Halloween Lands on a Saturday This Year, and Lake View Is Treating It Like an All-Day Relay

On Saturday, October 31, the Northalsted Business Alliance has made the 30th Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade "an all-day affair," with a free street festival starting at 11 a.m. and leading straight into the 7 p.m. parade.

With the fest starting at 11 a.m., Lake View's Halloween now runs from late morning until after midnight, and it moves between blocks as the day goes. Families start on Broadway and Halsted. The crowd packs Halsted's sidewalks for the parade. Late night moves west to Clark Street in Wrigleyville. The street closures set the timing as much as the events do, so plan the day by the hour.

The Saturday on One Page

The rest of this post goes through that grid in order.

Morning: Two Trick-or-Treat Routes Open at 11 a.m.

Two family events start at 11 a.m., a few blocks apart.

The Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce's Little Monster Crawl runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at participating businesses along Broadway, Belmont and Clark, and the Chamber says pups are welcome. Stops include Almost Home Tavern & Grill with candy and hot cocoa, Uncommon Ground with candy plus beer samples for the adults, and Just Food For Dogs with treats for kids and dogs.

Haunted Halsted's daytime program is new for 2026. Halsted Street between Aldine and Brompton becomes a pedestrian-only block party, free to attend. It has a kids zone with games, Halloween crafts and inflatables, daytime trick-or-treating at more than 25 Halsted Street businesses, a 360-degree camera for costume photos, more than 50 vendor and sponsor booths, and live music and street performers. Beer, spirits and fall toddies are for sale to guests 21 and older with valid ID.

Because the routes overlap, one family can do both: the Little Monster Crawl first, while it runs until 2 p.m., then a walk over to Halsted for the afternoon. The fest keeps going until 10 p.m.

The Closure Map Starts Before the Fest Does

The fest opens at 11 a.m., but the street changes earlier. From 7 a.m. Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday, street parking is restricted on Halsted from Belmont to Addison and on parts of Brompton, Cornelia, Newport, Roscoe, Buckingham, Aldine and Melrose, out to the nearest alley. The organizer's notice says violators will be towed. Cars are banned on those same blocks from 10:30 a.m.

Here are the address ranges, so you can check your own block:

• Halsted: 3200 N to 3600 N
• Melrose: 720 W to 758 W
• Aldine: 800 W to 830 W
• Buckingham: 720 W to 820 W
• Roscoe: 732 W to 820 W
• Newport: 800 W to 840 W
• Cornelia: 732 W to 820 W
• Brompton: 743 W to 800 W

If your car is parked in one of those ranges, move it Friday night. A car still parked there when the 7 a.m. restriction starts can be towed. Guests driving in for the parade will also need a plan, because every block on that list is off-limits until 2 a.m.

6 p.m. Is When Halsted Changes Over

The fest and the parade use the same street, so there is a switch partway through. At 6 p.m., Halsted is cleared for the parade. Fest-goers move to the sidewalks behind the barricades, and the organizer suggests visiting vendors and Halsted businesses before picking a viewing spot.

That makes 6 p.m. the deadline for a good spot. Anyone who has spent the afternoon at the fest is already on the sidewalk when the street clears. Anyone arriving after dinner will find the curb lines filled in. Vendors are set up on the side streets next to Halsted so they can keep selling through both the fest and the parade, which makes Aldine, Roscoe and Cornelia useful places to wait.

If you plan to march, the registration rules matter more than the closures. Contest entry is $5. Bib check-in runs 2 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. at the registration tent at 3211 N. Halsted, on the east side of the street near Belmont, and day-of entries are accepted there from 2 p.m. The page lists five categories: Character, Creative, Scary, Group and Youth for kids 13 and under. Each pays $500 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third, and contestants must be present to win. Kids entering the Youth category need an adult with them.

7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: The Parade Northalsted Has Run for 30 Years

The organizer calls the parade Chicago's only Halloween-night parade, with more than 300 costumed participants. It steps off at Halsted and Belmont at 7 p.m. and ends at Halsted and Brompton around 8 p.m.

Some of the parade groups appear every year, and the organizer lists them. The Windy City Jeep Club drives decorated vehicles. The Lakeside Pride Marching Band, the Chicago Thriller flash mob, the Chicago Spirit Brigade pep squad and the Windy City Rollers perform. Full Moon Jam closes the parade with fire performers. Fodor's Travel has ranked the parade among the 10 best Halloween celebrations in the country.

After the parade, the crowd heads to the NoHa parking lot at 3514 N. Halsted for the costume contest and post-parade party. Judge-selected finalists go on stage, followed by live music, DJs and drag performances. The official event ends at 10 p.m., and the organizer notes that Halloween events continue in venues along Halsted all night.

Two notes for dog owners and anyone watching the forecast. Pets can march or watch, but they must be leashed or carried. The parade goes on in rain or snow.

Wrigleyville Takes the Late Shift, With Fewer Sidewalks Than Usual

The Wrigleyville Halloween Crawl, run by Chicago Twenty Something, starts at 5 p.m., before the Halsted parade does, and runs until 1 a.m. Listed venues include Old Crow Smokehouse, Stolen Saddle, Moe's Cantina Wrigleyville, Tin Roof, Sluggers and HVAC Pub. Up the block, Nightmare on Clark Street runs a 21+ walk-through haunted house and Halloween bar on the Stolen Saddle rooftop at 3505 N. Clark. Each ticket includes at least one drink. It runs Thursday through Sunday, so Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1, are its last two nights this season. Times vary, so check the site before you go.

The ballpark blocks are also partly fenced off this fall. The 44th Ward's October 15 newsletter says installation of protective bollards around Wrigley Field was set to begin October 12. The work runs in phases and should be done by Opening Day 2027. Here's what that means on Halloween night:

• Sheffield Avenue is scheduled to be closed to cars from Addison to Waveland from October 12 through early December, with its west sidewalk closed to pedestrians.
• Waveland Avenue is scheduled to be closed to westbound traffic from Clark to Sheffield from October 12 through early March, with its south sidewalk closed.
• The north sidewalk on Addison Street is scheduled to close to pedestrians from October 22 through mid-January.

Many people walk west after the parade, from Halsted toward Clark and Sheffield. On Saturday that walk has fewer sidewalks than usual right around the ballpark, so allow extra time getting from the parade to the bars around Clark. The same newsletter says the east sidewalk on Clark is scheduled to close starting in mid-November, so that one is still open this weekend.

Getting Home After 10 p.m.

When Haunted Halsted's official program ends at 10 p.m., Halsted from Belmont to Addison stays closed to cars for four more hours, until 2 a.m. Plan for that if you're booking a rideshare: a pickup on Halsted itself won't happen until then. Set the pin a block or two past the nearest alley on a street that isn't on the closure list. If you're taking the train, check CTA service alerts before heading out.

The Wrigleyville crawl keeps going until 1 a.m., an hour before Halsted reopens to cars. Halsted still opens to traffic before Clark has completely emptied out, and Sheffield is scheduled to stay closed to cars that night because of the bollard work.

If Halloween on Halsted has you thinking about how your own block fits into a weekend like this, Haylee Stone is glad to talk through what's happening around your corner of Lake View. You can also start with a quick look at your home's current value: get your instant home valuation.