Trick or treat yourself

From pumpkins to lanterns, fall shines at City Place

Fall is shaping up to be a season full of reasons to gather at City Place, where an exciting lineup of outdoor experiences brings families, friends, fitness fans, movie lovers, and curious explorers together.

Photo courtesy of City Place

The Water Lantern Festival is on November 21.

Two major tentpole events anchor the season: the Fall Festival on October 24 and the Water Lantern Festival on November 21 and 22. In between, visitors can enjoy outdoor movies, fitness classes, pop-up shopping, and an illuminated art installation that adds a little extra magic to the property.

Make memories at the Fall Festival
On Saturday, October 24, City Place invites guests to enjoy an afternoon of classic autumn fun from noon-4 pm at the Fall Festival.

The family-friendly festival will feature a petting zoo, pumpkin decorating, live music, food, lawn games, festive photo opportunities, balloon installations, a stilt walker, fall characters, and a photo booth. It’s an easy way to spend an afternoon outdoors, with plenty of opportunities for kids and adults to get into the seasonal spirit.

Visitors can make a full day of it by exploring the surrounding City Place area before or after the festival.

Light up the season
Fall Together wraps up with the Water Lantern Festival on November 21 and 22, from 3-7 pm.

Each attendee will receive a lantern kit to personalize with a message, intention, or design before joining in the evening’s festivities. Live music, food, lawn games, photo moments, and a scavenger hunt will keep the fun going as guests gather with friends and family.

Then, as the sun sets, everyone comes together to release their lanterns onto the water, creating a glowing display reflected across the lake. The experience offers a memorable way to close out the fall season with creativity, connection, and a little nighttime magic.

Catch a movie under the stars
City Place’s Pix on The Plaza outdoor movie series continues this fall with two very different nights at the plaza.

On October 10 at 8 pm, Hocus Pocus brings a Halloween favorite to the big screen, with Island Grill offering specials to complement the evening. Then, on November 7 at 8 pm, the series gets a romantic twist with La La Land for a special Date Night screening sponsored by Somerlyn Group.

Take in an evening film. Photo courtesy of City Place

Get moving outdoors
Cooler fall weather also makes it a perfect time to take a workout outside. City Place’s seasonal fitness programming includes Zumba, Strength & Sculpt, HipHop HIIT with Lifestyle Revolution, and Ora Pilates, offering plenty of ways to mix up a fitness routine.

With a combination of cardio, strength, dance-inspired movement, and Pilates, there’s something for a variety of interests and fitness levels. Class dates and times vary, so check the City Place events calendar for the latest schedule.

Find your next great read
Book lovers can browse more than 300 titles when Good Books In The Woods returns with its pop-up bookstore. The selection includes plenty for readers of all ages, including an extensive collection of children’s books.

Meet the gnomes
Adding a little whimsy to the season, Roaming Gnomes by Amigo & Amigo brings eight monumental illuminated gnomes to City Place through November 8.

Each oversized gnome has its own personality, style, and pose, encouraging visitors to explore the property to find all eight. The colorful installation turns City Place into an open-air art experience and offers plenty of unexpected photo opportunities along the way.

With two signature festivals and a full calendar of supporting activities, City Place offers plenty of ways to get outside, gather with loved ones, and make the most of the season.

Visit City Place’s events calendar for the latest schedule and details.

city place fall live music promoted pumpkins water lantern festival

Movie Review

Anne Hathaway's busy 2026 continues with meta-thriller Verity

Photo by Alisha Wetherill

Anne Hathaway in Verity.

Anne Hathaway has been inescapable for movie fans in 2026, starring in no fewer than five different movies across multiple genres, including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, and The End of Oak Street. The actor (who’s pregnant and about to take a well-earned break) is wrapping up her supremely busy year with the psychological thriller, Verity.

Hathaway plays the title character, Verity Crawford, a hugely successful author who writes beach read thrillers, often from the perspective of the villain. An unpublicized car accident renders her immobile and mute, and her husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett), and agents make the decision to recruit someone to ghostwrite her next book in order to continue her legacy.

The person hired for the job is Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), an aspiring author whose books mostly get ignored. She’s eager to take on the project, but the reality of Verity’s situation throws her for a loop. When she discovers a secret file that seems to be Verity admitting to some very bad things, Lowen starts to spin even more, imagining situations that may not actually be happening.

Directed by Michael Showalter and adapted by Nick Antosca from the book by Colleen Hoover, the film initially has a nice rhythm to it, setting up the three main characters well and building up tension. Though current day Verity can’t speak or move, the film gets to the heart of her through old interviews Lowen watches to get to know her mind better. Using that footage and other small moments at the house, a type of rivalry develops between the two characters.

Strangely, though, Showalter and Antosca fail to capitalize on the early momentum. The story stagnates about halfway through the movie and never delivers on what it seems to be promising. Whether they’re too true to Hoover’s original story or change things too much is difficult to tell for those who haven’t read the book, but either way, the result is a big tease with not much in the way of a payoff.

What’s most disappointing about the film is its inability to decide on a tone. There are some points where it feels like over-the-top, campy fun, and others where it seems like the filmmakers are going for a straight-up horror vibe. The down-the-middle approach that they land on serves neither the story nor the characters well. Moments that should be full of suspense or could get laughs often fall flat because of the indecisiveness of the filmmakers.

Due to her character’s affliction, Hathaway is reduced to a supporting role in the film, but she gets by on presence alone and still has a few scenes where she demonstrates her star power. Johnson delivers a good performance despite her typical lack of emotion. Like many of her roles, it’s her body that seems to get more attention than her acting. Hartnett is on a roll thanks to recent roles in Oppenheimer and Trap, and he puts in solid work here, as well.

Verity has the bones of a tense thriller, but it’s filled in with a bunch of questionable story beats that don’t prove as satisfying as the premise. The meta-plot of the authors of thrillers becoming involved in a thriller themselves should have been juicy and full of great twists, but ultimately it’s as catatonic as Verity herself.

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Verity is now playing in theaters.

movies film

Trick or treat yourself

From pumpkins to lanterns, fall shines at City Place

Movie Review

Anne Hathaway's busy 2026 continues with meta-thriller Verity

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