Is it just me, or do you also enjoy Halloween now, as a parent, more than you ever did as a kid?
I can't get enough of the decor, the costumes, the spooky-themed food, and all the fun events. This year, I am especially happy to see that my tween/teen aren't out-growing any of it anytime soon either. Since October 1, my fourteen year old has laid out her outfits for the next 30 days, and they are all combinations of orange and black. Whenever I catch her with her ear pods in, she is listening to Halloween movie soundtracks. Her room is decorated in cobwebs, (beyond the ones that were already there), and pumpkin lighting. This is going to be a fun year!
The events we have always loved pre-pandemic are back, the innovative events created during the pandemic are returning, and even some new events are popping up. This may be the best year yet.
Stay tuned to Macaroni KID Chicago Northside, as we will keep you posted on all things sweet, and creepy, this season. Follow us on Facebook too, to ensure you don't miss a thing.
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THE SWEET
Pier Pumpkin Lights
October 1-24, 2021 @ 10:00AM - 11:30PM
Navy Pier will once again transform into an experiential fall spectacle with nearly 1,000 pumpkins for the month of October. Guests will explore a variety of pumpkin pop-up installations and enjoy Pier-wide deals and other Halloween festivities throughout the month.
Highwood Pumpkin Fest Carnival
October 7-10, 2021
HIGHWOOD'S ANNUAL PUMPKIN FEST features 
Carnival Rides, Games, 
Food, 
Live Music and plenty of 
Pumpkins!
Movies at Gallagher Way
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 @ 7:00PM: Casper
Wednesday, October 13, 2021 @ 7:00PM: The Addams Family
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 @ 7:00PM: Ghostbusters
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 @ 7:00PM: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Movies at Gallagher Way is part of Gallagher Way’s fall programming series. Gallagher Way teams up with local favorite, Music Box Theatre, to hand-select a schedule of nostalgic, free, outdoor movies that runs throughout October. Gates open at 6pm.
Cost: Free
Boo Fest - Museum of Science and Industry
October 15 – 31
Two weeks of family-friendly science experiences will get you into the Halloween spirit. Explore specially decorated exhibits, examine the science of Halloween with pumpkin drops and slime, try your hand at eyeball dissection and more. This event is included in Museum Entry, but some experiences require an additional ticket purchase.
Pumpkin Patch at Margate
Saturday, October 16, 2021 @ 10:00AM - 2:00PM
At the Chicago Park District's pumpkin patches, you get to pick your personal favorite from a field filled with pumpkins of all shapes, and personalize it at the pumpkin decorating station. Enjoy Halloween-themed carnival games and don't forget to bring a camera to capture a family memory at our harvest photo station.
Cost: Pumpkin patch may charge a fee
Wednesday Night Live - Halloween Edition
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 @ 5:00PM - 8:30PM
Join us for a special Halloween edition of Wednesday Night Live on October 20th at the Ainslie Arts Plaza. Decorate a pumpkin, dress up for a costume contest, and stay for an outdoor screening of Hocus Pocus!
Cost: Free
Pumpkin Train
October 23rd, 24th, 30th, and 31st
Enjoy a ride to our pumpkin patch aboard Halloween-themed electric interurban trains. While at the patch, ask our farm hands to help you find the perfect pumpkin, and pose for pictures in our various colorful, life size cutouts, as well as an antique farm tractor and hay wagon.
Pup-O-Ween
Saturday, October 23rd @ 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Bring out your pup to Pup-O-Ween on the second to last Saturday of October. Various vendors will offer treats and promotions to your dog as you Trick-or-Treat them around the Ainslie Arts Plaza. And don’t worry, the fun isn't just for your pup. There will be something for you owners as well!
Cost: Free
Harriet Tubman Elementary's Annual Hocus Pocus Fall Fest
2851 N. Seminary
Saturday, October 23rd @ 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Games & Prizes. Costume Parade. Trunk or Treat. Pumpkin Decorating. Dance Party. Costume Swap.
Cost: Free
Pumpkin Patch at Hamlin
Sunday, October 24, 2021 @ 10:00AM - 2:00PM
At the Chicago Park District's pumpkin patches, you get to pick your personal favorite from a field filled with pumpkins of all shapes, and personalize it at the pumpkin decorating station. Enjoy Halloween-themed carnival games and don't forget to bring a camera to capture a family memory at our harvest photo station.
Cost: Pumpkin patch may charge a fee
Trick or Treat Southport
Monday, October 25, 2021 @ 4:00PM-8:00PM
Trick or Treat on Southport is a free annual community event featuring family-friendly activities, a pumpkin patch, pet parade and trick or treating at local businesses. Enjoy food trucks and a beverage tent featuring beer from Corridor Brewery.
Cost: Free
Get Together at Gallagher Way for the Annual Pumpkin Party!Thursday, October 28, 2021 @ 3:30PM – 7:00PM Rescheduled for Saturday, October 30, 2021 @ 1:00PM - 4:30PM
This year, Old Town School of Folk Music will lead a few folksy and Halloween dance and sing-a-longs, the kiddos can create a paper ghost or their very own Halloween slime with Kid Create Studio, visit a range of candy stations such as Fannie May chocolate, sweets, sours, tootsies, lollipops and more to satisfy every type of sweet tooth. There will be take-home junior pumpkins, balloon artists, a magician and lawn games galore. At 3:00pm, stick around for a free showing of "Hotel Transylvania" on the Gallagher Way video board.
Cost: Free
Family Halloween Party
Friday, October 29, 2021 @ 5:00PM - 8:00PM
Join Fit City Kids for a special Halloween Party. There will be games, prizes, and activities for the whole family.
Lakeview Treats - Kids Halloween Park Fest
Friday, October 29, 2021 @ 3:30PM - 5:00PM
Join us for a ribbon cutting followed by a fun filled, kid friendly afternoon in the park. Newly renovated, stop by the Clark and Racine park to kick off the Halloweekend! A day full of music, costumes, free local treats and photos, we hope to see you there!
Cost: Free
Roscoe Village Halloween Block Party
Saturday, October 30, 2021 @ 12:00PM - 4:00PM
Save the date for the Roscoe Village Halloween Block Party! Celebrate the season in a safe, outdoor, family-oriented environment on Roscoe. Wear your costume and join us for Halloween themed activities, a live DJ, and more! The Roscoe Village Streetery will be open for your food and beverage needs.
Cost: Free
Andersonville Halloween
Saturday, October 30, 2021 @ 10:00AM - 3:00PM
This year will will continue our efforts by providing a fun and safe Halloween experience on Catalpa by inviting folks to a timed walk through with their kiddos for distancing and safety measures and ALSO provide a map of businesses that have signed up to that would like to hand out candy as well! We invite you to join us for a socially-distanced Trick-or-Treat Grab & Go experience on Catalpa Avenue on Saturday, October 30 from 10AM-3PM. (Registration link coming soon) for families to sign-up for the event. Attendees are asked to register for a 20 minute time slot. Please make sure to add a ticket for each person attending, including children. This allows us to safely limit the amount of people walking through. All attendees will receive free Halloween treats including bags of candy, taffy apples and gourds & pie pumpkins ( While supplies last). Folks who don't make the time slots are able to join us after 3PM.
Cost: Free
Lincoln Scared Ravenswoooood
Sunday, October 31, 2021 @ 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Trick-or-Treat with your kids this year in Lincoln Square Ravenswood! On the Sunday of Halloween the business district transforms into LINCOLN SCARED and RAVENSWoooooD, as children trick-or-treat between participating businesses.
Cost: Free
Little Monsters Crawl
Sunday, October 31, 2021 @ 11:30AM - 1:30PM
Celebrate Halloween with some Lakeview Trick-or-Treating! With free treats from 50+ local businesses, come join the crawl, dress up, and enjoy the Lakeview neighborhood! Plus, snag some delicious adult treats at certain participating locations.
An event for the whole family, check out the official map of discounts and locations on lakevieweast.com!
Cost: Free
Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade
Saturday, October 30, 2021 @ 6:00PM - 8:00PM
This is not to be missed! Personally, my favorite parade of all time. The Arts in the Dark Halloween Parade will return to State Street as the finale of the city’s “Halloweek” program! Now in its 7th year, this event has drawn together close to 100,000 guests and participants for a magical evening parade that celebrates Halloween as the “artist’s holiday.” Past participants include world-renowned institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, celebrated Chicago organizations like Lookingglass Theatre Company, important programs like After School Matters and aspiring artists in every field. It is a dazzling event that delights the audience with unique floats, spectacle puppets and creative performances – all set against the backdrop of historic State Street.
Cost: Free
Halloween Story Time With Spiderman & Ariel
Sunday, October 31, 2021 @ 11:00AM - 12:00PM
Time Out Market Chicago
916 W Fulton Market
Join us for a special Halloween Story Time with Spiderman & Ariel! The story time will be followed with a meet & greet with the characters and trick or treating at the Market!
Cost: Free
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THE CREEPY
The 13th Floor Chicago
Now through November 6th
Get ready for the most fun you've ever had getting scared at the world-famous 13th Floor Haunted House in Chicago!
In most buildings, the 13th floor doesn't exist--but here, in the heart of Chicago, it's terrifyingly real. The legendary 13th Floor has been praised by and featured on America Haunts, Travel Channel, MTV, Haunt World Magazine, and USA Today calls it "One of the best haunted attractions in the US."
Purchase tickets early as Chicago's most horrifying haunted house is expected to sell out!
Cost: $20+ Get 15% Off Here
Win 4 Free Fast Pass Tickets Here
Old Joliet Haunted Prison
Now through November 6th
A haunted house inside a real, abandoned prison! Get ready for the most fun you've ever had getting scared at The Old Joliet Haunted Prison in Joliet, IL!
The madness from within the prison has spilled out into the yard where the queen of the damned rules over the most infamous and violent prisoners. This doomsday squad have launched an all-out assault on the living at an attempt to escape their eternal captivity. Journey through the chaos as the path winds through open air smoldering ruins and inside the prison’s machine shop, laundry room and other various industrial spaces. Escape from purgatory might be futile but it won't stop the prisoner’s from having a bloody good time.
Cost: $20+ Get 15% Off Here
Replay Lincoln Park Slasher Museum
Now through Sunday, October 31
This Lincoln Park bar has transformed its gaming areas into a manor of the macabre filled with frightening replicas of iconic slashers including Michael Myers, Freddy, and Leatherface, complete with themed weekly trivia, costume contests, along with horror movie-themed arcade and pinball games and more, curated by Pop-Up Productions. This event and all of the games are free, with no reservations, tickets, or tokens required. During this limited time pop-up, there will be spine-chilling themed events that include horror film trivia every Thursday night at 7 pm, along with costume contests, DJ sets on Thursday through Saturday and photo opportunities in replicas of various horror film sets. Fear fanatics will also have the opportunity to trick-or-treat themselves to deadly delicious cocktails including The Night He Came Home, Vorhees a Jolly Good Fellow, Leatherface, Hello Sidney, Redrum, It’s Bloody A-gore-able, Trick-or-Treat shots, and much more that are to die for.
Cost: Free Admission
Nightmare on Clark Street
Now through Sunday, October 31
If you're reading this, you're probably too old for trick-or-treating—but that doesn't mean you can't treat yourself this Halloween season. For a few weeks this fall, Deuce's Major League Bar in Wrigleyville will transform into Nightmare on Clark Street, a spooky pop-up complete with themed cocktails, festive snacks and plenty of ghoulish decor perfect for those among the 21+ crowd looking to celebrate the holiday. Go before 5pm on weekdays, or before noon on the weekends, with kids.
Cost: Free Admission
Sweet Dreams Halloween
October 8 - November 1
Rizzo's Bar & Inn will be transformed into a Halloween Pop-up! With 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, this is the Halloween Pop- Up Where Dreams go to die and nightmares come to life! This fanciful nightmare come to life, is a creepy fragment of a macabre world; where 20 classic horror movies all collide. From Elm Street to Silent Hill and from Killer Klowns to Zombie Land…this vibrant collusion of fun and fright will keep you entertained every inch of the way! Freddy, Jason, Leatherface and IT…will all be joining us and we promise to produce some of the most epic Halloween scenes and social moments ever! So get those cameras ready! This one of a kind Halloween pop-up will be a scream for all ages. 21+, however Family Days will be offered.
Cost: $10+
Terror in the Timbers
Now through October 30
Think you're safe behind a piece of glass and some metal? Think again. The dead have taken over the once innocent Camp Big Timber and are coming for the living...one car at a time. This one-of-a kind drive-thru scenic Halloween experience allows you to simply put your car in park, sit back and let the Terror begin. And new this year with an 'add-on' ticket, you can park your car, take a break in our new Midway area before continuing your screams on our ALL NEW Trail of Terror Haunted Hike!
Don't forget to check out our Fall Guide for more fun this season!
