Seasonal · checked Oct. 21
The Halloween Finder
Halloween is on a Saturday this year, so naturally Sarasota and Manatee decided it lasts eleven days. Here is every trunk-or-treat, pumpkin patch and haunted walk we could verify, sorted by night. Tap what you're in the mood for. Last night's stuff disappears on its own.
Halloween night: Saturday, Oct. 31. Sunset in Sarasota is 6:47 PM, so most of the 6 p.m. events start in daylight and end in the dark. Plan the flashlight accordingly.
Then: clocks fall back an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. The extra hour is for sorting candy.
Running all week
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Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival
Hayrides, pony rides, a petting zoo, a free circus show at noon and 3, and a kids' costume contest Saturdays at 2. The walk-through haunted house with live actors is for ages 8 and up, per the farm. Most vendors are cash only.
Bring cash. The pony does not take Apple Pay.
Thursday, Oct. 22
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Manatee Sheriff's Spooktactical Night
Trunk-or-treating from one sheriff's unit to the next, demonstrations, face painting, food trucks and free hot dogs while they last. Free parking at the former DeSoto Square Mall across the street.
The one night a year your kid can walk up to a SWAT truck and ask for a Snickers.
Friday, Oct. 23
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Haunted Trail featuring Bark-o-Ween
Carnival games and treat booths along the park's half-mile trail, plus a dog costume contest. Check in at the entrance to enter. Kids under 5 need an adult with them.
Your dog did not agree to the costume. Your dog will still win something.
Saturday, Oct. 24
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Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival (final weekend)
Hayrides, a $2 corn maze, pony rides, a petting zoo, homemade ice cream and roasted sweet corn. Friendly leashed dogs are allowed. Sunday adds kids' and dog costume contests and trick-or-treating for kids in costume from 3 to 5.
The last weekend of the year you can get lost in a corn maze in a county that is mostly strip malls.
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Sahib Shrine Trunk or Treat
The Shriners' second annual trunk or treat, open to the public. Their bar and grill is right there if the parents need a minute.
Year two. Expect at least one trunk decorated by a man who has been planning it since February.
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Skye Ranch Witches Ride
A vendor market and kids' activities in the afternoon, then the witches ride through the neighborhood at sunset on decorated bikes and golf carts and toss candy. Benefits the Child Protection Center.
A golf cart parade of witches is the most Sarasota sentence in this guide, and I checked.
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Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics
A string quartet playing Halloween music by candlelight for an hour: "Thriller," "Ghostbusters," "Beetlejuice" and "Danse Macabre" are on the tentative program. Ages 8 and up.
"Thriller" on a cello, in a church, on Midnight Pass Road. That's three spooky things before you even sit down.
Sunday, Oct. 25
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Hunsader Farms costume contests + trick-or-treat
Costume contests by age group starting at 1 p.m. in the kids' game area, a dog costume contest at 2:30, then trick-or-treating around the grounds for kids in costume. The festival's last day.
The dog contest is at 2:30. The dog has a better shot than your nephew.
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Trunk or Treat at St. Thomas More
Decorated trunks from the parish ministries plus a small pumpkin patch. Nothing too scary, they ask. Park in Lot C and walk to Lot B.
Daytime trunk-or-treat, for families whose kids melt down at 7.
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Trunk or Treat at The Great Pumpkin Patch of Palmetto
Decorated trunks, candy and the church's pumpkin patch, which stays open for photos and picking.
Candy, then pumpkins. Correct order. Nobody has ever wanted to carry a pumpkin while trick-or-treating.
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The Vampire Circus
Ninety minutes of acrobatics, comedy and illusion. The plot: 19th-century Bohemia, and Count Dracula is using a traveling circus as a disguise.
In Sarasota, "he hid in the circus" is not a plot twist. It's local history.
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Free show: the Hunter's Moon rises
The moon is 98.6% lit Sunday and comes up before the sun goes down. Sandy's guide has the beaches and the timing.
No ticket, no costume, no candy. Just turn around.
Wednesday, Oct. 28
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Robert L. Taylor Community Complex Trunk or Treat
Trick-or-treating with prizes for the best trunks and costumes, plus a haunted house.
A Wednesday trunk-or-treat with a haunted house. Somebody here understands working parents.
Friday, Oct. 30
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AMI Chamber Trail of Treats
Starts at the Chamber with a costume contest at 4:30, then kids trick-or-treat at participating island businesses.
Island trick-or-treating, where the candy is handed out by someone in flip-flops and that's the costume.
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Unity of Sarasota Trunk or Treat
Decorated trunks, hot chocolate and apple cider, face painting and prizes for the best trunks, with Homeschool STEAM.
Hot chocolate in Florida in October. Bold. Respect.
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De Soto's Haunted Trail Walk
A candlelit, family-friendly trail walk along the Manatee River with mild frights. Groups are capped at 15, so reserve ahead.
A one-dollar ghost tour run by the federal government. Best deal in the guide.
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Island Trunk or Treat
Early trick-or-treating with The Center and the School for Constructive Play. Palm Avenue behind The Center closes to cars from 6 to 8.
A street closed to cars on Anna Maria. Kids walking. Parents not circling. Paradise.
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BooFest on Main Street
Trick-or-treating along Main Street, a kids' zone, live music and food vendors. The first 2,500 get a free pumpkin tote.
2,500 free totes, which in Lakewood Ranch is about 40 minutes.
Saturday, Oct. 31 (Halloween)
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Boo Bash at Fiorelli Winery
Family- and pet-friendly: pumpkin carving, a trunk or treat, costume awards, live music, and apple cider sangria for the grown-ups.
The kids get candy, the dog gets a costume award, and you get sangria at noon. Everybody wins.
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Sundown Get Down: Halloween Spooktacular
The Bridge Street merchants' family afternoon: costumes, candy, games and vendors.
Six hours of Halloween on Bridge Street, with the 6:47 sunset included at no extra charge.
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Halloween at The Ringling
Trick-or-treating on the Loggia, a lantern labyrinth in the courtyard, art-making and historic Halloween shorts in Gallery 19. Bring a canned good for All Faiths Food Bank if you can. Leave swords and wands in the car.
No candy in the galleries. Your kid will be holding a Kit Kat next to a Rubens. Hold the line.
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Siesta Key Safe Treats
Trick-or-treating at island businesses that post the Chamber's sign. No registration.
Trick-or-treat in the village, then walk to the sand for the 6:47 sunset in costume. Nobody will even look twice.
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Fright Night on St. Armands Circle
Year 18. The merchants decorate and hand out candy around the Circle. The free Bay Runner trolley runs from downtown to the Circle and Lido, which beats the garage on a Saturday.
Trick-or-treating past a linen shirt that costs more than your entire costume. Free, and very St. Armands.
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Trick-or-Treat in the Village
The 12th annual. Galleries, shops and neighbors open their doors with candy. Street parking, plus a lot at 13th Avenue and 12th Street.
One massage studio is bringing 1,000 pieces of candy again. Get there before 7.
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Treat Street at West Bradenton Baptist
Trunk or treat, a petting zoo, a photo booth and inflatables. The church is collecting over 1,000 pounds of candy for it.
One thousand pounds of candy. That is a half-ton of Halloween on 43rd Street.
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Bradenton Alive Halloween Party
A downtown street party with live music from City Loud Band, food and vendors.
For the adults who handed out candy until 7 and would now like a live band and no doorbell.
Nothing matches that combination. Loosen one filter, or accept that the dog is coming to the grown-up party.
Before you go
- Need a pumpkin pie, decorated cookies or a dozen donuts for the class party? Local bakers on Gigly, local donut shops and farms with pumpkins.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, the Hunter's Moon comes up at 6:23 p.m., before sunset. Sandy's moon guide has the beaches.
- Every listing links to the organizer or the listing we checked it against. Things move for weather, so tap through before you load the car.
- Planning the rest of the week? All our events posts.
— Sandy