What’s a trick and what’s a treat this Halloween weekend? You decide.
Friday, October 28
5 p.m. | Halloween Bash! New England Brewing Company brings in headliner Alpaca Gnomes and an opening act determined to play the entire score from Animal House (togas encouraged).
6 p.m. | Hall-O-Weekend. “Make memories and enjoy some not-so-scary fun in charming downtown Milford” starting with a “movie under the stars” and ending with a Sunday of family-friendly activities.
sponsored by
8 p.m. | Museum After Dark. The New Britain Museum of American Art’s annual Halloween party is now two parties, one today and one tomorrow. Both occasions promise decorated spaces and DJed dance floors; a photo booth and tarot card readings; complimentary snacks, pizza, beer and wine; and great art, both on walls and on guests, who tend to aim high with their costumes.
9 p.m. | A Psychedelic Halloween. Promising “a night of Halloween debauchery” beginning, of all things, with a sitar set, Stella Blues says, “Let’s get freaky with this one. Dress up, don’t dress up, but definitely come be weird.”
9:30 p.m. | Halloween Blacklight Glow Party. A laser light show and CO2 cannons as well as costumed guests’ ingenuity tweak the Friday formula at Toad’s Place. (Come early for a 7 p.m. show headlined by Kurt Vile and the Violators.)
Saturday, October 29
10 a.m. | Halloween at the Post! The Connecticut Post Mall hosts trick-or-treating among its shops between 10 and noon followed by a live performance by impersonators of the Sanderson Sisters (from Hocus Pocus).
sponsored by
12 p.m. | Crawl-O-Ween ’22. Out of all the Halloween bar crawls today, this one stands out. Organized by New Haven Nights, the 10-plus-hour crawl spans 13 downtown bars and restaurants, 11 DJs spinning all day, “giveaways and raffles at 7 locations,” Halloween-themed drinks, other food and drink specials, $1,000 costume prizes and a mystery after-party location that has yet to be announced.
2 p.m. | Nightmare on River Street. Armada Brewing hosts a six-hour Halloween Market with nearly 15 food and retail vendors and two live bands.
2 p.m. | Halloween Eve Eve Party. Barcade is “cranking tunes to scream along to” and “pouring tasty brews for all you gals and ghouls,” including some thematic selections, well into the night.
5 p.m. | Halloween on the Green. On the West Haven Green, find a “costume parade with prizes, haunted gazebo for photos, pumpkin painting, ghost crafts and Hocus Pocus on the big screen,” plus food for sale.
6 p.m. | Jen Durkin’s Steal Your Funk Halloween Shakedown. The Beeracks hosts “a night of high energy, interactive vibes,
6:30 p.m. | Party in The Cellar. As in The Cellar on Treadwell, where attendees can enjoy “a buffet dinner (7pm-8pm) along with Halloween-themed desserts, a costume contest with prizes,
7 p.m. | Annual Halloween Live Score. After a Not-So-Spooky Family Halloween Party and before a 9 p.m. costume party, Best Video presents a screening of the “Czech New Wave, surrealist, horror” film Valerie and Her Week of Wonders live-scored by local band Light Upon Blight, who claim to sound like “an exorcism.”
9 p.m. | SWEAT Halloween Thriller. This party at The State House is a dance party, full stop.
9 p.m. | A Nightmare on Orange Street. This “vibe party” at Jazzy’s Cabaret promises “surprise guests, dining, cocktails, and more” including a costume contest and a mandate to “danc
9 p.m. | Spooktacular Halloween Party. Via leans into its strengths, offering “our new fall cocktails” and “spooky photo opportunities.”
9 p.m. | Juicy Fruit—The Halloween Party. A special installment of the Juicy Fruit party series at 168 York Street Cafe adds a costume contest to its dance floor mix of “throwback pop, hip-hop, R&B, reggae, freestyle, and disco.”
9 p.m. | Modern Refuge Halloween Party. Powered by the band Modern Refuge, this party at The Trinity promises “a thrilling night full of magick, guest musicians, delicious drinks, unforgettable music, costume contests and more.”
10 p.m. | Gothtoberfest. At Partners Cafe, “sanctify the season’s Hallowed NIGHTs with sinister music, rhythmic writhing, and some belly-warming firewater. Shake the bats out of your belfry, smear on some black lipstick, and scurry down to Partners for a ₦‡₲Ħ† of dark revelry, sultry Teutonic rhythms, and Gothick Autumnal bliss!” The dress code is “minimum all black,” though there’s room to go darker.
10 p.m. | The Annual Halloween Party. Club Vandome offers cash prizes for top costumes as DJs spin “the best of salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton and top 40.”
Sunday, October 30
11 a.m. | 12th Annual Giant Puppet and People Making Mayhem Parade. Brimming with people making pleasant mayhem in part by carrying giant handmade puppets, the parade steps off at 11 on West Rock Avenue outside Manjares, then “wind thru the village and back to the gazebo for CitySeed’s harvest festival.”
3 p.m. | Pup-O-Ween Calendar Release Party. Costumed canines help celebrate the release of Three Sheets’s third annual Dogs Of Three Sheets Patio Calendar, sales of which benefit the Friends of the New Haven Animal Shelter. Guests are also encouraged to bring “food, toys, and blankets” to donate to the shelter.
6 p.m. | 64th Annual Halloween Parade & Party. Branford’s Short Beach Hose, Hook, and Ladder Company 4 continues what may very well be the area’s oldest Halloween event. The parade “starts at the corner of Little Bay Lane and runs along Shore Drive…”
8 p.m. | Blair Witch Movie Night. Bear’s Smokehouse screens the original Blair Witch Project, the found-footage turn-of-millennium horror sensation whose presentation as a real documentary thrived in an age of dial-up internet and scared the hell out of teenage me. “Come early to claim your space on the lawn—bring your chairs and blankets!”
Written by Dan Mims. Image by Romolo Tavani. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details before attending events.
