Kids & Family

Your Guide to Halloween Events in Southeast Michigan

October brings a month of haunted happenings to metro Detroit. There's the Zoo Boo, Zombie Walks, pumpkin launches and more!

Looking for a good scare? Here's Patch's roundup of Halloween events in the area. Did we miss your favorite? Add it in comments or send an email to clare.ramsey@patch.com.

Oakland County

Royal Oak

  • Zoo Boo, Oct. 12-14, 19-21 and 26-28, time slots at 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. The Detroit Zoo’s annual “merry-not-scary” Zoo Boo celebration features a decorated half-mile trick-or-treat trail through the front of the park. Live, friendly entertainment and Ghouly Games awaits your costume-clad little ones. Be sure to stop by the Haunted Reptile House and don’t miss the Zombie Zone. General public tickets go on sale October 1. Tickets can be purchased at Guest Relations and Window 1 at the front of the Zoo, or on the Zoo’s website. Tickets are $7 per person ages 2 and up.
  • Zombie Walk Detroit, Oct. 13, 4 p.m. For the fifth year, creepy zombies will be walking around downtown Royal Oak raising food and funds for Gleaners Food Bank to help needy families in Metro Detroit. Participating zombies are asked to bring five non-perishable or five bucks. Last year's walk raised 2,551 pounds of food and $5439.28. Get all the gory details at zombiewalkdetroit.com.
  • Spooktacular, Oct. 28, 2-4 p.m. Royal Oak invites parents to bring their costume-clad children for freindly trick-or-treating at restaurants and stores throughtout the city's downtown. Participating businesses will be offering goodies to trick-or-treaters and there will also be kids activities and special sales. For a map of downtown Royal Oak, please visit www.downtownroyaloak.org.

White Lake-Highland

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  • Make a Halloween ‘Boo’minary, Oct. 21, 1 p.m. Indian Springs Metropark. Decorate your home or porch with glowing Halloween luminaries. Children will be able to make two paper luminaries, and one old-fashioned can luminary. One LED tea light will be included for each child; additional LED lights are available for an extra fee. Please bring a hammer.
  • The Great Pumpkin Hunt!, Oct. 13, 11 p.m. Indian Springs Metropark. Join an interpreter for an old-fashioned neighborhood gathering – food and fun sponsored by the Huron Valley Optimist Club. Enjoy crafts, face painting, food vendors and more. As the main event, kids can search for clues on pumpkins to solve the puzzle that is “The Great Pumpkin Hunt.”  For more information, please visit www.huronvalleyoptimist.com. This program is free – vehicle entry permit is required.
  • Scary Stories & Creepy Treats, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. White Lake Library. Attention ghosts, superheroes, and fairy princesses ... join us for a spooky night of fun! We will share ghost scary stories and also make some creepy crafts and treats. Costumes are encouraged. 
  • Halloween Party, Oct. 27, 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Highland Library. Dress up in your favorite costume and come celebrate Halloween at the library! Attendee must be between the ages of 3 Years and 11 Years old.

Greater West Bloomfield area

  • Sylvan Lake Parks and Recreation Halloween party, Oct. 27, 6 p.m.-12 a.m. Sylvan Lake Community Center, 2456 Pontiac Dr., Sylvan Lake. Bring a carved pumpkin for judging as well as a simple dish to pass.
  • West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation Trick or Treat Trail, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m. Marshbank Park, 2805 Hiller Rd., West Bloomfield. For children ages 3-11. All of the fun and excitement of Halloween — and not so much of the scary. Come trick or treat in a safe and friendly environment. Collect goodies from costumed characters and local businesses and organizations. Strollers and wagons welcome on the one-half-mile walk. Registration required, space is limited. Call 248-451-1900 or visit westbloomfieldparks.org. (Code: 310101-1A)

Novi

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  • Trick or Trucks, Oct. 29, 5:30-7 p.m. Novi High School north parking lot, 24062 Taft Road. For children ages 3 and older. Children get to trick-or-treat and see some of the area's biggest trucks. Possible trucks include a dump truck, fire engine and bulldozer. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be moved to Oct. 30. This event is free.
  • Halloween Monster Mash, Oct. 31, noon to 2 p.m. Novi Senior Center, 25075 Meadowbrook Road. Seniors ages 55 and older are invited to put on their best costume (or come as you are) and enjoy a lunch and entertainment by Michael Krieger. Cost is $7 for residents and $8.50 for non-residents.

Rochester

  • Stonewall Pumpkin Festival,  Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. Guests carve their jack-o-lantern during a daytime festival and then return at night to see them shine along the museum's wall. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13. The nighttime show will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Last year, 1,100 pumpkins adorned the wall; this year, organizers are hoping for even more pumpkin-carving fun.
  • Trick-or-Treat and Costume Parade Downtown: 4-5:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at participating downtown Rochester businesses. Parade will begin at the corner of Water and E. University streets at 5:15 p.m. Watch the streets of downtown Rochester come alive with Halloween creatures!
  • Halloween Hoot: There's a trail full of performers waiting in the woods for spectators of Dinosaur Hill! Take a hike, watch the skits, then warm up with cider and donuts! 6:20 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Oct. 19 and 20, and 6 p.m.-7:20 p.m. Oct. 21 at Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve. (You'll need a reservation; groups leave every 10 minutes); $7 per person. 

Lake Orion

  • Lake Orion Pumpkin Launch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 6., Orion Oaks County Park, 2301 Clarkston Road in OrionTownship. Hosted by Oakland County Parks and Recreation and the Village of Lake Orion. Event participants compete with home-built trebuchets and are divided into two divisions, Open and High School, for participants ages 18 and under. Prizes and trophies are awarded to the longest measured pumpkin launchand the most accurate launch. Free pumpkins are provided to participants and spectators, while supplies last. Entry fee to participate is $25/team. Call Mike Toth at 248-961-3362 for details.

Macomb County

  • Utica Zombie Crawl, Oct. 13. The daylong event features a community blood drive at POP! is located at 45163 Cass Ave from 12-4 p.m.; form 4-7 p.m. Zombifying Booths Open, and a $5 donation gets you a zombie makeup application; at 5 p.m. the Take a Bite Out of Utica Zombie Crawl starts, with a $5 donation entitling participants to food and drink discounts at participating eateries in downtown Utica; 8:30pm: Zombie Wranglers will Escort Zombies to the Sinister Haunted House at the water treatment area, hosted by The Lions Club.

Livingston County

Hartland

  • Cromaine's Zombie Walk for Gleaners, Sat. Oct. 13, noon: Come dressed as your favorite Zombie and bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Gleaners Food Bank. Meet on the south lawn of Cromaine Library Hartland, across the street from the Hartland Burying Ground. All ages are welcome. Register online at www.cromaine.org.

Wayne County

Dearborn

Northville

  • Trick or Treat Trail: Show off your children's costumes as you take in a trail of not-so-spooky housesat Mill Race Village in Northville. Children can fill their bags with goodies at the Northville Parks and Recreations-sponsored event. Tickets are sold in advance for the Oct. 21 event at $8 per child, parents get in free.
  • Skeleton displays: Northville is known as a Halloween town. In the spirit of the season, local business sponsor themed skeletons around the downtown area throughout the month of October.
  • Halloween kick-off event in Northville's Town Square: On Oct. 5, Northville will ring in the season with a big event in its town square. There will be a ribbon cutting to welcome visitors to the skeleton displays, musical performers, dancers, art displays and more the downtown area. Street side food carts will also be selling at the event. The free Halloween extravaganza begins at 6:30 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.
  • Northville's Historical Society will hold a Halloween Tea at Mill Race Village on Oct. 28. Part of the festivities include a tea and treats as well as a medium who will be at the historic 1845 church. Cost is $30.

Trenton

  • Scarecrow Festival, Oct. 4-6, in downtown Trenton on Jefferson Avenue (at West Road) from Cherry Street to Elm Street. A variety of activities, contests and entertainment for visitors. www.scarecrowfestival.net

Grosse Pointe Woods

  • Caribou Zombie Walk, 12-4 p.m. Oct. 20, 19419 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Woods; hosted by Caribou Coffee. Cost is a donation of your choice, $5-$10 recommended, and all donations benefit COTS emergency shelter in Detroit, as well as CancerCares. Free drink coupons will be given for awesome costumes, door prizes for the first 25 zombies registered with donation, and a grand prize for the largest donation.

Washtenaw County

Dexter/Chelsea

  • Hudson Mills Metropark Halloween Extravaganza, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to noon, and 1-3 p.m. Make cider, decorate doughnuts, and create “spooky” crafts. These kid-friendly activities will get you in the Halloween spirit. Also, meet animals from the Great Lakes Zoological Society. Admission is by advance ticket purchase only. Tickets are $6 per child, under 1 free (includes all activities and hay ride) and $3 per adult (includes cider, doughnuts and hay ride). Tickets are limited and available for purchase Oct. 1 at the park office. To register, call 734-426-8211.
  • Ghoultide Gathering, 5-8 p.m. Oct. 5, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 6. Ghoultide Gathering has assembled over 30 Halloween artists from across the country for the sixth annual Halloween-only art show. The show takes place at the Chelsea Community Fairgrounds, 20501 Old US-12 in Chelsea.
  • Halloween Concert, 4 p.m. Oct. 28. The University of Michigan orchestras will come together for this holiday favorite, full of tricks and treats. The concert includes an array of spooky classical music combined with popular Halloween favorites. For tickets, call 734-763-3333.
  • Family Halloween PartyHave a Halloween that's fun, safe and educational as well! By combining entertaining activities with informal science learning, the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum's Family Halloween Party has become one of the most popular Halloween activities in the area. Partygoers will journey through the museum, discovering special stations and displays full of hands-on activities. Come in costume (not required, but recommended) and don't forget your goodie bag. This is free and open to the public. For more information, call 734-764-0480.

 


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