It’s Halloween 2025 — which, for many, sounds like a redundancy. Doesn’t 2025 feel like one long Halloween? Still, you gotta show up somewhere in your Uncle Fester costume. Here’s a bit of what’s going on locally this week for Halloween and Día de Los Muertos.
Tuesday, Oct. 28: Bruno’s in Scotts Valley has got all your Halloween Trivia needs covered.
Wednesday, Oct. 29: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is hosting its final “Fright Flicks” at the Cocoanut Grove (oops, sorry, The Grove) ballroom, and it’s, no surprise, the 2018 remake of “Halloween” at 7:30 p.m. ($15 ticket; 21 and over).
Simpkins Family Swim Center is hosting a free Día de Los Muertos altar-making workshop for the whole family, 4 to 6 p.m. Big Basin Vineyard’s downtown tasting room’s weekly trivia contest, Wig Out Wednesday, will be a Halloween-y affair.
Thursday, Oct. 30: Fun idea up at The Landing in Scotts Valley, as Jewel Theatre Co. re-produces the infamous Orson Welles stunt the “War of the Worlds” radio show.
Head on up to the allegedly haunted Brookdale Lodge for a big night of DJs and dancing at the “Freakers’ Ball.” Big shows on consecutive nights at The Crepe Place called “Crepe-O-Ween,” with live bands all night long.
Come dressed in your best witchy attire for the West Edge Witch Walk starting at 5 p.m. at Lighthouse Field walking toward Natural Bridges State Beach and back.
Friday, Oct. 31: Downtown Santa Cruz is, of course, ground zero for Halloween fun and madness. The trick-or-treating begins midafternoon at 2 p.m. up and down Pacific Avenue. The family-themed stuff wraps up around 5 p.m. Then things get really interesting. The family dog gets in on the fun too, at the Halloween Dog Show at Abbott Square, 4 to 6 p.m. The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz is the scene for a free Halloween dance party, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the midst of your trick-or-treating.
It’s an annual tradition at the Capitola Wharf, with “Watch the Sea Witches,” featuring paddleboarders dressed as witches, from 10 a.m. to noon. Togo’s in Scotts Valley is sponsoring a treasure hunt for the whole family all day long. It’s a trick-or-treat family event at Children’s Discovery Museum in the Capitola Mall, beginning at 4 p.m. Out in Aptos, there’s a “Monster Mash” parade at the Village Green in Aptos Village in the afternoon.
The Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz is putting a Grateful Dead spin on Halloween with the band China Cats in a Halloween “Spook-easy.” The Catalyst will also be jumping with its Spooky Rave and a costume party in the Atrium as well.
Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz is getting in on the fun with its live music show with a Puerto Rican flavor.
“Crepe-O-Ween” at The Crepe Place features bands in costume themselves as other bands. Park Hall in Ben Lomond is hosting its Halloween “Monster’s Ball.” And, yes, there is an official Santa Cruz Halloween Bar Crawl.
Have news that should be in Lookout Briefs? Send your news releases, including contact information, to news@lookoutlocal.com.
