Circus World has closed for the season. Its official site says it will reopen to visitors in February 2027. That leaves Baraboo's October to the courthouse square, the Al. Ringling Theatre and Devil's Lake. The month's busiest stretch of downtown dates also lines up with a city deadline. On Oct. 15, development proposals are due for the Civic Center at 124 Second St., the 1928 building that was the city's high school for fifty years.
The events on the square this month and the requests residents made for the Civic Center last year turn out to be close to the same list. Below is the month in order, with the Civic Center deadline in the middle where it falls.
Oct. 8 to 11: The Fair, the Theatre and a New Counter on 1st Street
The month starts at Devil's Lake State Park, which has an earthworks program on Thursday, Oct. 8, according to the DNR's park calendar.
The weekend is the busy one:
- Friday through Sunday, Oct. 9 to 11: Wizard of Oz at the Al. Ringling Theatre.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: The Baraboo Farmers Market sets up as part of the fair.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Fall Fair on the Square. Organizers say it has run for more than 30 years and expect nearly 200 crafters, artists and photographers, plus food vendors, face painters, jugglers and activities from community groups. The live music lineup includes Rollick & Roam from 10 a.m. to noon and Kaylin Kole from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This year's fair is sponsored by Daylene's.
- Saturday, Oct. 10: An Ice Age Trail hike at Devil's Lake, for anyone who wants the bluffs before or after the crafts.
If you walk the square on fair day, there's a new stop at 138 1st St. Munay Pastry Shop & Cafe opened in late July in the space that used to be Bella Vita Cafe. The name is pronounced "Moo-nigh." Owner Fabiola Sanchez and her family are from Trujillo, Peru. According to the Baraboo News Republic, she started selling pastries from her house after arriving in Baraboo in 2019, and she opened the cafe with help from her sister, Ana Torres.
"When I came here, I started baking. Munay means love. That's what we want to spread." — Fabiola Sanchez, in the News Republic's coverage of the opening
The pastry case has three Peruvian pastries: alfajores, botijas and piononos. There's also Peruvian flan, tres leches cake, a chocolate Mexican flan, tiramisu and lemon velvet pie. A few Bella Vita recipes stayed on the menu, including the jalapeño-and-cheese croissants and the quiches. The cafe also serves beef and chicken empanadas. Drinks include coffee, cappuccino, espresso and café au lait, plus hibiscus and horchata.
Oct. 15: The Building Most of Town Has Been Inside
The fair packs up on Saturday. The following Thursday, the City of Baraboo and the Baraboo Economic Development Commission stop accepting proposals for the Civic Center block. The city issued the request on Sept. 15.
The request describes a building many residents know from the inside. Madison architects Claude and Starck designed it in the Prairie School style. It originally had a gymnasium, an auditorium and stage, classrooms, laboratories and a rooftop playground. Ownership passed to the city in 1979, and much of the old classroom space now serves as office and meeting rooms rented by the day or long term. The major tenants are the Baraboo Area Senior Center Organization, or BASCO, the Baraboo chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Wisconsin, and the city's Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department. The gym and the fitness and weight rooms next to it are still open to the public.
The full site covers about 2.6 acres. It includes the 52,903-square-foot building and a 0.15-acre veterans' honor roll and memorial kept up by a coalition of local service organizations. The rest of the block is free public parking for downtown residents, employees and visitors.
In September 2025, the commission held a public brainstorming session on the building's future, and the RFP summarizes what people said. Participants valued the location, the architecture, the history and the building's continued use as a public space. Housing went over well, especially senior housing, along with retail and social services such as a medical clinic. People also showed strong interest in more educational offerings for all ages and in community programs that face outward, with markets, art galleries and a café given as examples.
Markets, art, food and a café are also a fair description of what happens around the square on Oct. 10. The RFP itself says downtown commerce and social life revolve around the courthouse square, which hosts festivals, concerts, parades and other community events. Asked what the old high school should become, residents named the kind of activity the square already hosts.
The document also sets limits. The Civic Center is inside the Downtown Baraboo Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city notes that based on reactions to past proposals for nearby sites, residents and business leaders favor projects that match the existing architecture and fit downtown's scale. The property is also in Tax Increment District #8. That district's expenditure period ends in June 2028, which puts a practical clock on any plan that would rely on it. The RFP asks for development services to start right away, but it does not set a construction date.
The Civic Center isn't the only older public building the city is working on this fall. On the north side, the Common Council voted at its Sept. 22 meeting to ask Sauk County to take a tax deed on the former Ringling Hospital at 1208 Oak St. The building has been vacant since the 1990s, and the News Republic reports that a tangle of ownership problems has blocked redevelopment. City Attorney Nick O'Connor said state law gives the county 180 days from taking the deed to transfer ownership to the city. Mayor Rob Nelson said the transfer won't cost the city anything. The plans for the two buildings differ. One will likely come down, according to the paper's photo caption, and the other is a working public building whose current uses residents say they value.
Oct. 17 to 22: Two Theatre Nights and the Square After Dark
Once proposals are in, the calendar goes back to the theatre and the square. The Al. Ringling Theatre has Dirty, Flirty, Thirty, and Out of Work on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., and Illusions on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2 p.m.
Witches' Night Out follows on Thursday, Oct. 22. Downtown Baraboo's current events list has shopping at more than 20 local stores around the courthouse square, followed by a witches' dance. The event's detail page still shows last year's date, so check Downtown Baraboo's events list for start times closer to the day.
Oct. 24 to 31: The Lake Takes the Last Weekend
The last two Saturdays move to Devil's Lake. The Friends of Devil's Lake run the Halloween Extravaganza on Saturday, Oct. 24. It's free and open to all ages, with pumpkin carving and crafts, then a torchlit hike, a campfire with s'mores, and a costume parade. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the park's calendar lists a Halloween Nature Trivia Walk. Both are on the DNR's Devil's Lake event calendar and the Friends group's upcoming events page.
By the Oct. 24 Extravaganza, the Civic Center proposals will have been in the city's hands for nine days. The RFP lists the senior center, the Boys & Girls Club and the parks department as the building's current major tenants, and it describes the gym as still serving the public.
The Civic Center decision is one of several changes coming to the blocks around the square. If you own a home near downtown Baraboo and want to know what it could sell for while these projects move forward, Flat Fee Pros can walk you through the numbers and our all-inclusive flat fee in one conversation. Schedule a free consultation or get your flat-fee listing quote.
