This Halloween lasts a whole week, with more ways to celebrate than you can shake a plastic chainsaw at. There’s no time for suspense, so let’s get to it.
Friday, October 25
4:30 p.m. | At the Q House, a family-friendly Halloween Festival promises “candy, trick-or-treating, arts and crafts, games, vendors, and so much more.”
6 p.m. | Beer, costumes and live music from The Alpaca Gnomes and Men Talking Cars—a band specializing in covers of songs by Men at Work, Talking Heads and The Cars—fuel New England Brewing Company’s Halloween Bash in Woodbridge.
7 p.m. | At the Annex YMA Club, a Halloween Potluck extends to costume and trivia contests, door prizes and DJ Jimmy T. “Please bring a dish to share.”
7 p.m. | With multiple showtimes today, tomorrow and Sunday, it’s the final weekend (albeit not the final night, which comes on Halloween itself) to experience Final Stop: Murder on the Rails, an interactive murder mystery on a moving trolley at the Shore Line Trolley Museum.
7 p.m. | The Orange Volunteer Fire Department opens a two-nights-only Haunted Firehouse attraction.
7 p.m. | A Halloween Cuddle Party at Soul Voyage in Madison aims to be anything but scary, fostering “connection” and “bliss” via “non-sexual snuggling.”
8 p.m. | At Three Sheets, a Haunted Ghouls Rock and Roll Frightfest convenes some appropriate-sounding bands: Hell Fairy and Corpse Flower (to go with Trashing Violet and, celebrating the release of an EP, Turkey Vulture).
8 p.m. | At Best Video in Hamden, the improvisational music collective Light Upon Blight live-scores the “almost incomprehensible”—and almost century-old—Japanese cult film A Page of Madness (1926), which is set in an insane asylum.
8 p.m. | “Live music, best costume prizes, raffles, games, Jell-O and pudding shots, smoking martini specials [and] shot specials” are all on the menu for a Halloween party at Odie’s Place in Hamden.
8 p.m. | Held, curiously, in Milford’s United Presbyterian Church, a “Rocktober Bloodbath” combines five local hardcore bands with vendors, food trucks and horror movie visuals.
9 p.m. | A Halloween Glow Party at Toad’s Place promises a “costume contest, drink specials [and] laser light show” (not to be confused with tomorrow night’s party at Toad’s Place: a Halloween Costume Dance Party promising a “costume contest, drink specials [and] laser light show”).
9 p.m. | Cafe Nine’s Heaven dance party series takes its second annual trip ‘down under,’ this time for a masquerade party emphatically titled Hell II: The Return of Hell: Masquerade in Hell.
10 p.m. | Blue Orchid hosts a Halloween costume contest and karaoke night.
10 p.m. | A dance party at Partners Cafe promises “drink specials, giveaways, drag and more” including a costume contest with cash prizes.
Saturday, October 26
10 a.m. | After a movie night yesterday and a Trick or Trot this morning, the main event of Milford’s Hall-O-Weekend happens on the Milford Green. Family-friendly attractions include “vendors, story time, children’s yoga, face painting, arts and crafts, [a] costume parade and trick-or-treating.”
10 a.m. | Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford hosts a Harvest Halloween occasion offering wagon rides, pumpkin painting, a pizza truck, a dance party, a corn maze and a costume contest.
12 p.m. | “5,000+” partiers are expected to attend Crawl-O-Ween, a downtown bar crawl conferring “exclusive” access to “16+ venues, blowout drink deals, live entertainment, 25+ of Connecticut's best DJs,… giveaways, and much much more.”
12 p.m. | In Wallingford, New England Cider Company’s Pumpkinfest promises it’ll be the brewery’s “biggest fall celebration yet,” offering “pumpkin-chucking, games, live music, food trucks, and more.”
2 p.m. | Expect “bone-chilling brews and spine-tingling tunes” all day during a Barcade Halloween.
2 p.m. | After a family-friendly trunk-or-treating session at noon, The Haunting at Two Roads in Stratford presents “a thrilling Halloween-themed pro wrestling event.”
4:30 p.m. | “Let your pup strut their stuff”—just don’t call it a catwalk—during the Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest at Stella Blues, where guests can also enjoy “prizes, raffles [and] eerie cocktails” while raising funds for Army’s Legacy, a local dog rescue.
4:30 p.m. | It’s time for the Walnut Beach Zombie 5K, whose runners have extra motivation in the form of volunteer “zombies” trying to infect them—plus an afterparty promising live music and free pizza.
5 p.m. | CITA Park, the outdoor popup beer garden at Chapel and Orange, hosts its final event of the year, offering Halloween-themed cocktails amid a “spooky, haunted transformation” of the space.
5 p.m. | Halloween on the Green—the West Haven Green—offers trunk-or-treating, food trucks, a haunted gazebo/photo booth, themed craft activities, an inflatable graveyard, a costume contest, a light saber performance, face painting and a screening of Poltergeist (1982).
6 p.m. | Boos & Brews, a “Halloween kickoff party” at East Rock Brewing, features a costume contest and live music from cover band The Last Hoorah.
7 p.m. | A costume contest and drag performances animate Witch Bitch Thrift’s Monster Bash.
7 p.m. | At Best Video, Ramones tribute band The Hymans perform before a screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The connection? “The Ramones paid tribute to the movie on their debut album with the song, ‘Chainsaw.’”
8 p.m. | Thirdspace Lounge’s fourth annual Halloween party promises a “flash tattoo artist, [a] costume competition, free food, complimentary snacks, beverages for purchase [and a] VR horror experience.”
9 p.m. | The Trinity hosts A Nightmare in Elm City, a costume party with live music from Ian Biggs & The Ruckus.
9 p.m. | A “night of frightful festivities” at Milford’s Dockside Brewery includes “delicious specialty cocktails,” “killer beats,” a photo booth and a costume contest.
10 p.m. | The annual dance party and costume contest at Club Vandome offers Latin music in the main room and hip hop in the second, each cut with Top 40 hits.
Sunday, October 27
10 a.m. | At Walnut Beach Green in Milford (“under the Arches”), Boo Fest by the Beach promises “children’s activities, horse-drawn hayrides, trick-or-treating, [a] pie-eating contest, live entertainment, seasonal food trucks and more.”
11 a.m. | After a monthlong series of puppet-making workshops, Westville’s annual Giant Puppet + People Making Mayhem Parade steps off from West Rock and Whalley Avenues.
1 p.m. | It’s another chance to benefit Army’s Legacy, this time during the Spooky Poochies Parade on the Branford Green (with both humans and dogs encouraged to dress up). There’s also a trunk-or-treat element.
10 p.m. | Back at Vandome, it’s more costumed dancing, this time leaning all the way Latin for a Dia de los Muertos Costume Party.
Monday, October 28
6 p.m. | “Come cheer for your favorite… and sip on the finest cocktails in town” as “talented bartenders go head-to-head in a thrilling Halloween-themed battle” at Elm City Social.
6:30 p.m. | Hear about third eyes and energy-reading while celebrating Samhain, the historical precursor to Halloween, at Curious Goods New Age Shop in West Haven.
Tuesday, October 29
5:30 p.m. | MakeHaven hosts a costumes- and activities-encouraged potluck gathering where you can “make a fall-themed wreath,” “make (and taste if you dare!) fake blood” and, of course, “bring a favorite fall treat to share.”
9 p.m. | A Spooky Karaoke Costume Party at Reruns in West Haven offers “drink specials… all night long” to go with the karaoke and the costume contest.
Wednesday, October 30
5 p.m. | The Connecticut Post Mall’s “annual trick-or-treating event, where [kids] can visit participating stores throughout the mall to collect delicious candy and treats,” is enhanced this year with “face painters, balloon twisters, and mascot characters for meet and greets and memorable photo opportunities.”
7 p.m. | A Band Halloween Fundraiser/Coat Drive at Cafe Nine invites local musical acts to play and dress like other, often much more famous, acts, all while collecting coats as well as funds for other items to be “distribute[d]… directly to unhoused individuals.”
9 p.m.? | Halloween ’24, a dance party helmed by DJ Alpaka at Club Rumaj, promises “spooky surprises” and prizes “for the best costumes,” though the start time is unclear.
Thursday, October 31 - Halloween
12 p.m. | Tattoo shop Hope Gallery hosts a Halloween Flash Day featuring “free snacks and liquid courage, [a] costume contest, free raffles, free treat bags, horror movies on the projector” and, of course, “Halloween-themed flash tattoos.”
4 p.m. | At Bear’s Smokehouse, the 3rd Annual Not So Scary Halloween Party offers a “candy station, pumpkin decorating, [a] coloring station [and] LEGO sets raffle” (this is a family-oriented event).
5:30 p.m. | The New Haven department of Youth & Recreation presents their annual take on the perennial quest for candy: a trunk-or-treat event at Southern Connecticut State University, in the parking lot at 118 Farnham Avenue.
6 p.m. | For its official Halloween party, Stella Blues screens an unknown movie, then welcomes, even more cryptically, a “special guest,” then hands the reins to a few live bands tasked with getting people on the dance floor.
8 p.m. | Expect drink specials, three DJs and cash prizes—for costumes, I’m guessing—at 144 Temple’s nightclub Halloween party.
8 p.m. | Pints and Pasties: A Boolesque Revue at the New England Cider Company invites ticket holders to “sip on handcrafted ciders as our bewitching performers enchant the stage, blending the art of burlesque with a haunting twist.”
9 p.m. | BAR’s annual Halloween party involves costumes, dancing and pizza—a New Haven-style Halloween, if ever there were one.
Written by Dan Mims. Image by Romolo Tavani. Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations, prices and other details.
