⚽ Name Waco’s new soccer team.

Good Morning Waco! This is The Waco Buzz, the local newsletter that feels like a free refill on a Friday.

In this edition:

⚽ Waco's Getting a Soccer Team
🎃 What Time It Gets Dark on Halloween
💼 4 Waco Jobs Worth a Look
🎈 Your Full Weekend Guide

Let's get to it!
- Sam Harper

Waco is getting a USL soccer team in 2027, adding another piece to the city's growing sports ambitions. The city is also eyeing a minor league baseball team for the future ballpark district downtown and who knows, maybe someone will bring back the Waco Wizards hockey team in the future too.

USL League Two is a pre-professional league where college players and aspiring pros develop their game. It's a chance to see emerging talent up close in Waco — and a glimpse of the bigger soccer world, where players can advance to professional leagues like MLS.

Before the team takes the field, Waco gets a say in what it will be called. The club is asking the community to help choose its name and logo.

The people behind the team bring both local roots and soccer experience. General Manager Paul Jobson spent 14 seasons with Baylor women's soccer. Co-owner Josh Terry is a Baylor grad who played on the men's club team and in Waco adult leagues. Michael Hitchcock brings experience working with more than 100 teams, leagues, and venues.

Plans include youth camps and clinics, school visits, and internships with Baylor's sports media and sports management programs. Terry's Waco soccer story started with pickup games, and now he's co-owning a team.

🥡 The Takeaway: A name you voted on is a team you'll actually show up for.
👉 Cast your vote →

Waco's sunset is at 6:40 p.m. on Halloween, Saturday, so an early start means more trick-or-treating in daylight. Head out around 6 and you'll have about 40 minutes before it gets dark around 7:05. After that, it's porch lights, flashlights, and reflective costumes.

🌅 The Texas twist: Waco's sunset is pretty typical for Central Texas, but head west and the evening light shifts dramatically. El Paso's sunset is at 7:17 PM Central time, and all 15 Texas counties where the sun sets after 7 PM Central are out west. Texas has 254 counties. Waco's area code? 254. Coincidence? Maybe. For the Heart of Texas, it feels about right.

⏰ Sunday brings an extra hour — and an earlier sunset. Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. Sunday, giving you an extra hour of sleep after Halloween. Your phone should update automatically, but don't forget the clocks on your microwave and oven.

The bigger change comes Sunday evening: sunset moves to 5:39 p.m., with darkness around 6:05. The trade-off? Monday's sunrise is at 6:45 a.m. instead of 7:43, putting the school run and morning commute back in daylight.

📌 Quick Hits

🏈 Baylor plays tonight. The Bears take on UCF at 6:30 PM on ESPN, in Joe Klanderman's first game as interim head coach.

🗳️ Last call for early voting. Early voting ends today, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Find your voting location →

🌮 RIP, Los Cucos. What's next for that spot? Another restaurant has come and gone from a location that seems to reinvent itself every few years. What would you put there? Margaritaville? Pappasito's?

🌳 China Spring Park has a grand opening date. Mark your calendar for Friday, Nov. 20, at 11 a.m. The new park is bringing more outdoor rec space to the China Spring area.

👨‍👩‍👧 Community Corner: Would you want a Waco Buzz Parents edition? More than 16,200 locals get this newsletter now, and I hear from a lot of you every week about things you'd like to see more of. One request that keeps coming up? A dedicated guide to things to do with kids around Waco. I'm thinking about a twice-a-month email to help you answer the age-old parenting question: “What are we doing with these kids?” Think local events, weekend activities, and ways to get everyone out of the house without losing your mind (or your entire paycheck). It would only be sent to you if you sign up for it.

Turn on the TV, and gambling and prediction markets are everywhere. Meanwhile, solid, time-tested financial education gets pushed to the sidelines.

Just as The Waco Buzz stays out of politics, I'm keeping this platform clear of sports gambling and prediction markets. I'd rather help Wacoans build something that lasts.

That's why I've partnered with Winnacle Wealth to make financial education free, simple, and accessible to everyone in this community.

We've got three free courses covering different financial needs. Pick the one that fits where you are in life.

You don't have to be an expert or have a certain amount of money in the bank to benefit from financial education. That's the whole point of making these courses free.

Prefer to learn in person? Chad Castle of Winnacle Wealth is teaching their Retire Ready workshop at McLennan Community College starting next week. Sign up here.*

Hiring? Post a Job
Hunting? View all open jobs on the Waco Buzz Job Board

Pokemon Cards, Costumes, and 50 Free Packs

🃏 Got a card-hunting itch? The Funky Town Card Show brings Pokémon, sports cards, collectibles, and local crafts to Bellmead for a Halloween edition. Expect hourly giveaways, a kids’ costume contest, and a free pack for the first 50 through the door.

📍 Bellmead Civic Center, 3900 Parrish St. | Saturday, Oct. 31 | 11 AM to 5 PM | $5 general, $10 VIP 👉 Get details →^*

🆓 free | 👨‍👩‍👧 family-friendly | ✨ something different

🎈 Friday, October 30

Home for the Holidays Gift Market @ Waco Convention Center - Friday through Sunday, The first real Christmas-shopping weekend starts today with 130 merchants in one place.

WIC Boo Bash @ Waco-McLennan County Public Health District - 3 to 6 PM | 👨‍👩‍👧 Toy Story theme

Floating Pumpkin Patch @ Doris Miller Community Pool - 5 PM | 👨‍👩‍👧

Drive-Thru Trick or Treat @ South Waco Community Center - 6 to 8:30 PM | 👨‍👩‍👧

Return of the Living Dead Queens @ True Love Waco - 7 PM] | 21+ | ✨

A Night to Die For, 80s prom murder mystery dinner @ AC Hotel Downtown - 7 PM | ✨

Baylor Volleyball vs TCU @ Ferrell Center - 7 PM

Wait Until Dark @ Waco Civic Theatre - 7 PM

Midway High Haunted House @ Midway High Theatre - 7:30 PM

The Rocky Horror Show @ Performing Arts Community Center - SOLD OUT | ✨

Live Music
Russell Weller @ The Blue Pup Wine & Martini Bar - 6 PM
Paul Noyola @ Texas Music Cafe - 8 PM
Hair Metal Giants @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 8:30 PM

🎈 Saturday, October 31

Waco Downtown Farmers Market @ Bridge Street Plaza - 9 AM to 1 PM 👨‍👩‍👧

Keep Waco Outdoors Expo Trunk or Treat @ McLane Stadium - 9 AM to 12 PM | 👨‍👩‍👧

Halloween Makers Market @ 419 S 11th St - 9 AM - 1 PM

Spooky Chemistry Magic Show @ Mayborn Museum - 11 AM | 👨‍👩‍👧

Funky Town Card Show @ Bellmead Civic Center - 11 AM to 5 PM | ✨

6th Annual Oktoberfest @ Pinewood - 12-6 PM | ✨

Día de los Muertos Parade and Festival @ Indian Spring Park - Parade starts at 3 PM from Jefferson Ave. and University Parks Dr., festival runs until 10 PM | 🆓 ✨ This year's theme is “The Blue That Unites Us.”

Fall Fest @ Hiz House Waco - 3 PM 🆓

Halloween Blowout @ The Will - 4 PM to 1 AM | $10, costume contest | ✨

Journey Fall Festival @ Journey Christian Church - 6 PM 🆓

Bewitched & Bedazzled Halloween fundraiser @ PACC - 7 PM

We Are Messengers @ Waco Hippodrome - 7 PM

Wait Until Dark @ Waco Civic Theatre -2 & 10 PM

The Rocky Horror Show @ Performing Arts Community Center - 11:45 PM | ✨

Haunted Gallery Halloween Party @ Cultivate Waco - 8 PM to midnight |✨

2000s Halloween Party @ The Backyard Bar Stage & Grill - 9 PM | ✨

Live Music
The Gordon Collier Band @ The Will - 7 PM
Collin James Band @ Twisted Sisters Patio Bar - 8 PM
DJ Augie @ The Will - 11 PM

🎈 Sunday, November 1

Pumpkin Festival @ Western Belle Farm - open weekends through Nov. 8 | 👨‍👩‍👧

2nd Annual Día de los Muertos Car Show @ Southpaw Ink - 12 PM| ✨

Wait Until Dark, final shows @ Waco Civic Theatre - 2 PM

📅 See what else is happening this week in Waco →
🤝 Find a place to serve this week →
🍝 Find a place to meet people →

Want your event featured? Reserve an upcoming Featured Event listing here.

👉 Play this week's puzzles →

💪 Want to move and recover better? Waco Body Mend is built for everyday movers, athletes, and anyone who wants to feel their best located downtown.^*

✨ Need a skin refresh? Skin & Body Refinery offers HydraFacials with deep cleansing, gentle extraction, and hydration. Perfect as more cold air fills Waco.^*

💧 Feeling the seasonal sniffles already? I-Vit's Immune Boost IV is designed for hydration and immune support, with 20% off this month.^*

🛞 Chevy of West’s Tire Fresh Start Event is on. Owner Leo Pacheco and General Sales Manager Mark Varia are offering buy 3, get 1 for $1 on select tires with installation, plus offers on brakes, shocks and struts, and tire sensors.*.^*

Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something helpful, share it with the neighbor who puts out inflatables for every holiday.

Whenever you’re ready, here are four ways to get more involved:

1. Social Studies is back Thursday, Nov. 12. Neuroscientist Dr. Michael Scullin takes the stage for The Sleeping Brain at The Baylor Club. It’s a lecture with drinks in a room full of people you haven’t met yet. Come curious, learn something new, and maybe meet a few new people too. Get your seat

2. Dinner Club: Making new friends as an adult is hard. Dinner Club makes it easy. Take a quiz, get matched, show up and enjoy a meal with five people at a Waco restaurant.

3. Have an event you want to promote? Get it featured leading up to the event. Reserve yours here.

4. Want to reach Waco? This newsletter lands in 16,250+ local inboxes every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Ask about 2027 partnerships