It’s time to celebrate all things spooky. Whether you’re up for big scares and haunted adventures, or just want to show off your best costume and indulge in some Halloween candy, there are Halloween events happening all month long for everyone in Rochester, Minnesota.
Halloween events for Kids & Teens
A Halloween Storytime
October 10, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
History Center of Olmsted County
Join us for a free howling good time at our hair-raising hour of Halloween fun! Hear spooktacular, kid-friendly stories, come dressed in your favorite costume, and all the little ghouls can stay to craft something creepy!
Bats and Crafts
October 18, 2026 | 1:00 PM
Join a naturalist in the nature center as they give a talk on bats and how important they are to the environment. Share your enthusiasm for these misunderstood mammals by making a craft after the program. Meet at the Nature Center.
Halloween TEEN Karaoke Night
October 24, 2026 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
St. James Coffee
Join us for our Halloween themed Teen Karaoke Night! The kids will get up on our stage with our sound system and sing to their hearts content. Or they are welcome to just sing along from the crowd if they are not ready to be up in front of everyone. There are plenty of board games and cards to keep them busy! Pizza/snacks provided and drinks for purchase. Prizes awarded for best costumes!
Pumpkin Party
October 27, 2026 | 6:30 PM – 7:45 PM
True Life Church (2204 22nd Street NW)
The Children’s Ministry invites all kids, preschool through sixth grade, to a Pumpkin Party on Wednesday, October 27, from 6:30 — 7:30 pm. Games, crafts, and lots of prizes and treats are planned. You may come in costume if you want. This Pumpkin Party is a perfect opportunity to bring friends! Trunk or Treat will happen following the Pumpkin Party from 7:30- 7:45 PM.
Sparktacular
October 30, 2026 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Costumes, candy, and a whole lot of Halloween fun are taking over SPARK! SPARKTACULAR is back for a night of fun made just for families. Come dressed in your Halloween best and explore the museum while enjoying festive activities, games, a family photo spot, and plenty of surprises along the way. Show off your look in our costume contest, join the Costume Parade, and don’t forget your Halloween spirit—every child will head home with a treat bag filled with goodies! No tricks, just treats, play, and a SPARKTACULAR night together!
Trunk or Treat
October 31, 2026| 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Holy Cross Lutheran Church Parking Lot
Join us for a spooktacular event at Holy Cross' Trunk or Treat! Trick or Treaters may pass through the parking lot to receive their treats. Come ready for what we anticipate to be a 'bootiful' night!
Kids Club!
October 31, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Happy Halloween! Bring out the little goblins for Little Thistles Kids Club. This month we will be having a costume contest, alongside some themed crafts and coloring. Grab a sweet treat and maybe win something spooky!
Trunk or Treat
October 31, 2026 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Holy Cross Lutheran Church (2703 9th Ave NW)
Join us for a spooktacular event at Holy Cross' Trunk or Treat! Trick or Treaters may pass through the parking lot to receive their treats. Come ready for what we anticipate to be a 'bootiful' night!
Halloween Events for the Whole Family
Boyer Halloween
October 15 - November 1, 2026 | 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Boyer House (5348 51st ST NW)
For more than a decade, the Boyer family has transformed their Northwest Rochester home into a spooky Halloween spectacular featuring more than 100 inflatables, interactive tunnels and plenty of family-friendly fun. The free display is open evenings, weather permitting, with donations welcomed for Channel One Regional Food Shelf.
Creatures of the Night
October 16 & 17, 2026 | 4:20 PM - 8:00 PM
Join us in the Park and cave for a family friendly evening in nature. Encounter costumed creatures - a deer, turkey & a coyote, each with a tale to tell about their night life. They are friendly and funny with just a touch of fright. Following the program, experience twists and turns on a self-guided walk, spying hidden objects in the forest. Bring your flashlight!
Boo at the Zoo
October 24, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Join us for our annual Boo at the Zoo! Dress in your best costume and participate in candy-free trick or treating, face painting by Miss Angie's Place, bone & pelt displays, spooky crafts, photo stations, voting for your favorite animals on their pumpkin carving skills, and more
Ridgefest 2026
October 24, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Autumn Ridge Church
Join us for amazing costumes and trunk-or-treat displays, games, inflatables, food, 8,000 pounds of candy, and more! Why? Because we love our neighbors in Rochester. From our bounce houses and trunk-or-treat options to our free food and indoor activities, we encourage you to bring a friend and join us for Ridgefest!
Trunk or Treat
October 24, 2026 | 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Rochester Toyota (4365 Canal Place SE)
Grab your family and friends for our spooktacular 5th annual Trunk or Treat! Come in costume and join us for candy, festive trunks, and FUN! Our Toyota trunks will be filled up, so be ready with your Trunk or Treat bag.
Treats and Tacos
October 24, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Get ready for one of the most fun family events of the season at Back Home Harley-Davidson. A Halloween celebration packed with festive fun, great food, and plenty of candy! Trick-or-Treating for Kids AND Adults, Delicious tacos, Halloween-themed fun throughout the dealership. Costumes are encouraged, candy will be flowing, and there's something for everyone!
Trunk or Treat
October 24, 2026 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Paradigm Dance Project
Bring the whole family for an afternoon of Halloween fun! Our competition families will be decorating their trunks and handing out treats! Come make some Halloween memories with Paradigm Dance Project! Dress up, Trick or treat and explore the decorated trunks.
Trunk or Treat
October 24, 2026 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Midwest Legends Cheer
Come join us for our first ever Trunk or treat! The trunks will be full and the treats will be sweet!
Halloween Drag Queen Bingo
October 24, 2026 | 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Peace United (1503 2nd Ave NE)
The Drag Divas of Southeast Minnesota are back at Peace United! Anita Tiara and her incredible Rochester drag family Gosh Alice Jones, NeeNee LaBouche Tiara and Ginger Snap bring their hilarious antics, outstanding talents, and huge hair to the church bingo hall. Win cash prizes and help Peace United’s social action efforts along the way.
Halloween Hype 2026
October 24 & 25, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
This year, we’re making it bigger. We’re not revealing everything yet. Follow this event. We’ll be dropping clues, surprises, and new details as we get closer. Save the dates.
Spooktacular Trunk or Treat & Silent Film
October 25, 2026 | 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Zumbro Lutheran Church
Get ready for a Spooktacular evening! Bring the whole family for an evening of Halloween fun, classic comedy, and community festivities. The fun begins with Trunk or Treat in the parking lot from 4:30–6pm then, from 6–7pm, head into the sanctuary for two hilarious, family-friendly silent films from the 1920s. The entire event is free and open to the public. Come for the candy, stay for the comedy, and celebrate Halloween with us at Zumbro!
Haunted Hotel
October 30, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Peace United (1503 2nd Ave NE)
Peace United Teens are opening the doors to a night of thrills, chills, and plenty of scares! Expect spooky surprises, creepy corners, and a haunted basement designed to give you some serious Halloween thrills! Enter if you dare…
Goats & Goblins Party at the Farm
October 30, 2026 | 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
October 31, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Red Barn Learning Farm (27251 State Hwy 30, Hayfield)
Come celebrate the last days of our 2026 season with our annual Goats & Goblins party at the farm! Dress up! FREE treats for all of the kids and FREE treats for the kids to feed the animals. All activities are available - corn pit, corn maze, petting zoo, bale towers, jump pads, wagon rides and pony rides.
Trick or Treat at Gallery 24
October 31, 2026 | 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and Family Friendly event! Wear a costume and trick or treat at Gallery 24! Come for candy, art activities, face painting, local art fun!
FALL-O-WEEN
October 31, 2026 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Join in on the fun family fall activities Downtown during Fall-O-Ween! Get some extra wear out of the kids’ costumes, and come Downtown on Halloween afternoon! Enjoy trick-or-treating inside businesses, searching for Scaredy Cat to win a prize, voting for your favorite pumpkin carving, and more fun activities.
Various Art Classes at Art Heads Emporium
Dates vary throughout the month of October
Art Heads Emporium has a wide variety of spooky art classes throughout the entire month of October. Paint ghosts, pour spooky candles, make a ceramic Halloween lantern and much more with the guidance of experienced art instructors.
Hauntings with Hawk Ghost Tours
Recurring weekly on Friday & Saturday Oct 9, 2026 – Nov 14, 2026 | 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Tours begin at Rochester Government Center
Dr. Hawk Horvath is South Eastern Minnesota's premier paranormal investigator. Join her on her famous tour around Rochester or Mantorville in Minnesota to learn all about the hauntings she has investigated. Tours are for ages 13+; minors must be accompanied by an adult.
Halloween Events for Adults
Nightmare on Historic Third Street
October - November 1
Follow the shadows to The Tap House on Historic Third Street for a Halloween pop-up filled with eerie décor, wickedly good drinks and spooky surprises around every corner. Running through November 2, the Nightmare on Historic Third Street is the perfect spot to soak up the spooky season with a Halloween-inspired atmosphere.
Rochester's Fall Craft, Vendors, Boutiques, and more Shopping Event
October 10, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
RCTC Sports Center
Featuring door prizes, 150 plus spaces filled with vendors, bouncy house and coloring sheets for kids and swag bags handed out during the day to some of the shoppers. Free parking and we have concessions and music.
Spookiest House on the Block
October 16, 2026 | 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Back after a 3 year hiatus…come laugh into the spooky season with this hilarious R-rated Halloween comedy! Small town neighbors show off their Halloween spirit as they all compete for the annual "Spookiest House on the Block" award. Competition gets fierce as people start disappearing inside Mrs. O'Hagg's creepy house and her "decorations" look eerily like missing neighbors. It's the funniest comedy of the year for the cheapest live theatre prices around!
Horrorthon 2: The Sequels
October 16, 2026 | 9:30 PM – 8:00 AM
Pull an all-nighter with our second annual dusk-till-dawn horror movie marathon at Pop’s Art Theater, featuring our picks of the best horror sequels of all time. Bring your pajamas for ten hours of films, a late-night pizza party, then stick around for morning cartoons and free breakfast in the morning. Make it to the very end for a special Pop’s gift.
Rocky Horror Picture Show with Community Cast
October 23 – 31, 2026 | 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Returning to Pop’s Art Theater from Oct 23rd – Oct 31st, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) with a LIVE community shadow cast. Give yourself over to absolute pleasure for an experience unlike any other!
Trick or Tat!
October 30, 2026 | 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
October 31, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
This year we are bringing you TWO days of Halloween fun! We are partnering with Sacred Heart studios to bring you two days of lasting PERMANENT memories. On Friday they will be tattooing from 2-9, and Saturday they will be going from 12-8. On Friday night there will also be a spooky dance party happening from 6-8:30. Then on Saturday we will be doing a costume contest at 7pm. There you can win fabulous prizes from Little Thistle and Sacred Heart Studios! The Heimstead food truck will be here both days!
True Crime: Rochester Trolley Tour with Rochester Trolley & Tour Company
Select dates from October 10 - October 31, 2026
Begins at UMR Student Center, 150 South Broadway Avenue
A guided trolley tour that explores infamous crimes that shocked the community, highlighting their historical context and long-lasting impact.
The next big event is always just around the corner! Check out Experience Rochester’s Events Calendar for more things to do.