What to KnowAnaheim Fall Festival & Halloween ParadeFestival: Center Greens in Anaheim; Parade: The starting point is Anaheim Boulevard and BroadwaySaturday, Oct. 24, 2026Festival: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Parade: 7 p.m.FreeA classic car show is one focus during the festival; head to Center Street Promenade and admire the cool wheelsCostume contests for kids and pets are on the schedule, too, and a caboodle of art and cultural activities
If a lot of your social media suggestions this October have focused on how to shop around your own home for a Halloween costume, taking inspiration from the vintage, on-the-fly ensembles people put together decades ago, you might simply need to gaze in the direction of Anaheim, where a famous fall festivity is still rocking the nostalgic and nifty get-ups.
It’s the Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade, a glad-and-gleeful gathering that started in the ’20s — that would be the 1920s — with plenty of community spirit in tow.
That spirit still shines in the Orange County city each year when the two-parter starts to party, which will happen Saturday, Oct. 24.
The Fall Festival begins first, at the Center Greens in Downtown Anaheim. There’s a costume competition for the youngsters from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a pup-focused costume showdown from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. (prepare for every heartstring to be tugged).
A caboodle of join-in activities, from a scavenger hunt to the making of origami butterflies to getting a chance to say “hey” to Wild Wing from the Anaheim Ducks, is on the festival roster; Davey B. Gravey’s Tiny Cinema will also flicker-flicker at the festivities.
Be sure to check out the sweet wheels on view at the event’s car show, which will be parked near all of the festival action.
Then, a little later in the day? The parade will proceed with pomp and plenty of pumpkin-tude, and fabulous floats that feel lovingly handmade and awesomely over-the-top, with several tried-and-true crowd-pleasers festooning the line-up.
Andy Anaheim, the charming ant mascot long associated with the both the city and the charming event, has a way of popping up hither and yon, as do other characters such as a certain dapper pumpkin who is always seen in a smart hat and oversized bowtie.
Space travelers decked out in futuristic silver get-ups, elegant Día de los Muertos Catrinas, and classic Halloween figures have also made parade appearances in the past.
Eager to show your Anaheim autumn adoration all year long? There are several terrific tees for sale in the shop, including a few featuring Andy Anaheim, cuuute.