The Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade turns 30 this year, and the Northalsted Business Alliance is marking it by adding a daytime event. On Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, Halsted Street hosts a free fest from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then comes the parade from 7 to 8 p.m., followed by a costume contest and post-parade party until 10 p.m. For the past two years it was an evening-only event.
This change shifts more than one street's schedule. Lakeview's other business districts hold their Halloween events on different days and at different hours. Southport trick-or-treats on the Monday before Halloween. Lakeview East takes Saturday late morning. Gallagher Way and the Northalsted Pup Crawl fill the weekend before. Halsted now covers the rest of Saturday. If you live here, Halloween 2026 builds through October and peaks in the final week, from the Pup Crawl on Oct. 24 to the parade on Oct. 31. Where you'll be at each hour depends on your block.
The parade added a full day
The anniversary edition looks very different from the last two Halloweens on Halsted:
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day of week | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| First programming | 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 11 a.m. fest |
| Parade start | 7:30 p.m. step-off | 7:30 p.m., per the city | 7 p.m. |
| Wrap-up | 10 p.m. | 10 p.m. | 10 p.m. |
In 2024, the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications described a program that began at 6:30 p.m., with the parade stepping off at 7:30 p.m. and awards at 8:30 p.m. The 2025 event was also evening-only. Northalsted listed it as 6:30 to 10 p.m., and Block Club Chicago's 2025 Halloween guide did the same. The city's 2025 Halloween release put the parade start at 7:30 p.m.
This year the parade starts half an hour earlier than in the last two years, and the street is busy for about eight hours before it does. For the fest, the five blocks of Halsted from Aldine to Brompton become a pedestrian-only block party. It includes:
- a kids zone with games, Halloween crafts and inflatables
- daytime trick-or-treating at more than 25 Halsted Street businesses
- more than 50 local vendor booths and sponsor activations
- live local music and street performers
- beer, spirits and fall toddies for those 21 and over, with ID
More than 300 costumed participants march, along with the Chicago Full Moon Jam fire performers, Windy City Jeep Club, Chicago Thriller, the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, The Windy City Rollers and the Chicago Spirit Brigade pep squad. The costume contest has five categories: Character, Creative, Scary, Youth for kids under 13, and Group. Each category pays $500, $200 and $100 for the top three, for $4,000 in total prizes. Fodor's Travel has ranked the parade among the top ten Halloween celebrations in the country.
For neighbors with cars, Halsted closes at 10:30 a.m.
An all-day fest means an all-day closure. According to the Northalsted event page, street parking is restricted from 7 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, until 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Vehicle traffic is banned from 10:30 a.m. over the same period. Violators will be towed. On side streets, the closure runs to the nearest alley. The affected address ranges are:
- Halsted, Belmont to Addison: 3200 N to 3600 N
- Melrose: 720 W to 758 W
- Aldine: 800 W to 830 W
- Buckingham: 720 W to 820 W
- Roscoe: 732 W to 820 W
- Newport: 800 W to 840 W
- Cornelia: 732 W to 820 W
- Brompton: 743 W to 800 W
Two details change the timing from earlier years. The closure covers Halsted from Belmont to Addison, which is longer than the five-block fest area. And at 6 p.m., Halsted is cleared so the parade can stage. Fest-goers move behind the barricades on the sidewalks, and organizers suggest visiting vendors and Halsted businesses while you wait for the parade. Until 2025, the street's Halloween started at dusk. In 2026, a car parked on Melrose or Newport has to be moved before breakfast.
As of this writing, there's no 2026 CTA reroute notice for Halloween.
Southport moved to the Monday before
Five days before the parade, Southport holds its own Halloween. The Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce runs Trick or Treat on Southport on Monday, Oct. 26, from 4 to 7 p.m., on Southport between Roscoe and Grace. It happens rain or shine. The 2025 edition was also on a Monday, Oct. 27, with the same hours and route.
This one is built around the after-school hour. Lakeview SSA 27 provides a pumpkin patch outside Coalfire Pizza at Southport and Waveland. Corridor Brewery pours craft beer, and Galleria Liquors curates the wine. Lakeshore Sport and Fitness brings inflatables, and Princess Party by MC has a princess for photos. Some businesses have their own offers. Mr Dave performs at 5 p.m. outside Mini Wonder, Cafe Tola gives out free donuts, and Candyality runs a pumpkin toss. Because it falls on a weekday, a Southport family can have a full Halloween before the weekend and still head to Halsted on Saturday.
October, laid out
With Halsted on Saturday and Southport on Monday, the rest of Lakeview's Halloween fills in around them. Here's the schedule by date, drawn from the Lakeview East Chamber's spooky-season roundup, Gallagher Way's event calendar and the organizers' own pages:
- Wednesday, Oct. 14: Gallagher Way shows The Nightmare Before Christmas outdoors, free, from 6 to 10 p.m. Lark hosts Twilight-themed trivia from 7 to 9 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 15: Duffy's Tavern holds Pumpkin Bowling, with sign-ups at 7 p.m. and bowling at 7:30.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: Gallagher Way's first Beer Garden runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Entry is free, and paid tasting passes cover local and seasonal brews.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: Gallagher Way hosts Pumpkins & Pigskins, with outdoor football viewing from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pilot Project Wrigleyville holds Pints & Pumpkins from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the ticket includes carving supplies and cider.
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: Practical Magic trivia in Wrigleyville.
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Gallagher Way's Lucky Dorr's Pups Halloween runs 4 to 9:30 p.m. Replay Lakeview hosts pumpkin carving and a dog-costume event.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: The 12th annual Northalsted Halloween Pup Crawl runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with activities from Aldine to Cornelia. Gallagher Way's Pumpkin Party follows from 1 to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Stolen Saddle holds its Howl-A-Ween dog market and costume contest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Monday, Oct. 26: Trick or Treat on Southport, 4 to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Haunted Halsted, the Little Monster Crawl and the Wrigleyville Halloween Crawl.
The weekend before Halloween goes mostly to dogs. Two of the three dog-centered events land on Oct. 24 and 25. Halsted gets the first one, the Pup Crawl, a full week before the parade. Northalsted's standalone family trick-or-treat was held on Oct. 25 last year. Its page hadn't posted a 2026 date when we checked.
Saturday, split by the hour
On Halloween itself, Lakeview's three main events overlap rather than taking turns. Two start at 11 a.m., and the third starts at 5 p.m.
The Little Monster Crawl in Lakeview East runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kids trick-or-treat at participating businesses along Broadway, Belmont and Clark, and dogs are welcome. Some businesses will hand out treats inside and others from tables outside. The chamber says it will post the list of participating businesses and a Google map soon. The Crawl starts at the same hour as the Halsted fest, a few blocks east, so a family can do one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
The Halsted fest runs until 6 p.m. Halsted clears for the 7 p.m. parade, and the costume contest and party run until 10 p.m.
The Wrigleyville Halloween Crawl runs at venues around Wrigleyville from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. That's the late slot. Halsted's closure lifts at 2 a.m. Sunday.
For a quick stop on Broadway, two newer spots are on the Lakeview East route. Sila's Mediterranean, a grab-and-go restaurant at 3112 N. Broadway, has its chamber ribbon cutting set for Oct. 13. Noodleverse, at 3139 N. Broadway, began as a stall in a Chinatown basement food court before opening its own shop. The Infatuation reviewed it in September.
Gallagher Way moves straight to Christkindlmarket
Gallagher Way's October calendar leads into the holidays. Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville returns to 3635 N. Clark from Nov. 20 to Dec. 31 as part of Winterland, with hours that vary by day. Block Club Chicago reported that the Wrigleyville market will have 28 vendors this season. Gallagher Way has said more Winterland details are coming. That leaves less than three weeks between the Halsted barricades coming down and the market opening on Clark.
If you live on or near Halsted and a busy, all-day Halloween has you wondering how your block's street life affects what your home is worth, KD Homes can walk you through it. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll show you what Lakeview's event calendar means for your street.