Castle Pines' Late-October Weekend Happens Across From the Library

The storefront at 361 Village Square Lane has its lights on again. For most of two years it was the dark window across from the Castle Pines library. Now it has a new sign, a wine wall and a dinner menu. That one opening changes what the shopping area can do on the busiest weekend of the city's fall calendar.

On Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, the City of Castle Pines runs both of its signature fall events at the Village Square Shopping Area. With the former Pino's space back in business, the same few hundred feet of parking lot can now cover Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday dinner without anyone getting back in the car.

The Space That Sat Empty

The restaurant at 361 Village Square Lane opened as La Dolce Vita in 2003 and became Pino's Italian Kitchen & Bar in 2017. DougCo Social traces that history in its opening coverage. Pino's changed hands in 2023 and closed at the end of September 2024. The suite stayed empty after that. Duke's Steakhouse, Pho 5 and Alta Empanada kept the center going in the meantime.

Castello Italiano soft-opened in Suite 130 on Monday, August 31, 2026, and opened for regular service on Tuesday, September 1. According to DougCo Social, the restaurant marked the occasion on Instagram with "Castle Pines, the wait is over!" It describes itself there as a family-owned Italian restaurant from the family behind Farro Italian Restaurant. Farro is in Centennial, and Castello is the family's first expansion. The name is simply Italian for "castle."

What Castello Actually Serves, and When

Castello is a dinner restaurant. Here are the hours reported at opening:

DougCo Social's September 3 visit found no lunch service and no happy hour planned. No later update on hours has been published, so check the restaurant's site before planning around a specific time. Walk-ins are welcome, reservations are recommended, and online ordering is available for scheduled pickup.

The opening menu skips the standard red-sauce list in a few places:

• Small plates: P.E.I. mussels at $18, sizzling garlic shrimp at $16, and baked brie with prosciutto and fig compote at $18
• Pastas, $19 to $34: a white bolognese with pappardelle, bison short rib ravioli in vodka cream, and a wild boar ragu over pappardelle, each $27, with fresh or gluten-free fresh pasta available for $5 more
• Entrées, $24 to $55: lamb shank at $39, cioppino at $33, truffle risotto at $29, and a 16-ounce Black Angus ribeye at $55

DougCo Social's reviewer called the bison short rib ravioli "really good" and said the Italian lemon cake was the dessert worth ordering again. According to the same review, the wild boar ragu was the bartender's pick. Chicken piccata, spaghetti and meatballs, and lasagna are also on the menu for anyone who wants the familiar dishes.

The 4 p.m. opening time matters most for the weekend ahead.

Friday Night Is a Ticketed Fire Pit

Bonfire, BBQ, and Brews runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, October 23, at the Village Square Shopping Area, 7437 Village Square Drive. Tickets cost $42 for adults 21 and over and $30 for anyone under 21. Each ticket includes:

• A BBQ meal
• A variety of drink selections for guests 21 and over
• Everything needed to make s'mores
• Access to the fire pits
• Live music from the band Darling Revival

Dinner comes with the ticket, so Friday's meal is covered. Castello's 4 p.m. opening makes it a natural place for a glass of wine and a small plate before the fire pits light, or for a household that wants a sit-down dinner while others in the group go to the bonfire. Tickets are sold through the City's parks and recreation program portal.

Saturday Has Thursday Deadlines

The Fall Festival, Trick-or-Treat Street, and Pumpkin Race runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, in the same shopping area. Admission is free. The City lists Trick-or-Treat Street, a farmers market, a petting zoo and the pumpkin race. New this year is the city's first chili cookoff.

Anyone who plans to enter something needs to act earlier in the week. In order, the deadlines are:

1. Thursday, October 22, 5 p.m.: last chance to buy a $25 pumpkin race kit from the City and to register for the chili cookoff, which has a $20 entry fee per participant.
2. Friday, October 23, by noon: race kits must be picked up from the City offices at 7437 Village Square Drive, Suite 200. The office closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. each day.
3. Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m.: cookoff chili has to be hot and ready to serve.
4. Saturday, October 24, 1 p.m.: the annual Castle Pines Pumpkin Race starts. Pumpkins arrive in race-car form.

Racers who build their own cars can register without buying a kit. The City posts its rules and regulations online so entrants can check that their pumpkin is eligible. Each chili entry should be about two gallons, roughly two full crockpots. It can be red, green or white, and it needs a creative name for its tasting station.

Kit pickup is at the City offices, inside the same shopping area as Friday's bonfire. A household entering the race can pick up the kit Friday morning and come back that evening for the fire pits without making a separate trip.

How the Weekend Fits Together

The festival ends at 2 p.m., and Castello opens at 4, which leaves two hours to get home, change and walk back for dinner in the same lot.

Saturday evening is the slot to book. Reservations are recommended. A Saturday dinner on festival day at the only new sit-down restaurant in the center may fill faster than a typical Tuesday. Duke's Steakhouse, Pho 5 and Alta Empanada are next door for anyone who would rather skip the wait.

The Saturday Before Belongs to The Canyons

One week earlier, the fall calendar is on the other side of town. The Canyons' Fall Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, at The Green. The listing includes:

• A pumpkin patch, petting zoo and bounce houses
• Face painters, character artists and a balloon twister
• Performing pigs
• Axe throwing for guests 18 and older
• On-site woodcarving by Chain Saw Mama, with three of the carvings raffled off

The Canyons' event page also invites families to tour model homes, with a map available at The Exchange, coffee and treat carts at the model homes, and gift card giveaways. The event pages reviewed don't say whether the festival is open to the public or limited to residents, and they list no RSVP. Anyone planning to go from outside the community should confirm with The Canyons first.

Taken together, the two festivals give Castle Pines families two Saturdays of pumpkins in a row, one at The Green and one at Village Square. Only the second one comes with a fire pit the night before and an Italian dinner afterward, all within walking distance in the same shopping area.

If you're wondering how this year's new openings and fall events are shaping the Castle Pines market, The Jarnagin / Kohler Group can walk you through it over coffee or a plate of that bison ravioli. Schedule a Complimentary Market Consultation, and we'll share what we're seeing in the neighborhood this fall.