Gay Halloween 2026
By Robbie S.·Updated October 8, 2026
Gay Halloween 2026 — Events
20 upcomingLive from Out x Out — dates, venues and tickets, kept current so you always land on what’s actually on.
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Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, and that changes everything. Instead of a costume night squeezed into the middle of the week, you get a full weekend: Friday, October 30 for the warm-up parties, Saturday, October 31 for the street parties and the big costume contests, and Sunday, November 1 for tea dances and brunch recovery. In Key West the season starts even earlier, because Fantasy Fest wraps up the weekend before.
This guide is the map. Every major gay Halloween event in the US for 2026, what each one actually feels like, and links to our full guides for the ones that deserve a whole itinerary. Every date and time here comes from the organizer or the venue itself. Where a 2026 detail hasn't been published yet, we say so rather than guess.
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval: The Street Party
If you want a crowd, it's West Hollywood. The West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval takes over Santa Monica Boulevard from Doheny Drive to La Cienega on Saturday, October 31, from 6pm to 11pm. It's free, it's outdoors, and the costumes are the whole point: people spend months on these.
The city runs one main stage at San Vicente and a free shuttle from 6pm to 3am, which matters because parking anywhere near the Boulevard on Halloween is a fantasy. Once the street closes at 11, the night moves indoors along the same strip.
The Abbey's Halloween night party, Haus of Horrors, starts at 9pm with a $1,000 costume contest judged by Kylie Sonique Love and Nini Coco; it's ticketed, so buy ahead. Next door, Micky's sells a $50 all-day Halloween pass that covers entry from noon to 4am, which is the smart move if you want to drift between the street and a dance floor. The weekend before, BRÜT brings its touring Halloween party to a warehouse at 2811 E Olympic Blvd on Saturday, October 24 from 10pm.
WeHo Halloween night: on the Carnaval route
The Abbey Food & Bar, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Micky's Weho, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Revolver Video Bar, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Pro Tip
The Carnaval itself is free, but the bars on the route fill up fast once the street closes at 11pm. If you want to be inside The Abbey or Micky's for the after-party, get a ticket or pass in advance rather than queueing at midnight.
Not in WeHo? Silver Lake and downtown run their own Halloween week. Akbar's WITCH! dance party and costume contest is Saturday, October 24, and Precinct in DTLA runs Halloween-themed nights all week, ending with its Sexy Halloween party and midnight costume contest on the 31st.
Wicked Manors in Wilton Manors
Florida's gay Halloween headquarters is Wilton Drive. Wicked Manors is the street festival that closes the Drive from NE 21st Court to N. Dixie Highway on Saturday, October 31, running into the evening until 11pm. The 2026 theme is "Masquerade of Mayhem," it's produced by The Pride Center at Equality Park with the City of Wilton Manors, and the festival is cashless.
Tickets start at about $18 for general admission, with Premium (drinks included) and VIP (open bar) tiers above that. The costume contests happen on the Main Stage: a family contest at 6:30pm and the adult contest at 8:30pm, with categories for Theme, Group and Sexiest. Minors are asked to leave by 8pm, which tells you how the second half of the night goes.
When the street closes, the Drive's bars take over. The Eagle's Sinister runs across its Main Bar, CODE Bar and Nest from 9pm to 3am, and Ramrod's Halloween party starts at 10pm with a costume contest at midnight.
Wilton Drive after Wicked Manors
Eagle Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Ramrod Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
The Manor Complex, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hunters Nightclub Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Halloween New Orleans (HNO): The Fundraiser Weekend
New Orleans does Halloween like it does everything: in costume, for three days, with a cause. Halloween New Orleans, now in its 43rd year, is a weekend of parties benefiting Project Lazarus, and the 2026 schedule is set.
Friday: The Lazarus Ball opens the weekend from 7pm to 10pm at The Barnett on Carondelet Street. It's black tie optional, with an open bar and a silent auction.
Saturday: The main event is the HNO Halloween Party at The Fillmore on Canal Street, 10pm to 3am, with DJ Kitty Glitter. Costumes are required, not suggested.
Sunday: The tea dance moves to the new Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park (Gov. Nicholls Street Wharf) from 1pm to 4:30pm with DJ Ben Bakson, followed by a second line.
Between HNO events, the French Quarter is its own costume party. Over on St. Claude, The AllWays Lounge runs Halloween drag and cabaret almost every night of the week, from a Hocus Pocus drag parody on Friday the 30th to the late-night KAPOW! revue on Halloween itself.
Pro Tip
HNO tickets are sold through one Eventbrite listing with several tiers. If you only buy one event, make it Saturday at The Fillmore; the Sunday tea dance is the easiest to add on the day.
Spooky Bear in Provincetown
Provincetown's off-season has one big weekend left in it. Spooky Bear runs Thursday, October 29 through Sunday, November 1, and it's exactly what the name promises: bears, costumes and a town that's quieter than summer but fully committed. Northeast Ursamen organizes the weekend; their full schedule wasn't posted as of early October, but the venues have already published their nights. Our Spooky Bear guide has the details.
The Boatslip runs a tea dance every afternoon of the weekend, and Saturday's Spooky Tea gets extended hours, 4pm to 9pm, so there's time for a costume change. Saturday night's centerpiece is the Crown & Anchor's Death Becomes Them Costume Ball, a Roaring Twenties Halloween ball from 9pm to 1am with Jan Sport and Tina Burner performing and a $500 grand prize for best costume. Red Room stacks up Halloween drag all weekend, and Gifford House runs afternoon teas in its yard.
Spooky Bear weekend venues
HotelBoatslip Resort & Beach Club, Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Red Room, Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Key West: Fantasy Fest, Then Bear Weekend
Key West gets two Halloween seasons. Fantasy Fest runs Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 25, so in 2026 it ends the weekend before Halloween. Fantasy Fest itself is a general-public festival, not a gay event, but the island's gay bars build their own parties around it. Our Fantasy Fest guide covers the whole ten days.
The ones to know: Bourbon St. Pub's Exposed pool party on Thursday, October 22 (10pm to 4am), Island House's Midnight Mass on Friday, October 23, and the parade after-party at Bourbon St. Pub once the Fantasy Fest Parade rolls down Duval on Saturday, October 24 at 7pm.
Then the island turns over to Key West Bear Weekend, Wednesday, October 28 through Sunday, November 1. Days are pool parties at Island House, a bear cruise on the water and Bourbon St. Pub's Jocktober; Halloween night is the Bear Weekend Halloween Ball, which the organizer lists at the Birdcage Cabaret from 10pm (Bourbon St. Pub's own calendar still shows it there at 9pm, so check the Bear Weekend site on the day).
Key West's gay bars and resorts
Bourbon Street Pub, Key West
Key West, Florida
HotelIsland House Key West, Key West
Key West, Florida
One Saloon, Key West
Key West, Florida
Pro Tip
Aqua, the longtime drag bar at 711 Duval, closed in July 2026. If an older guide sends you there for the Aquanettes, they now perform at the Birdcage Cabaret.
Chicago: The Haunted Halsted Parade
Chicago's gay Halloween runs straight up the middle of Northalsted. The Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade turns 30 in 2026, and for the anniversary it's an all-day event on Saturday, October 31: the Haunted Halsted Fest starts on Halsted at 11am, the parade steps off from Halsted & Belmont at 7pm, and the costume contest and after-party run from 8pm to 10pm at 3514 N. Halsted. Watching is free for all ages; entering the contest costs $5, with $4,000 in prizes across five categories.
The bars on the strip make a full night of it. Replay's Multiverse of Madness parade party starts at noon, Kit Kat Lounge livestreams the parade at its Villains Halloween Ball drag dinner, Hydrate brings Isis Muretech on Halloween from 11pm to 5am, and Jackhammer's Primal Halloween Howl runs until 5am. BRÜT's Chicago Halloween party is at 619 Howard Street on the Evanston line, 9pm to 3am. In Andersonville, Dorothy runs Halloween programming nearly every night of the week.
Northalsted on Halloween night
Hydrate Nightclub, Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Replay Lakeview, Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Kit Kat Lounge, Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Jackhammer, Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
New York: The Village Parade and the Brooklyn Parties
New York's Village Halloween Parade isn't a gay event — it's a citywide institution that runs straight through the West Village — and the 2026 Grand Marshal is drag and cabaret performer Joey Arias. The 53rd parade steps off at 7pm on Saturday, October 31, heading up Sixth Avenue from King Street to West 15th Street, with the theme "Body & Soul." Our gay Halloween in NYC guide covers how to march, where to watch and where to go after.
The parties are where it gets gay. In Brooklyn, 3 Dollar Bill runs a full Halloween week, including Mother Midnight with Sasha Colby and a $1,000 costume prize on Friday, October 30 and Halloweentown: Brooklyn with Latrice Royale on Halloween night, 10pm until 5am. In Chelsea, Eagle NYC hosts a Rocky Horror night on Thursday, October 29 and its Halloween contest on Saturday.
NYC Halloween party venues
3 Dollar Bill, New York City
New York City, New York
Eagle NYC, New York City
New York City, New York
Henrietta Hudson, New York City
New York City, New York
Washington, DC: The High Heel Race
DC's Halloween tradition happens on a Tuesday. The 17th Street High Heel Race is a costumed drag dash down 17th Street NW in Dupont Circle, held every year on the Tuesday before Halloween. In 2026 that's Tuesday, October 27, from 6pm to 10pm, presented by the Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs. It's free to watch; racers register on site at the tent on R Street. The race start time for 2026 hasn't been published yet.
The weekend after is costume contests: Crush runs three of them, including a $1,000 contest hosted by Lena Lett on Halloween night, and Green Lantern's Hardcore Halloween is Friday, October 30, from 10pm to 3am.
Palm Springs Leather Pride on Halloween Weekend
Palm Springs stacks Halloween on top of its leather weekend. Palm Springs Leather Pride, organized by the Palm Springs Leather Order of the Desert, runs Thursday, October 29 through Sunday, November 1 with the theme "Valhalla" and Hotel ZOSO as host hotel. Halloween night itself brings the Tool Shed's Dark Alley #2: Darker, a Halloween costume contest with $1,000 for first place, alongside the Plunge pool party at CCBC that afternoon and the Mr. Palm Springs Leather contest.
San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta
San Francisco: The Castro's old street party was shut down years ago, so the city's gay Halloween happens indoors. OASIS runs its horror drag parody SQREAM nightly through October plus the Princess Halloween BOO! Ball with Jane Don't on October 30 and 31. In the Castro, Beaux has something Halloween every night of the week, finishing with HALLOW-QUEEN on the 31st, and the SF Eagle's Maxximus Apocalypse party runs 9pm to 2am.
San Diego: Hillcrest's Nightmare on Normal Street block party is taking 2026 off, according to the Hillcrest Business Association, but the neighborhood's bars aren't. BRÜT brings its Halloween party to EQ on University Avenue on Friday, October 23 (9pm to 4am), and Urban MO's runs Halloween brunches, a drag revue and a costume contest with $500 in prizes on the 31st.
Atlanta: The Heretic's Halloween party on Cheshire Bridge has $2,000 in cash and prizes, with the costume contest at 1:30am, and My Sister's Room throws its Nightmare on Crescent party from 6pm.
More cities: In Seattle, Massive's Hell On Earth Halloween weekend runs Friday and Saturday until 4am, and Kremwerk's SLIP Halloween goes from 10pm to 8am on the 31st. Denver's Tracks turns the week into a Halloweekend that ends with Level 999 on Saturday. Nashville's Play Dance Bar has a $5,000 costume contest at Things That Go Bump In The Night, Dallas's Round-Up Saloon gives away $1,000 at its Halloween costume contest at 11pm, and in Miami, R House Wynwood's R House of Villains stars Mistress Isabelle Brooks. One date to know: the Dallas Halloween Block Party on Cedar Springs is Saturday, October 24 this year, the weekend before Halloween.
San Francisco Halloween venues
OASIS, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Beaux, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
SF Eagle Bar, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
The Cafe, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
How to Choose Your Halloween
For the biggest street party: West Hollywood, where Santa Monica Boulevard closes for the costumes.
For a whole weekend with a purpose: HNO in New Orleans, where every ticket supports Project Lazarus and the city does the rest.
For bears: Spooky Bear in Provincetown or Key West Bear Weekend, which overlap on the same dates. P-town is cozier and colder; Key West has pools.
For a small-town street party: Wicked Manors in Wilton Manors, the easiest of the big ones to do on a budget.
For something different: the High Heel Race in DC, which happens on a Tuesday and is over in minutes, or Palm Springs, where Halloween and Leather Pride share a weekend.
Pro Tip
Because Halloween is a Saturday, the big costume contests are all on the same night. If you're chasing prize money, pick one city and one contest; some, including Haunted Halsted's, require you to be there in person when winners are called.
When is Halloween 2026?
Halloween is Saturday, October 31, 2026. Most cities spread their parties across Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1. Key West's Fantasy Fest is earlier, October 16–25, and DC's High Heel Race is Tuesday, October 27.
What is the biggest gay Halloween party in the US?
There's no official count, but the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is the one most people mean: a free street party that closes Santa Monica Boulevard from 6pm to 11pm on October 31. For a ticketed weekend, Halloween New Orleans (HNO) and Wicked Manors in Wilton Manors are the other big draws.
Is there still a Castro Halloween street party in San Francisco?
No. The Castro's street party was shut down years ago, and there's no official event on Castro Street. San Francisco's gay Halloween happens at the bars and clubs instead, including OASIS, Beaux and the SF Eagle.
Is Nightmare on Normal Street happening in 2026?
No. The Hillcrest Business Association says the block party is taking a rest in 2026 and plans to return in 2027. San Diego's gay bars, including Urban MO's and Gossip Grill, still run their own Halloween events.
When is Fantasy Fest 2026?
Fantasy Fest 2026 runs Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 25, with the parade down Duval Street on Saturday, October 24 at 7pm. Key West Bear Weekend follows from October 28 to November 1.
Do I need tickets for gay Halloween events?
It depends. The West Hollywood Carnaval, the Haunted Halsted Parade and the High Heel Race are free to watch. Wicked Manors, HNO's parties, the Spooky Bear costume ball and most club parties are ticketed, so buy ahead for the ones you care about.
Which 2026 Halloween details haven't been announced yet?
As of October 8, the DC High Heel Race start time and the full Spooky Bear schedule from Northeast Ursamen are still unpublished, and many bars in New York, DC and Las Vegas post their Halloween nights in the last two weeks of October. We update this page as they're announced.