the pace of the month
Thrasher Opera House was built by Charlie Thrasher in 1910 and restored in 1997. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and seats 200. It hosts around 80 events a year, and the farthest row from the stage is 11 rows back. A room that size does not have slack. October's shows fall on nearly every weekend, so the question is which nights to claim early.
| Date | Act | Sound | Price at announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct. 2 | Gin, Chocolate & Bottle Rockets | Legends of Harmony | $27 |
| Sat, Oct. 3 | The Jimmys | High-energy blues, soul and R&B | $20 |
| Sun, Oct. 4, 3 p.m. | The Dreamboats | 1950s and 60s rock 'n' roll | $30 |
| Fri, Oct. 9 | Charlie Parr | Piedmont blues and folk | $27 |
| Sat, Oct. 10 | Vanessa Collier | Soulful blues and saxophone | $30 |
| Fri, Oct. 16 | Rucksack Revolution | Wisconsin folk and harmony | $30 |
| Thu and Fri, Oct. 22 and 23 | Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel | Soulful rock | Box office |
Shows start at 7:30 p.m. unless a time is listed. Prices for the first five come from the season announcement in June, and the Rucksack Revolution price from the September release. Check current pricing with the box office at 920-294-4279 or at thrasheroperahouse.com. The Duane Betts run has two nights, which gives anyone who missed the first weekends a second chance.
A Saturday, October 24 late-night cult-classic film screening also appears on event calendars. The listings don't confirm the title or start time, so the box office is the place to ask.
A dinner beforehand takes a phone call. Adams Rib is at 538 Mill Street, on the same street as the opera house at 506. Norton's of Green Lake calls itself a Green Lake institution of more than 75 years. Goose Blind, at 512 Gold Street, takes reservations by phone only, asks for a call from parties larger than eight, and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Oakwood Restaurant, Chops Fine Cuisine and Scoot's Cafe also come up in local listings. Hours shift with the season, so call ahead before you plan the evening around one.
The farm on the other side of the calendar
The From the Land Folk Art Festival was founded in 2000 by Jan Londowski and is held on the third weekend of every October. Najmot Farm and Heritage Hemp Farm host it at the family farm. The 2026 list of featured vendors includes Redmond's Apple Basket, Design Acres of Ripon, Boarlord Boots and Leather, Fungi Fusion, Milltown Artworks and A Touch of Glass. A Pie By The Slice Shoppe is listed, along with Voyageur Canoe and Tepee. Educational booths include Wild Ones, Waushara Gardeners and a coalition working to designate Hen of the Woods as Wisconsin's state mushroom.
The 1 p.m. talks in the Ole Carriage House both days come from the Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project. Saturday's topic is regenerative agriculture at home, covering biochar, compost and small-space food growing for all skill levels. Sunday's is legacy land conservation, which covers easements, estate planning, keeping a connection to family land, and the difference between fair and equal inheritance. Anyone who owns acreage in Green Lake County will find Sunday's topic close to home.
Admission is charged at the gate. One festival directory listed $1, but that entry was last updated in October 2025, so the festival's own site is the place to confirm this year's price.
What the rest of the month leaves open
Stuart's Landscaping & Garden Center is listed with a Fall Market on Saturday, October 10, starting at 10 a.m. at its Green Lake location, N6204 Busse Drive. That listing appears on only one event calendar, so a call to 920-294-0361 will confirm it.
The downtown tent weekends wrapped up in September. The Wisconsin State Chili Cook-Off filled Deacon Mills Park on September 12, run by the Green Lake Rotary Club with the International Chili Society. Golden Days Harvest Fest took over Mill Street on September 26 and 27, with the Rose Canyon Band and Tom Kniess polka on the free Harvest Fest lineup in Thrasher's season schedule. What remains in October is the hall and the farm.
The Thrasher season also runs past October. The Samples play November 7, Ha Ha Tonka on November 13 and Kim Wilson on November 14. Ryanhood's holiday show is December 5.
Tickets for every October show at Thrasher Opera House are available through thrasheroperahouse.com or 920-294-4279.
The team at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Special Properties keeps a Green Lake fall calendar of our own, and we're happy to compare notes on which Friday night you're claiming. Get the Special Advantage — Talk with our team today.
