Halloween events in Atlanta 2026

Last checked Oct. 6, 2026. This page is updated each year at the same address. Dates, times and ticket details come from each organizer’s own page, linked below.

Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. Atlanta’s biggest Halloween weekend comes two weeks early this year, when the Little Five Points festival and parade fill Oct. 17 and 18. The season at a glance:

Who to call

• Children’s Museum of Atlanta: 404-659-5437
• Center for Puppetry Arts box office: 404-873-3391
• Fernbank Museum: 404-929-6300
• Emergency: 911

Little Five Points Halloween Festival and Parade

Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18, noon to 7 p.m.; parade, Sunday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m. The neighborhood’s two-day festival is produced by the L5P Cultural District and the L5P Business Association, and the organizers call it the biggest Halloween celebration in the Southeast. The artist market is on Euclid Avenue from noon to 6 p.m. both days, with live music at Euclid Yard. A monster sticker hunt for kids runs noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with maps at the merchandise booth on Findley Plaza. The parade runs on Moreland Avenue. Source: Little 5 Points Halloween page.

Moreland and Euclid fill quickly. MARTA’s Inman Park/Reynoldstown station is the closest rail stop to the neighborhood.

Trick-or-treating for kids

Boo at the Zoo, Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave. SE in Grant Park, adds Halloween itself as a fifth day this year. Kids follow Trick-or-Treat Lane past about eight treat stations, and there are carnival games, crafts, strolling characters from 10 a.m. and stage shows at the Zambezi Elephant Center at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. It is included with general admission and free for zoo members and children under 3. Rain or shine. Source: Zoo Atlanta’s event page.

Monster Mash, Saturdays, Oct. 17 and 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. NW in Midtown, turns its atrium into a Halloween dance party with trick-or-treating, a kids’ DJ and walk-around puppets. Tickets can add an 11 a.m., 1 p.m. or 3 p.m. puppet show (Monster Mash page).

Dinosaur Trick-or-Treat, Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fernbank Museum, 767 Clifton Road, sets out themed treat tables, crafts and activities under its dinosaurs. It is included with general admission and free for members; bring a bag or bucket (Fernbank’s event page).

Trick-or-Treat at the Museum, Saturday, Oct. 24, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW, holds its annual evening trick-or-treat with crafts and hands-on play. It needs a separate ticket (museum events page).

Oakland Cemetery after dark

Capturing the Spirit of Oakland, Oct. 15-18 and Oct. 22-25. The Historic Oakland Foundation’s Halloween tours are in their 20th year. Costumed storytellers play figures who shaped Atlanta along a route of about one mile that takes 75 minutes. Tickets are sold in 15-minute entry blocks and are not refundable; the foundation lists general admission at $45 for ages 13 and up and $30 for ages 3 to 12. King Memorial is the nearest MARTA station, a 7- to 10-minute walk from the main gate, and the foundation recommends rideshare. Source: Capturing the Spirit of Oakland 2026.

History, Mystery, and Mayhem, Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. A 75-minute daytime guided tour of the cemetery’s unexplained deaths and local legends. Check in at the Oakland Store in the Visitor Center, 374 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE (tour page).

Día de Muertos, Sunday, Nov. 1, noon to 5 p.m. The free Day of the Dead festival, hosted by the Consulate General of Mexico and the Institute of Mexican Culture, is at Oakland the day after Halloween (event page).

Scarecrows, pumpkins and teens

Scarecrows in the Garden, Oct. 1 to Nov. 1. The Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. NE, displays scarecrows made by schools, families, artists and businesses. For the garden’s 50th anniversary, invited past winners have built supersized scarecrows up to 12 feet tall on the new Great Lawn. Fest-of-Ale, a beer evening among the scarecrows, runs Thursdays in October (garden page).

Great Pumpkin-Carving Festival, Thursday, Oct. 22, 5 to 9 p.m. Carved pumpkins, live music, roving entertainment and cocktails at the garden, where the scarecrow winners are announced (event page).

Teen Night: Hallow-Teen, Friday, Oct. 23, 6 to 9 p.m. Fernbank opens for ages 13 to 17 with a costume contest, cookie decorating, slime making and the 3D film Incredible Predators at 7 and 8 p.m. (event page).

Halloween for adults

Fright Night, Friday, Oct. 30, 7 to 11 p.m. Fernbank’s adults-only costume party, for ages 21 and up, has a live DJ in the Great Hall, cocktails, small plates, costume prizes and late access to its special exhibit, The Secret World of Elephants (event page).

Fall fun all month

The Atlanta Fair is listed on the city’s special events calendar from Oct. 9 to Nov. 8 at the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority’s Grey Lot, 710 Central Ave. SW (city calendar listing).

Frequently asked questions

When is the Little Five Points Halloween parade in 2026? The parade is at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, on Moreland Avenue. The free festival runs noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17 and 18.

What days is Boo at the Zoo in 2026? Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is included with general admission and free for members and children under 3.

When are the Oakland Cemetery Halloween tours? Capturing the Spirit of Oakland runs Oct. 15-18 and Oct. 22-25, 2026. Tickets are sold in 15-minute entry blocks.

Are there adult Halloween parties in Atlanta? Fernbank’s Fright Night, for ages 21 and up, is Friday, Oct. 30. The Botanical Garden’s pumpkin-carving evening, with cocktails, is Thursday, Oct. 22.

Where can kids trick-or-treat in Atlanta before Halloween? Zoo Atlanta, the Center for Puppetry Arts, Fernbank Museum and the Children’s Museum of Atlanta all hold trick-or-treat events in October.

What this means for you

• The busiest weekends are Oct. 17-18 (Little Five Points and the first Boo at the Zoo days) and Oct. 24-25 (three museum trick-or-treats in one day on Oct. 24).
• Oakland tours and the Children’s Museum event need tickets bought ahead.
• Halloween night itself, Oct. 31, falls on a Saturday; Boo at the Zoo runs that day too.

Related: things to do this weekend, kids’ activities in Atlanta and free things to do.