The screen was supposed to go up at Colonial Park on the evening of Friday, Oct. 16 for Zootopia 2. The wind won. West University Place posted that afternoon that the showing would be rescheduled and that a new date would follow. In a small city with no downtown nightlife, a windy Friday can cancel a whole evening plan.
West U's evenings mostly happen in its parks, and this fall the city is setting how much sound those parks should carry after dark. Over the next ten weeks, festival nights, a costume race and holiday gatherings will fill Colonial Park and the Community Building. Houses surround those parks, and the city's own quiet-hours rules set the limits. At Wier and Judson parks, the evening tennis and pickleball courts are on a trial schedule shaped by those same rules.
The next park night is tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 23. Full Moon Fest runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Colonial Park, 4130 Byron. The Buzz Magazines' event listing describes a costume contest, games, face painting and a range of vendors, and lists the event as free. At 7 p.m. the evening becomes Movies in the Park, with Coco, rated PG.
So the costumes come out a week before Halloween. Families with a fall birthday party or a school event on the 31st still get a dress-up night. The 7 p.m. movie start also lines up with the hour the city's weekday quiet hours begin, which matters for the next section.
Zootopia 2 still has no new date. The city said it would announce one, so the Movies in the Park update on its news page is the place to check.
West U publishes its residential quiet hours in the same notice as its court rules.
| Day | Residential quiet hours |
|---|---|
| Monday through Friday, except observed city holidays | Before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, except observed city holidays | Before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. |
| Any Sunday or observed city holiday | Before noon or after 5 p.m. |
On a weekday, the residential day ends at 7 p.m. under the city's noise ordinance. The outdoor courts at Wier and Judson stay open until 10 p.m., according to the city's court rules, so they keep running well after weekday quiet hours begin.
Since June 22, two trial rules have applied to the tennis and pickleball courts at Wier Park and Judson Park. From 8 to 10 p.m., soft pickleball paddles, soft balls or both are required. Amplified music is banned on the courts at all times. The city put up signs in the courts with a QR code linking to recommended quiet equipment. If you play after 8, scan it before you buy gear.
The layout helps explain why Wier gets the most attention. According to the city's court rules, Judson has one tennis court and two pickleball courts. Wier has two of each, split so that its East side and West side each have one tennis court and one pickleball court. The city has asked Wier pickleball players to reserve or use the East courts when they can, and Wier tennis players to take the West courts, "as a courtesy to neighboring homes."
Reservations depend on residency and membership. Residents with a current Recreation Center membership can book online, by phone or in person at the Rec Center. Residents without a membership can book online, or in person with proof of residency. Nonresidents cannot reserve these courts.
The Parks and Recreation Board recommended extending the trial at its Sept. 2 meeting and scheduled a review of the trial and an acoustical study for Oct. 7. That meeting was canceled. The topic moved to the board's Monday, Oct. 19 meeting in the Recreation Center conference room at 4210 Bellaire Blvd. That agenda listed "Outdoor Pickleball" for discussion and possible action, along with an acoustical report from SLR Engineers.
Until the city posts an update, the June rules are the ones on the signs. Anyone who lives near Wier or Judson, or who plays there at night, can follow the city's modified court rules notice and the Parks and Recreation Board agenda page for what comes next.
The same Oct. 19 agenda covered more than pickleball. It also included park lighting recommendations from the board's Projects Committee, a Recreation Center playground item, an update on Recreation Center improvements, and an update on basketball use with a retractable goal. Basketball started at the Rec Center as a trial on June 1 in one of the racquetball courts, with the other court kept for racquetball and squash. The city said the pilot would run through the fall. Lighting, noise and indoor court time all went before the same board in the same meeting.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and West U's biggest costume event happens in the morning, well inside the Saturday daytime window. The 15th annual Halloween Dash, which the city's race announcement calls "the only race in beautiful West University Place," is based at the West U Community Building and Senior Center, 6104 Auden. The full name this year is King & Spalding's 2026 West U Halloween Dash, presented by West U Smiles.
The 5K is chip-timed and USATF-certified, and the city calls the course flat and fast. The race registration page describes it as tree-lined with six turns. The one-mile Kids' Fun Run is untimed.
The race-day schedule:
Registration costs $40 for the 5K and $35 for the Kids' Fun Run through Oct. 28, then goes up to $45 and $40. All proceeds go to the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the same department running the court trial and the movie nights. Packet pickup details were still listed as "To be announced" on the registration page, and the city's Halloween Dash page is the place to watch for them.
The stroller and dog division starts five minutes after the main field. That's the detail to know if your household has a dog that likes to run.
Once the costumes are put away, the city's park and community calendar picks up again in December. The events cluster in the early evening, much like Full Moon Fest.
The tree lighting ends at 7 p.m., when weekday quiet hours begin, the same as Full Moon Fest's festival portion. The pool party runs 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Either way, the busiest public evenings on the city calendar happen in the early-evening hours before the quiet-hours line, while the late-evening courts are the part still being worked out.
Whatever the board decides about the courts, the next date to plan around is tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Colonial Park, costumes optional and Coco at 7.
If a park nearby is part of how your week works, from the Wier courts to Colonial Park's movie nights, we'd like to hear what you love about your corner of West U and what you'd want the next owner of your home to know about it. Heather Fordham and the New Heights Group team are here when you're ready. Let's talk about your next move.
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