OC kids weekend: October 31 to November 1, 2026

Boo Bash + Trick-or-Treat at Bella Terra

Cost: Free; ticket reservation offered

Bowers Books for Kids: Halloween Storytime + Art

Guest author Judy Campbell-Smith reads "Ice Cream Everywhere," plus an art activity and a complimentary featured book while supplies last.

Cost: Free, and it includes general gallery admission

Bowers Community Ofrenda

Bring a photo of a loved one or pet for the museum's community ofrenda.

Cost: Museum admission terms not stated: don't assume free (the Sun Nov 1 DdlM festival in the courtyard is the free piece)

Dreamers Market: Spooktacular Stroll

Cost: Free admission; purchases extra

Día de los Muertos Weekend at Treehouse

A rooftop DJ, festive cocktails and Catrina attire/face paint encouraged. Grown-up Day of the Dead vibes.

Cost: Not stated; cocktails, rooftop

Family Bingo by the Bay at Newport Dunes

Low-key family bingo by the water.

Cost: First card free, extra cards $1

Halloween Pumpkin Carving at Malibu Farm

Waterfront pumpkin carving/decorating at Lido Marina Village.

Cost: Free; while supplies last

Hocus Pocus at the Lido Theater

Hocus Pocus on the big screen in a classic single-screen theater. Indoor, no trailers, first-come seating.

Cost: $12.50 (checkout may add a processing fee)

Mall Trick-or-Treating at MainPlace

Indoor mall trick-or-treat at participating stores.

Cost: Admission charge not stated (typically free)

Nightmare Halloween Party at the OC Fair

Cost: $10 RSVP before 10:30pm, $20 earlybird, $25 skip-line; parking $15; 18+ (21+ to drink)

OC Card Show

A big sports/trading card show in The Hangar. Not Halloween, but a solid rainy-brain Saturday for a card-collecting kid.

Cost: Sat $10 GA / $15 early access; Sun $5 GA; parking $15

Old World Oktoberfest (evening)

Beer, bands and a German biergarten.

Cost: Sat evenings ~$10–30 advance / $15–35 door by date

Once Upon a Nightmare Before Christmas

Note this is the Christmas-store location, not Once Upon an Island.

Cost: Halloween Day $54.99 per ticket + ~6% platform fee (do not expect the $39.99 rate on Oct 31); under 12 with a ticketed adult

Primrose Market at MainPlace

The monthly Primrose makers market, running the same day as the mall trick-or-treat so you can stack both.

Cost: Free; purchases extra

Pumpkin Palooza at Discovery Cube OC

Halloween dance parties, a pumpkin-path maze, trick-or-treating and spooky science.

Cost: $12 add-on on top of admission/membership; combo packages adult 15+ $39, child 3–14/senior $36, under 3 free; parking $10

Spooky Paradise at Purrs in Paradise (cat cafe)

Reserve a slot.

Cost: Weekend booking 30 min $22 / 1 hour $30; reservation highly recommended

Surf City Spooktacular

Downtown HB's Halloween block party: merchant trick-or-treat and festivities up Main Street.

Cost: Free

Touch Tank Open Hours at OCC Aquarium

A cheap, calm marine-life stop with a touch tank, open every fall Saturday afternoon.

Cost: $5 aquarium admission (included with any planetarium show ticket)

Community Ofrenda at Rancho Los Cerritos

An altar honoring people connected to the Rancho, with explanations of Día de los Muertos traditions.

Cost: Free (donations appreciated)

Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary

Haunted mazes aboard and around the Queen Mary. A real night out, not a daytime thing.

Cost: Calendar starting price Sat ~$67.99 (dynamic; online only)

Día de los Muertos Northgate Market 5K & Kids 1K

A Día de los Muertos themed run with a shirt, medal, finish photos/video and an expo. No pets. (This is also where the Mother Runners group meets up, see Meet Other Exhausted Parents.)

Cost: Kids 1K (ages 3–7) $22.70 incl. fee; 5K $65.10 incl. fee (prices can change)

Free Costume Drink for Kids at Communiteá Coffee

Low-key, no-plan Halloween win on your way to everything else.

Cost: One free qualifying kids' drink per child, ages 12 & under in costume

Fullerton Library Community Ofrenda

A community ofrenda on display Oct 1–Nov 2; add a photo to honor someone.

Cost: Free

Halloween Boo-Nanza

Shop-to-shop trick-or-treat through the center with a DJ, face painting, balloon twisting and photo ops.

Cost: Free

Halloween Dance Along at Rodeo 39 Kids Club

Bilingual English/Vietnamese songs and dance, toddler trick-or-treat and activities at the public market's Kids Club.

Cost: Not stated on the event page

Hi-Fi Haunt: vinyl DJs + costumes at Stone Groove Stillhouse

Cost: No cover; optional dinner reservations 5–7pm

Kings of Queen tribute + costume contest at Brewery X

Knott's Scary Farm

The definitive OC Halloween night out, mazes, scare zones and shows. Halloween is the last night, so it'll be packed.

Cost: Starting around $75 each + possible taxes; every guest needs a paid ticket

Little Elephants Halloween Boo-tique

Indoor play space does a Halloween party: Rumi and Spider-Man appearances, crafts, trick-or-treat and local vendors.

Cost: Included with regular admission; Brea day pass $25 (12 months+), $13 infants under 11 months, sibling infants under 11 months free. No separate event ticket.

Placentia Library Día de los Muertos Community Altar

Bring a 4x6-or-smaller photo, or decorate a paper butterfly. Photo pickup is Nov 8.

Cost: Free

Treats on the Street

Downtown Brea merchants hand out candy up and down Birch Street. Classic walkable neighborhood trick-or-treat.

Cost: Not explicitly stated on the flyer (historically free merchant trick-or-treat)

Trick-or-Treat Trail at Brea Mall

Start in Center Court and trick-or-treat at participating shops.

Cost: Free, while supplies last

Trick-or-Treat on 2nd Street

Cost: Not explicitly stated (merchant trick-or-treat, typically free)

Alohaween at Mercantile West

A Hawaiian-themed Halloween, trick-or-treating, Moana & Maui photos, hula, zombie stilt walkers, pumpkin decorating, balloons and a DJ.

Cost: Free, open to all

Boo Bash at Dave & Buster's Irvine

Cost: Food-only ~$31.57 incl. fee; food + Power Card ~$37.30 incl. fee (tax/gratuity included)

Boo-Heny Costume Surf

Cost: No event fee stated; beach parking not checked

Compass Bible Church Fall Fest

A big church fall festival, candy, rides, games and live music.

Cost: Admission/activities free; food extra ($6 burger, $3 hotdog meal, $1 popcorn, $2 cotton candy)

Día de los Muertos Name-an-Altar at Mission SJC

Write a loved one's name on the community altar along the historic walkway.

Cost: With Mission admission

Family Hike: Baker Canyon

A 2-mile, difficulty-2 family hike with OC Parks. Register ahead, it was filling at audit.

Halloween Night at Hangar 24 Orange County

A family Halloween evening at the brewery, Halloween movies, live music and line dancing. Family-welcome despite the brewery setting.

Cost: Admission not stated; photo booth $3/print

Meet the Instrument: Halloween Edition at Pretend City

Halloween music with the Philharmonic Society, a mini-pumpkin decorating station and a science experiment.

Cost: Included in museum admission

Oak & Brooks Halloween Block Party

Laguna's long-running neighborhood Halloween block party with street closures.

Cost: Not explicitly stated

Spook-Tacular at Laguna Hills Civic Center

Cost: Free and public

The Hallows of Greentree Haunted House

A neighborhood home haunt in Irvine.

Cost: Not stated

The Last Boorah at Frisby Cellars

Cost: Not stated; adult-leaning

Trick or Treat at Woodbridge Village Center

Bring your own bag and trick-or-treat at select stores and restaurants with a DJ, weather permitting.

Cost: Candy/giveaways while supplies last; admission not explicitly stated

Día de los Muertos Family Festival at the Bowers

Music, dance, art-making, face painting and complimentary treats in the Bowers courtyard; bring a loved-one or pet photo for the ofrenda.

Cost: Free festival (note: free festival does not mean free general gallery admission)

HMOC Free Community Día de los Muertos

Cost: Free event admission (food/vendor goods cost extra)

Pumpkins With Purpose composting morning at Discovery Cube

Bring your sad post-Halloween pumpkin to be composted, meet a trash truck, see worms, do the Eco Challenge. A genuinely useful thing to do with the pumpkin corpse.

Cost: Free parking; donate a pumpkin to compost and your kid gets free museum admission with a paid adult (not unrestricted free admission)

$5 Sunday Play Day at La Habra Children's Museum

The whole museum, interactive exhibits and the carousel, for five bucks a head. (Right next to the Portola Park DdlM, so stack them.)

Cost: $5 per person, ages 2+

Cars and Coffee Classics

The final Cars and Coffee Classics of 2026 on the downtown Anaheim promenade. Classic cars + coffee for the car-obsessed kid.

Dark Harbor at the Queen Mary

Same haunted-maze night, a touch cheaper on Sunday.

Cost: Calendar starting price Sun ~$58.99

Día de los Muertos Festival at the Muck

Día de los Muertos on the Muck's estate grounds: live music, food, local artisans and kids' arts and crafts, plus a community ofrenda you can add a loved one's photo to.

Cost: Free

Día de los Muertos Makers Hive Market + Música

Cost: Free; purchases extra; Pilates $10 minimum donation

Día de los Muertos at Forest Lawn Cypress

A community Day of the Dead with altars, cultural expressions, folklorico dance, mariachi and the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The marionettes alone make it worth the drive for little kids.

Cost: Free admission and parking

Día de los Muertos at Portola Park

Performances, music, family activities, sugar-skull decorating and a community ofrenda. Bring a photo or memento of a loved one.

Cost: Free; food for sale

Scout Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Children must be with an adult; advance timed reservation required.

Cost: Child $27.95, adult $37.95, members free (reservation required)

Seeds of Resilience: Barrio Americano Exhibition

Installations centering Mexican American histories and community life at the historic Rancho. Pairs with their community ofrenda (see Community Ofrendas).

Cost: Free

Ask a Master Gardener at Casa Romantica

UC Master Gardeners answering your garden/pest/watering questions, same day and place as the Harvest Festival.

Cost: Not stated (the same-day Free Family Sunday is the free draw)

Cars & Café at River Street Marketplace

Cost: Free vehicle registration; spectator admission not explicitly stated

Día de los Muertos at La Plaza Park

Ofrendas, live bands, dancing, chalk art, crafts, a small slide and food.

Cost: Free

Día de los Muertos in the City at Pretend City

Day of the Dead at the kids' museum, live music, sugar-skull decorating and folklorico. Space limited, book ahead.

Cost: Included in museum admission

Free Family Sundays: Fall Harvest Festival at Casa Romantica

Warm apple cider, a decorated-pumpkin hunt and a fall activity on the bluff-top grounds. RSVP link available.

Cost: Free

Mission 250th Anniversary + Free Birthday Cupcakes

Cost: Cupcakes free (limited supply, first come first served); Mission admission not checked