The Scarecrow Tour opens Thursday, October 8, and runs through Sunday, October 18. If this year's ballot works the way past ones have, it goes to Waconia City Hall to be counted. City Hall is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. The tour spans two full weekends, and the building is closed on both. The practical deadline is Friday morning, October 16, and the last full afternoon is Thursday, October 15.
The ballot instructions come from a chamber listing for a previous year. Confirm the drop-off details at DestinationWaconia.org before you plan around them. The bigger point is that the tour is a walk past businesses' front sidewalks, and several of those businesses are not where they were last October.
The tour is only as good as the storefronts that host it
The Chamber-member businesses and organizations each build a scarecrow and stand it outside their own building. The route is whatever the participant list says it is. Past editions have drawn more than 50 scarecrows, and the tour is free. Last year's list gives a sense of the mix. It included Mackenthun's Fine Foods, Ruthie's House Vintage, Shop Chicks Co, Nice Shirt Co., Old National Bank, the Waconia Patriot, Waconia American Legion Post #150, Waconia Moravian Church and Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery. The 2026 roster may differ, so pick up the current ballot rather than trusting a list from last fall.
The ballot has three sources. You can download it from the chamber's site, find it in the Patriot, or pick one up at a participating business. Then you vote for a favorite and turn it in for a prize drawing.
A plan that fits the City Hall hours looks like this:
- Thursday, October 8 to Friday, October 9. The tour is open and City Hall is open. This is the easiest window to walk the route and drop the ballot the same day.
- Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11. The scarecrows are out and City Hall is closed. Good for the walk, but the ballot has to wait.
- Monday, October 12 to Thursday, October 15. City Hall is open until 4:30 p.m. each day.
- Friday, October 16. City Hall closes at 11:30 a.m.
- Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18. The last scarecrow days come after the last ballot day.
Anyone who saves the walk for the final weekend can enjoy the scarecrows and miss the drawing. That only holds if the drop-off rule from earlier years still applies.
Three moves that redrew the downtown walk
Anyone who walked Main Street last October and walks it again this month will find some familiar buildings holding different businesses.
| Business | Where | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Coney's Candies | 136 W Main St | Opened around late July 2026 in the century-old building that housed Bakery on Main |
| Bakery Off Main | 125 W First St, inside Bode Gray's | Moved a block off Main in the spring and now runs as the daytime bakery, breakfast and lunch spot |
| The Main Scoop | 144 W Main St | Reported in June to be handing its ice cream duties to Coney's after eight years two doors down |
Owners Greg and Bria James moved their bakery into Bode Gray's, the pizza and Italian restaurant that runs as a bakery, breakfast and lunch spot by day. Greg James said the move gave them more space and a fuller day of use for the room. The Bakery Off Main sits on First Street, which matters for the next section.
Coney's Candies has the most story attached to its address. Owner Crystal Jensen also runs the cotton candy business Candie Clouds. She bought the building at 136 W Main while looking for a commercial kitchen to expand it. The space felt more nostalgic than glossy, so she went the old-fashioned route. The shop sells Swedish candy free of artificial dyes, Minnesota-made chocolate, ice cream and dirty sodas. Jensen said she kept the back bar that has been in the room since the coffee shop Frost & Steam and plans to restore the wood floor found under the vinyl. She worked with the Waconia Historical Society on the building's history and the name. Coney's nods to Coney Island of the West, the resort that once drew summer visitors to Lake Waconia. The shoreline is a couple of blocks from Main Street.
The ice cream arrangement has some loose ends. The June report says The Main Scoop is closing and Coney's is taking up the ice cream torch. A separate profile of Coney's says The Main Scoop's ice cream is moving into Coney's space. Yelp still listed both shops in September. Call ahead if ice cream is the reason for your stop.
The last dig is on First Street
Waconia's downtown reconstruction has moved in blocks. Phase 1 covered two blocks of Main Street and one of Olive. Phase 2 took three more blocks of Main plus a block each of Elm, Pine and Spruce. Phase 3 began in April 2025 and covered two blocks of First Street, a block of Elm and a block and a half of Second.
Phase 4 is the final phase, and it began the week of April 30, 2026. It covers about three blocks of First Street and one block each of Elm, Pine and Second. The area sits around St. Joseph church and school, where the work leaves the core downtown. Stage 1, on First Street from Olive to Spruce, started first. Stage 2, covering Elm Street from First to Second, Second Street from Elm to Pine and the parking lot next to Elm, was scheduled to start in mid-July. GMH Asphalt, the contractor on Phase 3, holds the Phase 4 contract.
The city has said that front entrances may have limited access during specific activities, and that dust and noise may rise. The estimated cost is about $6.9 million, and just over $1 million of that is assessed to 33 properties, roughly a seventh of the total.
I could not find a confirmed completion date for Phase 4. The city's 2026 projects page lists an October end date, but that line appears to belong to the Highway 10 resurfacing item next to it. Treat the downtown finish date as unconfirmed and check the project updates page for the current stage.
The two threads meet on First Street. The bakery that moved off Main now sits on First Street, where the final phase is working, though I did not confirm whether 125 W First falls inside the active work zone. The Main Street blocks were rebuilt in the first two phases. Check the project page for current access before planning a breakfast stop at Bakery Off Main.
A separate closure sits farther out. Little Avenue between County Road 10 and 102nd Street is closed from July 30 through October 30, 2026, with access to 9735 Little Ave open via County Road 10.
Past the sidewalks, the calendar switches to tickets
The scarecrows are free and self-guided. The next tier of October runs at the lakeshore and the farms, and much of it uses reservations or ticket lists.
Sovereign Estate Winery sits on Lake Waconia's north shore. Its annual Chili Fest is Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with fire pits and a bonfire on the grounds. The winery's events page lists live music on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons and alternating Thursday trivia. The winery notes that many events require reservations or special admission pricing. I could not confirm the 2026 Chili Fest price, so check the events page.
Schram Vineyards opened Bonfire & Barrel, a full-service restaurant with brick oven pizza, shareable boards, weekend brunch and a full bar. Reservations run through Tock, and counter service is available at the Vineyard Lodge if tables are full. Schram's Annual Harvest Bonfire has run since the first vines went in during 2008. Tickets go to club members first, and the event sells out. Last year's was October 10. I did not find this year's date, so check Schram's annual events page before assuming a weekend.
Deardorff Orchards at 8282 Parley Lake Road houses the Parley Lake Winery tasting room in an 1888 barn. Apple picking has typically opened around Labor Day weekend and run into October. The orchard's own site had only posted that the 2025 season was closed, and I found no confirmed 2026 hours. Call before driving out.
A weekend-by-weekend plan comes down to this:
- October 10 and 11. Walk Main Street's scarecrows and stop at Coney's. Save the ballot for a weekday.
- October 17 and 18. These are the last scarecrow days. Check Deardorff's hours for apples before you go.
- October 24. Chili Fest at Sovereign Estate. Buy or reserve ahead if the winery's event page asks for it.
The Waconia neighborhood page collects more of the town's local guides, and the commuting guide covers the roads that lead in and out.
If the final downtown blocks and this year's new storefronts have you wondering what your own Waconia address would bring, Huerkamp Home Group can put a number on it. Get Your Free Market Valuation.
