Halloween is on a Saturday this year, but Downtown Culver City's trick-or-treat isn't. Hip & Historic Halloween is this Sunday, October 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. That's six days before the 31st. The rest of the city's free events fall on either side of that Sunday. Something is on every day from Friday the 23rd through Sunday the 25th, and the actual holiday weekend moves to Ivy Station, Westfield Culver City and Veterans Memorial Auditorium. If you plan for both weekends, your costume gets worn twice.
Downtown goes first, on Sunday the 25th
The Culver City Downtown Business Association bills Hip & Historic Halloween as a family stroll through what it calls "the Heart of SCREAMland." Kids in costume collect treats from participating businesses as they go. It's free. The details that make the afternoon easier are on the event page:
- Look for the sign. Every participating business displays a "BOO CREW" sign, so you don't need a map of which doors to try.
- Park in a city structure. Parking is free for up to one hour in any of Downtown's three municipal structures. A two-hour event plus dinner will run past that hour, so check the posted rates when you pull in.
- Start or finish at The Culver Hotel. The hotel is running a haunted house trick-or-treat during the event, from 4 to 6 p.m., and it's showing classic horror and Halloween movies in the Grand Lobby all month.
- Stay for dinner. The association says Downtown restaurants will have family-friendly dinner specials as the sun goes down. The Culver Hotel's fall menu, with butternut squash risotto and French onion soup, is served daily from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
The Culver Steps lists the Sunday event on its own calendar, so the staircase at 9300 Culver Boulevard is an easy place to meet up before you start walking.
The two days before Sunday are already full
Because Downtown goes early, the first weekend starts building on Friday night, and each day has a different neighborhood anchor.
Friday, October 23 has two movie nights. Movies at The Steps is showing Hocus Pocus at 7 p.m. on the terraced staircase. The Culver Steps describes its community events there as free. Across town, the City of Culver City is hosting a Movie Night for Persons of All Abilities with Ghostbusters, the 1984 original, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Culver City Senior Center, 4095 Overland Avenue. Admission is free and food, snacks and drinks are provided. The City's event page asked people to RSVP by October 16, so check with the Senior Center before you go.
Saturday, October 24 moves the action to Ivy Station, 8840 National Boulevard, for a Halloween Boo Bash from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organizer lists trick-or-treating, crafts, face painting and games, all free. It's a morning event, so it fits in the same weekend as Sunday's late-afternoon walk without the two competing.
That gives you three days in a row, in three parts of the city: a movie Friday, a morning party Saturday and Downtown trick-or-treating Sunday.
The holiday itself moves east and onto Overland
Since Downtown has already held its event, the second weekend's schedule comes from different hosts, and it starts a night early.
Friday, October 30 is back at Ivy Station for a Practical Magic movie night on the lawn. Ivy Station's October calendar lists a marketplace, adoptable cats and tarot readings from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with the film from 7:30 to 9:15. The flyer says all its events are free. Earlier that afternoon, Westfield Culver City has a Boo Bash at LUSH on Level 1 from 3 to 7 p.m., with boo-basket building, spooky facials and games. Some of those activities cost money.
Saturday, October 31 fills from morning to night:
- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Culver Hotel's Spooky Afternoon Tea, with Halloween-themed bites, artisan teas and live music. Reservations go through OpenTable.
- 3 to 8 p.m. Trick-or-treating throughout Westfield Culver City. The listing doesn't give a cost.
- 7:30 p.m. The Culver City Symphony Orchestra's A Concert for Halloween at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Avenue.
Westfield's trick-or-treat runs until 8, half an hour after the concert starts, and seating at the auditorium is first come, first served. If you want both, leave the mall early.
Every date in one place
| Date | Event | Location | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct. 23 | Movies at The Steps: Hocus Pocus | The Culver Steps, 9300 Culver Blvd. | 7 p.m. | Free |
| Fri, Oct. 23 | Ghostbusters Movie Night for Persons of All Abilities | Senior Center, 4095 Overland Ave. | 6 to 9 p.m. | Free, RSVP requested |
| Sat, Oct. 24 | Halloween Boo Bash | Ivy Station, 8840 National Blvd. | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Free |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Hip & Historic Halloween | Downtown Culver City | 4 to 6 p.m. | Free |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Haunted House Trick-or-Treat | The Culver Hotel | 4 to 6 p.m. | Part of Downtown event |
| Fri, Oct. 30 | Boo Bash at LUSH | Westfield Culver City, Level 1 | 3 to 7 p.m. | Some activities paid |
| Fri, Oct. 30 | Practical Magic Movie Night | Ivy Station lawn | 5:30 to 9:15 p.m. | Free |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Spooky Afternoon Tea | The Culver Hotel | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Reservation |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Trick-or-Treating | Westfield Culver City | 3 to 8 p.m. | Not listed |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | A Concert for Halloween | Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave. | 7:30 p.m. | Free |
Halloween night is also opening night for the Symphony
A Concert for Halloween opens the Culver City Symphony Orchestra's 2026–27 season, with Music Director Clyde Mitchell conducting and the SoCAL Chorale, led by Marya Basaraba, joining the orchestra. Culver City Crossroads calls it a "Happily Haunted Halloween Concert" and reports that members of the Westside Youth Orchestra are performing too.
The logistics are about as easy as a Saturday night out gets. Admission is free, you don't need a ticket and nothing is reserved for the public. The orchestra encourages an RSVP on Eventbrite only so you get updates and reminders. Parking is free, with the entrance off Culver Boulevard.
This is the only concert on the orchestra's announced season at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The Winter Concert on February 13, 2027, the Spring Concert on April 18 and A Concert for Juneteenth on June 19 are all listed for Robert Frost Auditorium. On the orchestra's calendar, Halloween night is the one performance at 4117 Overland Avenue, on the same street as the Senior Center at 4095, where the first weekend began with Ghostbusters.
After the 31st, the next big date on the Downtown calendar is the Tree Lighting Sled-tacular on Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Town Plaza, 9300 Culver Boulevard.
If you're thinking about a home near Downtown, Ivy Station or Overland Avenue and want to know what those blocks are like on event weekends and ordinary ones, Megan Whalen is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
