For 21 years, downtown Pauls Valley had one thing that was open on an ordinary Tuesday and drew travelers off I-35: the Toy and Action Figure Museum. It closed on Sunday, Aug. 30. This fall is the first one without it, and downtown now runs on a calendar. Busy nights come on set dates, and they are split between two places: the brick blocks of Paul Avenue and the train depot grounds, which have a newly finished Amtrak platform.
The first of those nights is tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30.
What closed on Aug. 30, and why it shapes this season
The museum opened downtown in 2005. According to the Pauls Valley Democrat, the last weekend drew long lines. Some visitors came for the first time and some came back for one last look, including a couple from Purcell and visitors from Norman.
The closing came out of a disagreement over how the city's tourism money is spent. The Garvin County News Star reported the details. The museum asked for $18,000 to rent two billboards on I-35 and put new vinyl on them. One sits south of town near Springer and the other between Pauls Valley and Norman. Council members called the request a "big ask," since it was more than half of tourism's budget for FY2026-2027.
The city pointed to process. Under rules adopted the year before, tourism funding requests were due March 1, and the museum was one of several local groups that missed that deadline. Tourism Director Tawni Huggans also noted that tourism-funded ads are supposed to run outside a 60-mile radius of Pauls Valley, and she questioned whether the billboards met that rule.
Curator Kevin Stark told the News Star the museum hadn't known about the new deadline. He described the city's choice this way:
"Budgeting for one-day events is worth more to Pauls Valley than a year-round attraction."
That is Stark's account, and the city disputes it, pointing to the missed deadline and its budget limits. Whatever the reasons, downtown no longer has a year-round draw, so the dated events below matter more than they used to.
The museum isn't ending, according to Stark. The Pauls Valley Democrat reported that about a dozen cities in two states were trying to recruit it, and that the mayors of Oklahoma City and Tulsa had called him. One possible site has about 28,000 square feet, four times the 7,000 the museum had in Pauls Valley. No new city has been announced.
Friday, Oct. 30 stacks two events on the same bricks
Two downtown events fall on the same evening and overlap by only a few minutes, so you can stay downtown from late afternoon until dark.
| Time | Event | Where | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 p.m. | Boo on the Bricks | Downtown; the 2026 listing gives no location | City/Chamber |
| 5:55 to 8 p.m. | 5th Friday Art Walk | Paul Avenue | Pauls Valley Arts Council |
Both times come from the Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar, which lists Boo on the Bricks for 4 to 6 p.m. The Art Walk listing runs from 5:55 to 8 p.m. on Paul Avenue.
The 2026 Boo on the Bricks listing doesn't give a location. In earlier coverage from the Pauls Valley Democrat, merchants set up booths on Paul and Chickasaw streets and handed candy to kids in costume. That's how it ran in a past year, so expect something similar, not the same layout.
The Art Walk only happens in months with a fifth Friday, which is why it's on Oct. 30 and won't come around again every month.
The storefronts that are new on Paul Avenue
The museum left a gap downtown, but several small businesses have opened nearby this fall.
Hello Again, a vintage market and antique store, now operates at 115 W. Paul Ave. The shop is owned by Vicki and Larry Combs and first operated in Sulphur. The Garvin County News Star covered its Chamber ribbon-cutting in mid-September. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the owners planned a grand opening for October. Since the shop closes at 5, stop by early Friday, before the costume crowd and the Art Walk fill the street.
Sunflower Design and More, a few blocks west at 323 W. Paul Ave., had a Chamber ribbon-cutting on the calendar for Oct. 20.
Two blocks off Paul Avenue, Select Driving School at 124 W. Joy Ave. had its ribbon-cutting scheduled for Oct. 19. Next on the Chamber's schedule is Holland Pediatric Therapy, with a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6.
None of these businesses brings in highway traffic the way the museum did. They give Paul Avenue more open storefronts on regular weekdays, between the event nights.
The depot is the other half of downtown now
The train depot sits at the other end of downtown, and its station improvements are finished. According to the Pauls Valley Democrat, two Oklahoma Amtrak stations got about $8 million in improvements, and officials put the Pauls Valley work at $5 million.
What's new at the station:
- A 290-foot concrete boarding platform with brick pavers set into the surface
- Sloped accessible walkways and safety barriers
- LED lighting across the whole platform
- Detectable warning strips and new signage
The station opened in 2002 and was built to match the style of the original depot. It has a climate-controlled waiting area and restrooms. The Heartland Flyer stops twice a day on its route between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, and it also stops in Norman. Most of the contractors were from Oklahoma, including Tolbert Tree Care of Pauls Valley.
The platform matters beyond train travel because the city holds its December events on the depot grounds, and this year the depot will be busy on more nights than before.
December puts both ends of downtown on a schedule
The Chamber hosted a "Christmas in the Valley" community business planning meeting on Oct. 19, so holiday plans are still coming together. Here's what has been set so far:
- Thursday nights at the depot. The city is again planning Christmas activities on Thursday nights at the depot during the holiday season, according to the Democrat. Specific dates and programs haven't been announced.
- Saturday evenings at the depot. The city approved a new winter farmers market run by Southern Family Farmers. It will use the park and pavilion at the depot on Saturdays in December from 4 to 9 p.m. The Pauls Valley Democrat quoted Huggans: "At the start we will focus it in the grassy area and see how it morphs from there. The Christmas lights should be helpful." She said the market won't conflict with the Thursday events. It will move elsewhere whenever the city has an event scheduled at the depot, and starting in 2027 it is expected to switch to Saturday mornings, 8 a.m. to noon.
- The market that's already running. First Fruits Farmers Market meets at Compassion Church on McClure Avenue downtown, so Pauls Valley will have two farmers markets this winter.
- The Christmas parade. Wait for the city's announcement before putting it on your calendar. A regional 2026 holiday roundup lists the Pauls Valley parade for "6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13," but Dec. 13 falls on a Sunday this year. In earlier Pauls Valley Democrat parade coverage, the parade was set for Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7:15 p.m., so the roundup's date may carry over from a past year.
Taken together, Thursdays and Saturdays in December both bring people to the depot. Paul Avenue gets its two events on Oct. 30 and keeps its new shops open Tuesday through Saturday in between.
If you want to know how this year's event calendar and the changes downtown connect to the rest of life in town, Oak & Prairie Real Estate follows Pauls Valley closely. Talk with a local broker and start your neighborhood market consult through our Pauls Valley page.
