Last year the Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade was an evening event, listed by the Northalsted Business Alliance as 6:30 to 10 p.m. This year the parade still steps off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, but the day around it begins at 11 a.m. The alliance is billing this year as the parade's 30th anniversary, and it is marking the occasion by turning five blocks of North Halsted into a free, pedestrian-only street festival for most of a day before the parade steps off.
Lakeview's other October events are spread across the calendar. The Northalsted Halloween Pup Crawl is set for Saturday, Oct. 24, and Trick or Treat on Southport covers the stretch from Roscoe to Grace on Monday, Oct. 26, from 4 to 7 p.m. Halloween itself is different. Everything on Oct. 31 falls on one Saturday and plays out across Broadway, Halsted and Clark in roughly one handoff, with families taking the morning and the parade crowd the evening. After that, the streets belong to the late-night bars.
Lakeview Halloween 2026: Your Guide to Halsted's Full Day
Compare the 2026 event page with last year's listing and the parade itself looks familiar. The changes come before and around it.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Event hours | 6:30 to 10 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Daytime family programming | None listed | Kids zone, crafts, games, trick-or-treating at 25+ businesses |
| Costume contest entry | Free | $5 |
| Contest prizes | $4,000 across five categories | $4,000 across five categories |
The festival runs on Halsted from Aldine to Brompton, the 3300 to 3526 blocks. From 11 a.m. the street becomes what the alliance calls a pedestrian-only "block party." The organizer lists more than 50 vendor booths and sponsor activations, live local music and street performers, and a 360-degree camera for costume photos. Beer, spirits and fall-flavored toddies are for sale to guests 21 and over with valid ID. Vendors set up on the cross streets next to Halsted, so they stay open through both the daytime fest and the parade.
The new piece is daytime trick-or-treating at more than 25 Halsted Street businesses, along with a dedicated kids zone with games, Halloween crafts and inflatables. Until this year, Halsted's own Halloween started after dark. Families now have a reason to be on the street hours before the parade, and that reason sits right next to another one.
The morning: two candy routes a few blocks apart
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the same Saturday, the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce runs its Little Monster Crawl, where kids and adults walk from business to business on Broadway, Belmont and Clark for candy, treats and offers. Near Belmont, Halsted runs between Clark and Broadway. For the first time, Lakeview's two largest daytime trick-or-treat events overlap in both time and place, and they are run by two different organizations.
The Chamber's list of stops includes some of the neighborhood's best-known storefronts:
- Broadway and Belmont side: Unabridged Bookstore, Uncommon Ground, Chicago Sugar Daddy Patisserie, Wilde Bar & Restaurant, Almost Home Tavern & Grill, Rizzo's
- Clark Street side: Chicago Comics, Big Star Wrigleyville, Smoke Daddy, The Clark Street Dog, El Mariachi Tequila Bar & Grill, ROCKS Lakeview
These are three hours of business-to-business candy stops on the surrounding streets, with Halsted's kids zone and 25-plus trick-or-treat stops in the middle. A family could do a loop on Clark or Broadway before 2 p.m. and finish with Halsted's crafts and inflatables, which keep running into the afternoon. The organizer's footprint for that fest starts at Aldine, two blocks north of Belmont.
The 6 p.m. reset
The fest and the parade share the same pavement, so there is a hard changeover. At 6 p.m. Halsted is cleared for the parade, and fest-goers have to move to the sidewalks behind the barricades. The alliance suggests using that window to visit vendors and Halsted businesses before picking a viewing spot.
For anyone marching in costume, the important hours come earlier. Bib check-in runs from 2 to 6:15 p.m. at the registration tent on the east side of Halsted at Belmont. Day-of entries are accepted starting at 2 p.m. at 3211 N. Halsted, but the alliance strongly encourages signing up ahead through its registration page. Entry is $5 and open to all ages.
The contest has five categories, and each one pays $500, $200 and $100 for first, second and third place:
- Character: media, pop culture, celebrity or history
- Creative: originality, use of materials, wow factor
- Scary: spooky or horror
- Group: more than one person, with one prize per placement
- Youth, under 13: must be accompanied by an adult
Contestants must be present to win.
7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: the parade, then the stage
The parade steps off at Halsted and Belmont at 7 p.m. and ends around 8 p.m. at Halsted and Brompton. The organizer expects more than 300 costumed participants, decorated vehicles from the Windy City Jeep Club, and performances by the Lakeside Pride Marching Band, the Chicago Thriller flash mob, Chicago Spirit Brigade and the Windy City Rollers. Fire performers from Chicago Full Moon Jam close it out. The parade goes on in rain or snow.
At 8 p.m. the crowd moves to the NoHa parking lot at 3514 N. Halsted for the costume contest and post-parade party. Judge-selected finalists go on stage, followed by live music, DJs and drag performances, and the official event ends at 10 p.m. Pets can march or watch if they are leashed or carried, and their owners are responsible for them.
After the parade, the night moves west and south
Halsted's official program ends at 10 p.m., but the night keeps going on other streets. The Wrigleyville Halloween Crawl is listed for 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Block Club Chicago's Halloween guide reports more than 20 participating venues, including Cubby Bear and Murphy's Bleachers.
The Lakeview East Chamber's spooky season guide lists several more Halloween-night options:
- Dolloween at Level Sporting Club, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., advertised as the club's first Halloween party, with a costume contest at 9 p.m.
- Grave Rave at The River, 9 p.m. to midnight
- Smartbar's Halloween party, doors at 10 p.m.
- Nightmare on Clark Street at Stolen Saddle, a rooftop with themed rooms, Halloween décor and cocktails, plus one drink included with each ticket, open through Nov. 1
Stolen Saddle's rooftop runs through Sunday, so the season extends one day past the 31st.
Getting a car in or out of Halsted on Saturday
The festival's all-day footprint also means a longer closure. Under the organizer's posted notice:
- From 7 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, street parking is restricted, and vehicles violating the restrictions will be towed.
- From 10:30 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, vehicle traffic is prohibited.
- The affected area is Halsted from Belmont to Addison, the 3200 to 3600 north blocks, plus these side streets to the nearest alley: Melrose 720 to 758 W, Aldine 800 to 830 W, Buckingham 720 to 820 W, Roscoe 732 to 820 W, Newport 800 to 840 W, Cornelia 732 to 820 W and Brompton 743 to 800 W.
That covers more than the five-block festival zone. The closure runs a full block south of Aldine to Belmont, where the parade forms, and north to Addison. A car parked on Roscoe or Cornelia east of Halsted on Friday night needs to be moved by 7 a.m. Saturday. As of Oct. 19, the CTA alerts page showed no Halloween-specific Lakeview service notice, so it's worth checking again before heading out if your plans depend on a bus along Halsted.
Halsted is car-free from 10:30 a.m. Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday, the longest stretch the parade has held the street, and the family hours run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Little Monster Crawl stops on Broadway and Clark hand out candy only until 2 p.m., so start there and go to Halsted afterward.
Living near Halsted, Southport or Clark changes what a Saturday like this looks like, and that kind of block-by-block detail is what we talk through with clients at Chicago Home Partner. If you're weighing which side of Lakeview fits how you want your weekends to feel, schedule a complimentary market consultation and we'll walk the map with you.
