On Jan. 2, 2024, Ginger Ager arrived at Gene's Costumes with loads of clean laundry and heard a smoke detector chirping. WTOP reported that she assumed it needed a new battery. When she opened the door to the basement, she found the aftermath of an electrical fire.
The storefront at 10636 Connecticut Ave. stayed dark through two Octobers. It reopened on Oct. 1, 2026. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday, the day Kensington already has its most regular routine. With the costume shop back, every piece of the day is inside town again, from the costume to the evening.
Thirty days before the month that used to carry the year
The timing of the reopening was deliberate. Ager told WTOP that October used to account for about half of her annual business. A shop that makes roughly half its year in one month needed to open on Oct. 1, not in mid-November.
The shop is older than most of the buildings around it. A 2023 MoCo360 profile traces Gene's to Genevieve Showalter's basement shop in Wheaton in the early 1960s, a move to the current Kensington location in the mid-1980s, and Ager's purchase of the business in 1989. That profile describes a shop that sold and rented costumes and accessories, including mascot suits, wigs, shoes, makeup and theatrical pieces. It was written a year before the fire, so treat it as a picture of what Gene's has been, not a current inventory or price list.
The closure lasted two years and nine months, and the shop never fully stopped working. According to WTOP, Ager kept supplying costumes to schools and community theater groups while the storefront was closed. Her stock ended up in about six places, including a storage pod at the shop, a friend's driveway, a friend's garage and a theater space in Gaithersburg. She put the total cost at about $100,000, counting lost business, rebuilding and damaged merchandise. A GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $20,000 toward it. The rebuilt store has freshly painted floors and pegboards and new carpeting.
"We're back in and open, and they can't stop us now," Ager told WTOP.
The window you are in right now
Patch lists the shop's regular hours as Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Citing MyMCMedia, Patch also reports that closing moves to 9 p.m. during the two weeks before Halloween. So the late closing runs through the weekday evenings leading up to Halloween.
The posted schedule only covers weekdays. If you're hoping to grab a costume on Halloween morning before anything else, call ahead to confirm weekend hours. The safer bets are the evenings of Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Thursday, Oct. 29, or Friday, Oct. 30.
Halloween Saturday, mapped
Halloween on a Saturday puts the holiday on top of things Kensington already does every week. The farmers' market and the Saturday morning walks were on the calendar before any Halloween plans were. The library storytime and the brewery party add to that schedule without changing it.
| Time on Sat., Oct. 31 | Stop | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Kensington Farmers' Market | Historic Train Station, 3701 Howard Ave. |
| 10:30 a.m. to noon | WALKtober, final 2026 walk | Town of Kensington event |
| 11 to 11:30 a.m. | Halloween Edition family storytime | Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave. |
| Noon to 11:55 p.m. | BabyCat's 4th Halloween-iversary Party | BabyCat Brewery, 10241 Kensington Parkway |
The market comes first. The Town lists the Kensington Farmers' Market as a year-round Saturday market at the Historic Train Station, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Town calendar for Oct. 31 shows no change to that schedule. If you're starting the day at the train station anyway, that's a natural spot to put on the costume you picked up during the week.
The walk wraps up its season. The Town's Pedestrian and Bicycling Access and Safety Working Group scheduled WALKtober 2026 on four October Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to noon. Oct. 31 is the last one.
Storytime moved branches. The Halloween Edition storytime is at Kensington Park Library on Knowles Avenue because Noyes Library is still closed for renovation. Montgomery County Public Libraries' Sept. 14 project update said demolition was continuing, including removal of the front ADA ramp to prepare for a finished basement. The county directs families to Kensington Park for children's collections and events in the meantime. A storytime that runs from 11 to 11:30 a.m. leaves time to get there from the market and back before lunch.
The brewery covers the rest of the day. The Town's listing for BabyCat's 4th Halloween-iversary Party runs from noon to 11:55 p.m. on Kensington Parkway, with Stringtown and Vinyl Fever, costume contests and food. BabyCat's own event page adds a free bus between its Bethesda and Kensington locations starting at 4 p.m. Since the party starts at noon, the costume contests overlap with the window when neighborhood trick-or-treating would usually start. A costume from Gene's can be worn at the party in the afternoon and still be on for the evening.
The week before, if one Saturday isn't enough
The days leading up to the 31st have a few more costume-friendly stops. Some are in town and some are a short drive away:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Montgomery Parks' Not So Spooky Skate at Cabin John Ice Rink, 10610 Westlake Drive in Rockville, with trick-or-treating around the rink, a costume contest and parade, and crafts.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, noon to 3 p.m. Building Bridges: A Benefit for Sumatra at Artha Rini Indonesian Restaurant, 10562 Metropolitan Ave. in Kensington. The event includes Indonesian dishes, and each ticket comes with a raffle ticket. The Town's date-specific listing shows these hours. The event's general Town listing also shows a Saturday, Oct. 24 session from 6 to 9 p.m., so check which session your ticket covers.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 3 to 5 p.m. BOOtanica at Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave. in Wheaton, with indoor trick-or-treat stations, crafts, pumpkin decorating and hands-on science. Children taking part need to be registered.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 to 8 p.m. A second Not So Spooky Skate at Wheaton Ice Arena, 11717 Orebaugh Ave., with skating, a costume parade, crafts and treats.
The Wheaton skate falls during Gene's extended-hours week. A Thursday evening there could mean stopping on Connecticut Avenue first and arriving at the rink already in costume.
Where this fits in Kensington's year
Kensington's daily life has been changing all year. This spring, new openings at the Crossroads changed where people go to eat in town, and Noyes's renovation moved the children's library calendar to Knowles Avenue. Gene's is back with the same owner who has spent 40 years at the shop, at the same address, back in business in the month that has always mattered most to it. The Town's December traditions, including the tree lighting and the Antique Row Holiday Open House, come next. Specific 2026 dates for them haven't been posted yet.
For now, the plan for Oct. 31 is short. Pick up the costume on a weekday evening during Halloween week, then go to the market at 9, the walk at 10:30, storytime at 11 and BabyCat any time after noon.
At The Foley Group, we've followed Kensington businesses like Gene's long enough to notice when one comes back, and we're glad this one is open in time for Halloween. If you're curious how your own place on these streets fits into the town's year, find us at the Saturday market or get your free home valuation. We'd be happy to talk Kensington with you, costume or no costume.
