Halloween lands on Saturday this year, and the towns across the South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana have their plans posted. I went back through the village pages, park district calendars and 2026 event roundups this week and verified the hours and the weekend lineup below, so you can plan the whole day without the guesswork. As always, give each host a quick check before you head out, since dates and hours can shift with the weather.
A quick archive note
The last of October's festival season wrapped over the past two weekends: the final Frankfort Country Market closed out its Sunday mornings at Breidert Green on October 25, and the run of trunk-or-treats, Ghost Stories on the Green and Scare on the Square came and went beautifully. If you missed any of them, the good news is that the main event, Halloween itself, is still ahead, and the hours are already set town by town.
Saturday, October 31: trick-or-treat hours, town by town
On the Illinois side, the posted windows are: Orland Park 2 to 8 p.m., New Lenox 3 to 8 p.m., Frankfort 3 to 7 p.m., Homer Glen 3 to 7 p.m., Mokena 3 to 7 p.m. and Tinley Park 2 to 6 p.m. Across the state line, Crown Point, Munster and Highland all run 5 to 7 p.m., and Portage stretches to 5 to 8 p.m. Schererville's and Valparaiso's 2026 hours were still pending when I checked; their 2025 windows were 5 to 7 and 5 to 8 p.m., so those town pages are the ones to watch. Whatever your community, the village calendar is the fastest source for the final word.
Halloween day: where to take the kids
Frankfort's Police Department holds its Safety Trunk or Treat from 10 a.m. to noon in the Breidert Green parking lot, kicking off with the E.F. Bucko costume parade at 10 a.m., free and family-friendly. The same morning, Frankfort's Halloween ComicFest runs from 11 a.m. at 20505 South La Grange Road, a fun stop for young superheroes between the parade and the evening rounds.
Orland Park families can start the day at Dave & Buster's Boo Bash at 10 a.m. on Orland Square Drive, a family-friendly Halloween morning with costumes and games. And Tinley Park's downtown Boo Bash is part of the weekend lineup with a sensory-friendly window; check the downtown association's page for times before you go.
Saturday, November 7: the craft-show marathon
November opens with one of the busiest craft weekends of the year. Tinley Park's Fall Arts & Crafts Show, the 30th annual, fills Victor J. Andrew High School on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the REACH Inclusion Craft Fair runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center. Frankfort's 33rd Annual Holiday Craft Show takes over the Founders Community Center on Oak Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a town tradition that quietly kicks off the gift season while the season is still quiet.
Across the state line, Schererville's Holiday Craft Show, the parks and recreation department's longest-running show, runs both Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Center and Homan School. Highland's Band Boosters Fall Craft Show runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Valparaiso adds the Holiday Craft and Vendor Event at First Presbyterian Church from 9 a.m., plus Valparaiso University's production of The Wizard of Oz at the Chapel of the Resurrection at 2 p.m. Five towns, a half dozen ways to spend a Saturday.
Veterans Day and the holiday kickoff ahead
Veterans Day lands Wednesday, November 11, and communities across the region hold observances; check your town's calendar to honor those who served. The week after brings the season's first big kickoffs: Orland Park's World of Illumination drive-through lights opening November 13, with the full verified details in my earlier posts on the blog.
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. And the weekend after is proof of how much this region likes to gather, at a craft table, a costume parade or a quiet tree lighting. 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!™