Things to Do DC

20+ kid-friendly Halloween events in the DC area

Costume contests, pumpkin painting and fun adventures like Halloween mini golf are some things to do for Halloween with kids

By Sophia Barnes • •

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

With Halloween around the corner, CandyStore.com ranked each state’s top choices for candy. The choices may surprise you.

Calling all little ghosts and ghouls!

Halloween is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to show off costumes and eat plenty of candy.

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From train rides to costume parades to slightly spooky parties, these Halloween events in the D.C. area are great for families with younger kids (and, in some cases, their little dogs, too!).

Kid-friendly Halloween events in DC

PumpkinPalooza

📅 Thursday, Oct. 26
📍 Alethia Tanner Park (NoMa)
💲 Free
🔗 Details

More than 1,000 free pumpkins will be available on a first-come, first-served basis from 4-6 p.m.

After a visit to the pumpkin patch, you can enjoy face painting, dog portraits, a performance from Too Much Talent Band. "Hocus Pocus" will show on the big outdoor screen starting at 6:30 p.m.

Don't forget your costume for the parade led by Mickey and Minnie Mouse starting at 4:30 p.m. Pets and people are welcome to compete in a costume contest!

Red Bear Brewing's beer garden will be open until 9 p.m.

DPR Halloween

📅 Oct. 26-31
📍 Various locations
💲 Free
🔗 Details

D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation is celebrating Halloween with parties, candy, haunted houses, a silent disco and more special events at community centers across the city.

Hill-O-Ween 2023

📅 Fri., Oct. 27, 5-8 p.m.
📍 Eastern Market
💲 Free
🔗 Details

“Capitol Hill's largest Halloween festival” is coming back for a big in-person celebration. Many details are TBA, but expect costumes, pumpkins and plenty of slightly spooky fun for the whole family.

DC WitchFest

📅 Sat., Oct. 28, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📍 metrobar (640 Rhode Island Ave. NE)
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Kids and dogs can jump into a costume contest, and everyone’s invited to paint pumpkins and partake in mystical activities including tarot reading. 

Calico 

📅 Sun., Oct. 29
📍  50 Blagden Alley NW, Washington, D.C.
💲 Free entry
🔗 Details

Enjoy a crafty Halloween by painting a pumpkin at Calico. You’ll have your choice of gourds from their pumpkin patch. Each costs $5. There will also be a tarot card reader from 2-6 p.m. It’s a family-friendly event; kids must be accompanied by a parent.

More D.C. events:

  • Pumpkins in the Park: Sat., Oct. 28, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Canal Park (Capital Riverfront in Southwest DC), free

Kid-friendly Halloween in Maryland

Cabin John & Wheaton Halloween Eye Spy Train Ride

📅 Saturdays and Sundays through 10/29
📍 Cabin John Regional Park and Wheaton Regional Park
💲 $6
🔗 Details

All aboard the miniature train! Take a ride through “Trainslyvania” on one of Montgomery County’s mini trains and see how many seasonal items you can tick off your “Eye Spy” card.

Click here for Wheaton tickets and click here for Cabin John tickets. We’ve noticed many time slots selling out, so consider booking early! Some tickets will be available onsite, but ride times won’t be guaranteed, Montgomery Parks said.

Six Flags Kids BOO Fest

📅 Select dates through Oct. 29
📍 13710 Central Ave., Bowie/Mitchellville, Maryland
💲 $45
🔗 Details

A kid-friendly haunted house, special Halloween shows, and a trick-or-treat trail will make little ones scream with delight.

BOO Fest is included with regular admission. Remember that the big Fright Fest scares begin after the sun sets!

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AVFD Station 7 Terror Trail

📅 Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 28
📍  2380 Davidsonville Rd, Gambrills, Maryland
💲 $25 (Terror Trail) or $10 (Boo Loop maze)
🔗 Details

Looking for a family-friendly haunt? Visit the Arundel Volunteer Fire Department to wind through the scary Terror Trial aimed at kids aged 8 and up. If the kids want to have a less spooky adventure, get lost in their new Boo Loop Maze for $10. It’s geared for kids under 8.

Kids are welcome to come in costume, uncover the mysteries of the Boo Loop and search for hidden clues in their new scavenger hunt, too. You can purchase tickets at the firehouse or online.

Frankenskate

📅 Saturday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
📍 Ridge Road Recreational Park in Germantown
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Skate through an afternoon of creepy fun with a DJ and lawn games while grabbing treats available for purchase from local food trucks.

“Rink users must bring their own skates, rentals will not be available. Some seating will be provided but guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and picnic blankets,” Montgomery Parks said.

Costumes are allowed, but make sure they don’t cover your face or pose a tripping hazard.

Fall Frolic

📅 Sat., Oct. 28, 1-4 p.m.
📍 Glen Echo Park
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Decorate a trick-or-treat bag, compete in a costume contest and get candy from artists’ studios on a day of artsy Halloween activities.

Parking is free, or you can take Montgomery County Ride-On bus #29 from the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metro stations along the Red Line.

Boo Bash at Westfield Wheaton Mall

📅 Sun., Oct. 29, noon to 3 p.m.
📍 11160 Veirs Mill Rd, Wheaton, Maryland
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Come in costume for trick-or-treating at stores around the mall until 4 p.m., and stop by the Macy’s Court on the lower level for the Boo Bash. There will be activities for all ages, including cupcake decorating, pumpkin painting, a dance party and a costume contest. Little ones can also make a card and help donate candy to kids who can’t trick-or-treat this year.

More Maryland events:

Kid-friendly Halloween in Virginia

LEGO® Discovery Center Brick-or-Treat: Monster Party

📅 Oct. 6 to Oct. 31
📍 Springfield Town Center
💲 $28.99+
🔗 Details

Lego is getting a spooky twist, plus a new movie in its 4D theater: “The Great Monster Chase.” Come in costume to build pumpkins, meet the LEGO mummy and more.

Air & Scare

📅 Sat., Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
📍 Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly
💲 Free (parking is $15)
🔗 Details

While the outdoor portion of the event is sold out, no tickets are required for people of all ages to enjoy Air & Scare activities inside.

The parking lot may be crowded, so consider public transit. Fairfax Connector Bus No. 983 stops at the Innovation Center Station on the Silver Line and the Udvar-Hazy Center. 

Trick or Treat at Mount Vernon

📅 Sat., Oct. 28, 2-6 p.m.
📍 Mount Vernon
💲 $25 (adult)/$15 (youth) for nonmembers
🔗 Details

Kids can collect candy around the historic grounds, join a costume parade and watch special presentations, including a Punch and Judy puppet show and lesson about 18th-century magic.

Halloween Bash at the Farm!

📅 Sat., Oct. 28, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
📍 Hope & Serenity Farm Sanctuary (10445 Manley RoadNokesville, Virginia)
💲 $20 per person donation
🔗 Details

Hang out with more than 200 farm animals (including some in costume!), look for clues at the scavenger hunt, join a costume contest and have more farm-style fun at this fundraiser for the sanctuary.

27th Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade

📅 Sunday, 10/29, 2 p.m.
📍 Del Ray, Alexandria
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Come one, come all, come in costume for Del Ray’s Halloween parade.

It is set to begin on Mt. Vernon Avenue south of E. Bellefonte and go to the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center fields.

You bet there are contests! Sign up for the best-dressed pet and the stroller decoration competition before the parade at the corner of Mt. Vernon and E. Howell Avenues.

The contests are free to enter. Registration closes at 1:30 p.m.

Stick around after the parade for live music and the awards presentation.

More Virginia events:

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Past events

D.C.:

Family Mystery Day at the Library of Congress

📅 Sat., Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📍 Thomas Jefferson Building - Great Hall (10 1st Street SE, Washington, D.C.)
💲 Free, but entry pass required
🔗 Details

Choose from two author events, test your skills in a scavenger hunt and check out a full day of activities on the Mezzanine level.

For kids aged 6-12+, Worm from Jerry Spinelli’s novel “Dead Wednesday” and Milo from Ben Hatke’s graphic novel “Things in the Basement” will meet kids and share stories.

For middle- and high-school-aged readers, Kayvion Lewis, author of “Thieves’ Gambit,” and Delilah S. Dawson, who wrote “Midnight at the Houdini,” will talk about writing high-stakes mysteries. 

All of the authors will also sign books in the Great Hall following their programs.

It’s free, but you’ll need a timed-entry pass to visit the Thomas Jefferson building.

NSO Family Concert: Halloween Spooktacular

📅 Sun., Oct. 22, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
📍 The Kennedy Center
💲 $18+
🔗 Details

Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos with old and new classic songs. Come early for trick-or-treating and to check out a special Haunted Hall Musical PLAYspace! It’s recommended for kids aged 5 and up.

Maryland:

Lil' Pumpkins Festival

📅 Sat., Oct. 21, noon to 4 p.m.
📍 BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Bouncy houses, trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting, costume parades and spooky dance parties will keep the kids entertained, and grown-ups can stop by a beer garden, Artisan Market and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's Music Box Concerts.

The day will wrap up with a free, outdoor screening of “Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie.”

Harbor Halloween

📅 Sun., Oct. 22, noon to 3 p.m.
📍 National Harbor
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Trick-or-treat at participating businesses from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., watch “Hocus Pocus” on the plaza at 1 p.m., or watch a pumpkin carving contest starting at 2:30 p.m.

Kids who come in costume can even take a free ride on the Capital Wheel with the purchase of adult admission.

Want to let your pet show off their costume? The Pet Pawrade is set for 2:45 p.m. – and there will be prizes!

Virginia:

Fall Festival with Maniac Pumpkin Carvers

📅 Sat., Oct. 21
📍 Tysons Corner Center The Plaza
💲 Free
🔗 Details

Watch Maniac Pumpkin Carvers transform gourds into something spectacular while enjoying live music, a photobooth, face painting, crafts and a fall market.

Bring your pooch in their Halloween best: A pet costume contest will kick off at noon!

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