For Now, Star's New Liberty Hall Opens Its Doors Through the City Calendar
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"We built it as like a barn, kind of to match some of the history of our city," Mayor Trevor Chadwick told Idaho News 6 on a tour of the building a week before it opened.
That barn is Liberty Hall, Star's new city event space at Freedom Park, 960 S. Main St. It opened Oct. 13, and the mayor gave his State of the City address there that night. Private parties can't book it yet, though. Chadwick said the city will use the building for its own events at first while officials work through the details of possible future community rentals.
So between now and the holidays, a Star resident gets inside Liberty Hall by showing up to the public events held there. Most of what's on the calendar through December is the city's own.
Even with a 400-person room, the city plans to keep most events smaller. Idaho News 6 reported the hall can hold up to 400 people, but city leaders intend to limit occupancy at most events. According to the same report, Chadwick said construction cost close to $4.8 million and was paid without bonded debt.
The building is set up for more than a big room. The Idaho News 6 tour listed these features:
The warming kitchen and folding doors matter most for the calendar ahead. A potato feed needs a kitchen, and a holiday evening that moves between a lit tree outside and cocoa inside needs those doors. The livestream system means city functions held there can reach people at home, too.
The hall also opened in time for the nation's 250th birthday, and the city leans into that. Idaho News 6 reported that a replica Liberty Bell, being cast by a Pennsylvania foundry as an exact copy of the original down to the crack, is expected later this year. Inside, a set-aside space will hold a community time capsule. Neighbors will be able to add photos and other items before it's sealed for 50 years. "The goal is to make it to the 300th birthday of the United States," Chadwick told the station. The city hasn't announced a drop-off process or deadline for the capsule yet, so it's one more reason to keep an eye on the city calendar this season.
The first night in the hall was civic business. The city calendar described the State of the City as a year in review covering finances, parks, roads, infrastructure, growth and community investments, with audience Q&A afterward. In his address as reported by Idaho News 6, Chadwick talked about Star's growth and transportation. He also said the city wants about 1,100 acres of BLM land north of town kept as public open space and is working to annex and protect it.
The Idaho Transportation Department booked the hall next. ITD scheduled its drop-in meeting on the State Highway 44 widening for Oct. 22 at Liberty Hall. ITD says that project will widen SH-44 to five lanes between Star Road and SH-16, with pedestrian pathways on the south side of the highway. The agency projects completion in fall or winter 2027. The city's September road report gives October 2027 for the same work, so treat the finish date as an estimate.
A mayor's address and a highway open house are the kind of civic business the building was designed for. The next three events are the ones most households will actually go to.
| Date | Event | Time | Where on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trunk-or-Treat | 3–5 p.m. | Riverhouse Pasture |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Veterans Day Potato Feed | 6–8 p.m. | Liberty Hall |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 5–6 | Christmas at the Riverhouse | Times not yet posted | Riverhouse; 2026 details not yet posted |
The first two are confirmed at 960 S. Main, the same address as Liberty Hall. Last year's Christmas at the Riverhouse listing used that address too, though the 2026 listing doesn't give a venue yet.
The city's event page says Star's annual Trunk-or-Treat is moving to the Riverhouse Pasture this year. It runs from 3 to 5 p.m. on Halloween with trunk-or-treating, a costume contest, bounce houses, kids' activities and food trucks. Families don't need to register. Because it wraps up at 5 p.m., families still have the evening free for trick-or-treating closer to home.
The Veterans Day Potato Feed is on the city calendar for Friday, Nov. 6. KIDO Talk Radio reports it runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Liberty Hall. Veterans eat free, and everyone else can eat with a $5 donation. Of everything on this fall's calendar, this is the event that uses the warming kitchen the most, and it's indoors on a November evening.
Right next to the hall, Freedom Park's Veterans Garden makes a fitting stop on the way in. Idaho News 6 described it in April with red, white and blue flowers along the paths, and pathway lights that cast stars onto the concrete after dark. The station reported that military seals are arranged in the order each branch entered service. The garden also has a Purple Heart area, a Gold Star family section and POW-MIA recognition. Its centerpiece is a silo from a Star farm, with stars cut out by a local machine shop. After dark on a potato-feed night, those lights are on.
The city calendar lists Christmas at the Riverhouse for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5–6. As of this writing, the listing doesn't include times or a program. Past years give a sense of the format. The 2025 listing described a single evening from 5 to 7 p.m. with ponies, carols, cookies and cocoa, and Santa photos. Santa was set to arrive at 5:30 p.m., and the tree lighting was at 6:30. In 2024, Idaho News 6 covered a holiday market of local vendors selling food, crafts and gifts, along with a pancake breakfast, the Reindeer Ramble, s'mores and Santa.
This year's event is listed for two days instead of one, and if it returns to last year's address, it will be the first Christmas at the Riverhouse with a 400-capacity hall and a warming kitchen on the same site. What the city plans to do with the extra day isn't published yet. Look for the full program on the city calendar before you plan around a particular activity.
For a hall built as "a gathering place for community events, celebrations, and city functions," as Idaho News 6 put it, the celebrations part is still on hold. The city hasn't released a rental application, fee schedule or booking contact. Chadwick's own description puts rentals behind city use while details are worked out.
That means anyone hoping to book Liberty Hall for a reunion, shower or club banquet has nothing to reserve yet. For now, the way to see the room is to go to a public event there. Halloween in the Riverhouse Pasture, potatoes in the hall and a two-day Christmas at the Riverhouse all fall before the end of the year, with the Liberty Bell expected to arrive outside sometime in that stretch.
If you're new to Star's calendar, our late-summer weekend guide to Star covers the regular Friday and Saturday events. Our Star neighborhood page keeps the bigger picture in one place.
Kel & Company keeps track of new city projects around Star like Liberty Hall and Freedom Park. If you own a home near 960 S. Main and want to know what it's worth today, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
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