Palm Beach Gardens has a quiet week on the big calendar and a surprisingly good one on the small one. Between Saturday, October 10 and Friday, October 16, four things in the city are worth leaving the house for: a pop-up haunted house that just landed inside The Gardens Mall, a Sunday market with free yoga and a pink theme, a citywide art hunt that pays out prizes, and a new card shop throwing its grand opening today.

None of these will sell out a stadium. That is the point. This is the stretch of October before the winter season fills up, and the things the city and its shopping centers put on are aimed squarely at the people who live here year round. Here is what is on, where, and why each one earns a spot on your week.

Batty Manor moves into The Gardens Mall

Starting Saturday, October 10, a silly, not especially scary haunted house sits in the Grand Court of The Gardens Mall at 3101 PGA Boulevard. The mall calls it Batty Manor, and it stays up through Halloween. Around the house you will find an interactive photo booth, arts and crafts, and pop-ups from the mall's stores and restaurants, and the mall is openly encouraging visitors to show up in costume.

Why go: it is the rare Halloween outing that works for a toddler and a grandparent at the same time. There is no ticket line, it is indoors and air conditioned (which still matters in mid October here), and it gives the kids a reason to wear the costume more than once. Going this week means seeing it in its first days, before the Halloween rush.

The Gardens GreenMarket, Sunday, October 11

The Gardens GreenMarket opened its new season on October 4, and this Sunday is its second market. It runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City Hall Municipal Campus, 10500 N. Military Trail, rain or shine. Expect produce, dairy, honey, pastries, cheeses, spices, flowers, prepared food and handmade crafts, with seating near the stage so you can eat on site.

This particular Sunday stacks a few extras on top of the usual shopping. The city is asking marketgoers to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Chris Piquette Duo plays the stage. And from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Yoga Joint leads a free class at the Veterans Plaza Amphitheater on the same campus. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, the market's sponsor, also runs a free blood pressure screening at its booth near the stage every week.

Why go: the early weeks of a market season are the best weeks. Vendors are fresh, the stalls are full, and the crowds are lighter than they will be in January. Do the yoga, then shop. One house rule worth knowing before you load the car: the city asks you to leave pets at home.

A citywide hunt for public art, with prizes

Through Sunday, October 25, the city is running its Art in Public Places Scavenger Hunt, timed to Florida City Week. It works like this: the city posts clues on its Facebook, Instagram and X accounts (@CityofPBG) and on the hunt page itself. Each clue pairs a tight, zoomed-in photo with a short poem pointing to one of the public art pieces around Palm Beach Gardens. Find the piece in person, scan the QR code on the You Found Me sign posted there, and fill out the form to claim a prize, picked up at a city Florida City Week event or sent by mail.

Every piece in this year's hunt has appeared in the city's Signature City Magazine over the past decade, and the city has posted a guide with the artworks and their street addresses for anyone who gets stuck. City residency is not required, and nothing has to be bought to play. Participants under 18 need a parent or guardian's written consent.

Why go: most residents drive past the sculptures outside office parks and along the boulevards hundreds of times without ever stopping. This is a free reason to finally look at them, and it doubles as a weekend outing that gets kids out of the car and walking. You can do one clue on the way to the GreenMarket and another after lunch.

Waxxed Sports Cards opens at Downtown Palm Beach Gardens

Today, Saturday, October 10, Waxxed Sports Cards holds its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Downtown Palm Beach Gardens, the open-air center at 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue (the shop is in Suite 7112). The center's own listing invites collectors to stop in, meet the team and browse the inventory.

Why go: card collecting has quietly become one of the most social hobbies going, and a dedicated storefront inside a center people already visit for dinner and a movie makes it easy to drop in. If you have a kid who trades, or a box of old cards in the garage you have always wondered about, opening day is the easiest time to walk in and ask questions.

Making a day of it

The four line up neatly. Saturday works for the card shop and the mall, which sit a short drive apart off PGA Boulevard. Sunday morning belongs to the GreenMarket on Military Trail, and the art hunt fills whatever gaps you have left all week. Downtown Palm Beach Gardens also has live music at Voodoo Bayou on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon if you want to stretch either day out.

One practical note for anyone heading west on the weekend: the city says the southbound Florida's Turnpike entrance ramp at Jog Road closes overnight from Sunday, October 11 through Thursday, October 15 for paving, with a posted detour. It will not affect daytime plans, but it matters for a late drive home.

Why this week is worth your time

The city's bigger seasonal events are still ahead. This week is smaller, and better for it. A market without the winter crush, a free hunt that sends you to art you have been ignoring, a costume-friendly house in the middle of the mall and a new shop that gives local collectors somewhere to go. None of it costs much, and all of it is a few minutes from home.