Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, and the towns across our corner of the world have their plans set. I went back through the village calendars, municipal codes and event pages this week and verified the trick-or-treat hours town by town, along with the family events that make the weekend before so much fun. As always, give each host a quick check before you head out, since dates and hours can shift with the weather.
Saturday, October 31: trick-or-treat hours, town by town
Here is what each town has posted for Halloween night: Frankfort runs 3 to 7 p.m., Orland Park 2 to 8 p.m. per its village code, Tinley Park 2 to 6 p.m., Mokena 1 to 5 p.m., and New Lenox 3 to 8 p.m. On the Indiana side, Crown Point goes 5 to 7 p.m. and Valparaiso 5 to 8 p.m. Munster, Schererville and Highland had not posted their 2026 hours as of mid-October; in recent years those towns ran 5 to 7 p.m., with Dyer running 4 to 8 p.m. If your town is not listed, the village or park district calendar is the fastest way to confirm the exact window.
Saturday, October 24: the weekend before the big night
Downtown Frankfort holds A Thriller Downtown Trick or Treat on Saturday, October 24 from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saint Clair Street, hosted by Downtown Frankfort Inc. It is the kind of evening that turns the historic streets into a block party. Tinley Park offers two ways to celebrate: the Downtown Tinley Boo Bash on Sunday, October 25 from noon to 4 p.m. at Harmony Square, and the Tinley Park Public Library's Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 24 at 2:30 p.m., which requires advance registration.
New Lenox stacks a full day: the Chamber of Commerce Halloween Fest on Saturday, October 24 brings trunk-or-treating, pumpkin decorating and a costume contest, the Scarecrow Stroll runs all October at the Village Commons, and that Sunday brings the LWSRA Trunk-or-Treat at 10 a.m. and the Big Bad Pumpkin Party at 9:30 a.m. Mokena's Park District hosts Halloween Mayhem on Saturday, October 24 from noon to 3 p.m. at Main Park on La Porte Road, with a free haunted trail, a treats market and a trunk-or-treat. And if you like your Halloween with frosting, Stan's Donuts in Orland Park holds spooky donut decorating on Saturday, October 24; check with the shop for times.
Across the state line, Crown Point's Pumpkin Walk is Saturday, October 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the downtown square, with free trick-or-treating at local businesses and costumes encouraged, and the Crown Point Police Department follows with its Trunk or Treat at 1 p.m. at Legacy Fields in Center Ross Park. Dyer's Trunk or Treat runs Saturday, October 24 from 1 to 7 p.m., with a parade kickoff at 3:15 p.m. and trunk-or-treating from 4 to 7 p.m. Valparaiso gets an early start on Friday, October 23 with its Downtown Trick-or-Treat from 4 to 6 p.m., when more than 100 businesses hand out treats.
Halloween week, October 26 through 31
Valparaiso University holds its free Community Trick-or-Treat on Tuesday, October 27 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Harre Union. Crown Point adds a crafters' twist with the Hometown Hocus Pocus Market, a Halloween-themed artisan market at the Lake County Fairgrounds Industrial Building, open Friday, October 30 from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, October 31 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Halloween day itself, Frankfort's Police Department hosts its Safety Trunk or Treat from 10 a.m. to noon in the Breidert Green parking lot, opened by the E.F. Bucko costume parade at 10 a.m., and Orland Park's Dave and Buster's runs its family-friendly Dave and Boo-ster's trick-or-treat.
The first November weekends: craft shows and a holiday preview
Frankfort's 33rd Annual Holiday Craft Show is Saturday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Founders Community Center on Oak Street, with free entry and handmade gifts, decor, jewelry and gourmet treats from the Frankfort Park District. Schererville's 2026 Holiday Craft Show, the parks and recreation department's longest-running show, runs Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Schererville Community Center and Homan School, with food trucks on site. Tinley Park opens Santa's Mailbox on November 2 at the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center, so kids can write to Santa through November 30. And Valparaiso University opens its production of The Wizard of Oz at the Chapel of the Resurrection on Thursday, November 5.
Make the most of the week
Halloween is one of those nights when a neighborhood shows its personality, and it is a genuinely useful moment if you are weighing a move. Walk the streets during trick-or-treat hours, watch how neighbors gather, notice the porches and the pumpkins and the pace. That is when a town stops being a listing and starts feeling like home. If you would like a guide to any of these communities, or to talk through a move of your own, I would love to be in your corner. You Can With Joanne!™