As of Thursday, October 29, everything Glendale's city government planned for Halloween season is already done. The city's one large October event this year was the Día de los Muertos celebration at the Central Library, and it ran last Saturday, October 24. Its other October tradition, the Annual Fall Festival at Pacific Park, was canceled outright.
That puts Halloween weekend in other hands. From Thursday night through Sunday afternoon, the events come from a merchants' association, a roller rink on San Fernando Road, a theater company working out of a brewery, a household on East Chevy Chase Drive, and Forest Lawn. Here is how that weekend fits together, starting with the week it replaced.
The City's Calendar Closed on October 24
For at least three years, Glendale held a free Fall Festival at Pacific Park & Community Center, 501 S. Pacific Ave., on a late-October Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In 2023 the city promoted a pumpkin patch, carnival games, face painting, a climbing wall and a bounce house, and called the event free and open to the public. The 2025 version added a children's vendor market and a sensory play area.
This year's festival was listed for October 24 at the same park and the same hours. The city's special events page now marks it "Cancelled for 2026." The event listing gives no reason and refers questions to the Community Services & Parks department phone line.
That same Saturday, Library, Arts & Culture held its Día de los Muertos celebration at the Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., from 2 to 5 p.m. The program included Mariachi CUE, Coaxochitl Aztec dancers, Ballet Folklórico México Azteca, face painting, tamales and pan dulce, plus a set from Miramonte Elementary's Little Kids Rock Band. In 2025 the same celebration ran on November 1 from 4 to 7 p.m., which put it inside Halloween weekend. Moving it up a week took the city's last seasonal event off this weekend's calendar.
The Verdugo Woodlands Dads' Club also held its sixth annual Spooktacular in the same stretch. This year's show, "The Prince of Verdugo Castle," ran October 23 and 24 at 1728 Canada Blvd., with a 30-minute immersive show, a Candy Arcade and tickets at $15 general or $25 VIP. The city's October Community Services & Parks newsletter promoted it, but the Dads' Club ran it, and it was finished before the final week of October.
The city's parks schedule this fall has also been full of construction. The Central Park Block Project at the downtown park was set to start in early September 2026, and it has permanently closed the Central Library's east and south parking lots. The city has not tied either project to the festival cancellation, and the festival's venue was Pacific Park, not Central Park.
Thursday Night Opens at the Alex and at Brewyard
The weekend's first ticketed event is tonight. Paranormal investigator Amy Bruni brings Walking with Ghosts to the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 29. Tickets on the theater's page run from $34 to $76. On the Downtown Glendale association's calendar, it is the only Halloween-themed downtown event around the holiday, and the calendar shows nothing for Friday or Saturday.
About two miles west, Revelry Theatre Group performs The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Brewyard Beer Company, 906 Western Ave., at 8 p.m. The run has two nights, tonight and Saturday, October 31. The event listing does not show a ticket price, so check with the company before you go.
Friday Belongs to a Yard on East Chevy Chase Drive
On Friday, the busiest Halloween spot in Glendale may be a private home. Cats and Bats Haunt is a free walk-through with scare actors, open 7 to 10 p.m. on October 30 and 31. A yard display is also listed for visitors who would rather skip the scares. The haunt sits on East Chevy Chase Drive. Two haunt directories list different house numbers, so look up the current listing on SoCal Spooky before you head over.
The haunt has also run on weekends earlier in October. Its listing shows dates of October 23, 24, 30 and 31. Friday and Saturday are the last two nights.
Saturday Runs on Honolulu Avenue, With a Rink at Each End of the Day
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and that day has the most going on. Here is the order of events:
- 10 a.m. to noon: Moonlight Rollerway's first Halloween Skate session at 5110 San Fernando Road.
- 1:30 to 4 p.m.: The rink's second afternoon session.
- 5 to 7 p.m.: The Montrose Halloween Spooktacular on the 2200, 2300 and 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue.
- 7 to 10 p.m.: The last night of Cats and Bats Haunt on East Chevy Chase Drive.
- 8 p.m.: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Brewyard Beer Company.
- 8 to 11 p.m.: Moonlight Rollerway's Halloween Skate Night.
The Montrose Shopping Park Association calls its Halloween Spooktacular an annual "perennial favorite" and a family event. For two hours, the Montrose Shopping Park merchants hand out candy along those three blocks of Honolulu Avenue. The association's 2026 poster is already up on its site. The page doesn't say whether Honolulu Avenue will close to cars during the event. For questions, contact the association at [email protected] or event coordinator Dale Dawson at (818) 621-0350.
Montrose's window is 5 to 7 p.m., which ends just as the Chevy Chase Drive haunt opens and before both 8 p.m. starts. A family can do the merchant candy route first, and an adult crowd can head to Brewyard or the rink afterward, without the two overlapping.
The Moonlight Rollerway listing says skate rental costs extra but doesn't give an admission price.
One more Saturday note concerns the city's Adams Square playground project. It started August 31 with an expected completion date of October 31, and parking on South Adams Street and East Palmer Avenue has been affected during the work. If you're heading to that area on Halloween, plan as though the parking restrictions are still in place.
Sunday Is Día de los Muertos at Forest Lawn
The Central Library's celebration moved to October 24, so the main Día de los Muertos event in Glendale on November 1 is at Forest Lawn. Forest Lawn's event page lists an in-person celebration at its Glendale location on Sunday, November 1, from noon to 3 p.m.
A local event listing describes the Glendale celebration as free and lists an altar, folklórico dancing, mariachi music and the Bob Baker Marionettes. Forest Lawn's own page confirms only the location, date and hours, so the program details come from that listing.
The morning fits with an earlier stop in Montrose. The Montrose Harvest Market runs every Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and November 1 is a Sunday. The market's page doesn't list a special Halloween-weekend program, so expect the regular Sunday market.
Where the Season Goes From Here
Next on the city's events page is the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 3, followed by Holiday at the Stone Barn on December 12. With nothing else on the city's page before December 3, all of this weekend's Halloween and Día de los Muertos events come from private and nonprofit hosts.
Montrose shows up in two places on this schedule. The merchants' Spooktacular is the evening event on Halloween, and the Harvest Market is the morning stop on Día de los Muertos. When the Fall Festival ran, Pacific Park was the city-run gathering spot for the season. This year the city has no event in that role, and Montrose is the only part of Glendale on this schedule both Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
If you're planning your weekend around Honolulu Avenue, or you've wondered how a season like this plays out on the streets near your own home, I'd love to talk Glendale with you. Reach out to Homes With Alin anytime. If you'd like to see what your home on one of these blocks is worth this fall, start with a free Instant Home Valuation.
