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30+ Events and Activities in Chicago in October for Kids
Chicago is always brimming with fun activities and the fall season is no exception. Here's a list of things to do with your kids, including carving a pumpkin at The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival, watching exciting performances at the UniverSoul Circus, joining a Superhero run at the Run for the Kids: Superhero Hustle, and of course, Halloween events that take place throughout October.
UniverSoul Circus
Washington Park
October 2-6 and October 10-12, 2024
Universoul Circus comes to Washington Park to share its lively, dazzling display of circus arts, music, dance, and theatre for the whole family. Visit the website here.
St. Benedict's Oktoberfest
North Center - FREE
Friday, October 4-Sunday, October 6, 2024
St. Ben's Parish Oktoberfest includes live entertainment, traditional German food, a carnival, and games. Proceeds will benefit local outreach programs and church operations.
Visit the website here.
The Great Highwood Pumpkin Festival
Highwood
Friday, October 4-Sunday, October 6, 2024
Visit Highwood for all the pumpkin-based fun you could wish for. This three-day festival includes all-you-can-carve pumpkin stations, a carnival, live entertainment, a 5k, craft and food vendors, and pet and kid costume contests. Visit the website here.
Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest
Lincoln Square
Friday, October 4-Sunday, October 6, 2024
The 37th annual Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest offers activities for apple lovers of all ages. Food vendors and farm vendors will be on hand for families to buy fall-themed foods! Kids can enjoy apple themed activities like an apple sensory bin and an apple slime kit, as well as activities from Fit City Kids, Itsy Bitsy Play & Cafe, Nonku's Corner, and several local schools. Visit the website here.
Tales & Tombstones
Lombard
Friday & Saturday, October 4-5, 2024
The Lombard Historical Society leads families through the oldest cemetery in Lombard. Historians tell tales of bizarre, admirable, and ridiculous things that the people buried there did, from more than a century ago through today. Visit the website here.
Bunker Hill Pumpkin Palooza
Niles - FREE
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Families can enjoy nature's contributions to Halloween by painting pumpkins, playing gourd ring toss, making leaf rubbings, and running through a fall-themed obstacle course.
Visit the website here.
Lombard Fall Festival
Lombard - FREE
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Kids can kick off the Halloween season at Lombard's annual fall event. Kids can enjoy games, dancing, face painting, and a candy hunt. The Lombard Community Building will host Boo Bingo from 12:30pm to 1:30pm. Visit the website here.
Run for the Kids: Superhero Hustle
Villa Park
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Families can support kids with developmental delays at this 5K and kids dash that benefits Easter Seals DuPage and Fox Valley. The post-race party includes fresh grilled foods, face painting, live music, a photo booth, and kid-friendly games and entertainment.
Visit the website here.
Biketoberfest
Bensenville - FREE
Sunday, October 6, 2024
This annual bicycle show and swap will take place both indoors and outdoors in 2024. Kids can enjoy watching motorized mini bikes, go karts, and pedal cars, or look for a new bike in the Bike Corral. Visit the website here.
Zombie Candy Hunt
LaGrange
Friday, October 11, 2024
Zombies have hidden candy in Sedgwick Park and kids must dress up in costumes to come find it! Bring your own flashlight and bag or bucket to fill with goodies.
Visit the website here.
Lemontster Days Drive-In Movies
Lemont
Friday, October 11, 2024
The Lemont Park District presents the Disney film Casper to celebrate Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Visit the website here.
Milo Imagines The World
Chicago Children's Theater
West Loop
October 12 - November 10, 2024
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD is a musical odyssey of imagination. Through vibrant song, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes audiences through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is. A journey from house to home, this play is a real ride! Visit the website here.
Cantigny Fall Fest
Wheaton
Friday & Saturday, October 11-12, 2024
Cantigny Park hosts a celebration of fall complete with hay rides, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, wax hands, inflatables, and face painting. Live music will play on Cantigny's Parade FIeld. Families can purchase seasonal foods at food trucks or at Bernie's Bistro in the Visitors Center. A kids' book fair and plant and pumpkin sale bring more seasonal fun to the event. Visit the website here.
St. Charles Scarecrow Festival
St. Charles
Friday, October 11-Sunday, October 13, 2024
More than 100 handmade and mechanical scarecrows will be on display in downtown St. Charles for this 35th annual fall tradition. Families can make their own scarecrow, enjoy live entertainment, shop at the arts and crafts show, or ride carnival rides while enjoying the fall weather. Visit the website here.
Columbus Day Parade
Downtown - FREE
Monday, October 14, 2024
Chicagoans of all ages can enjoy watching 150 groups, including bands, floats, and marchers, march down State Street for the 72nd annual Columbus Day Parade. Visit the website here.
Wonder Wheels at Wonder Works
Oak Park
Saturday & Sunday, October 12-13, 2024
Vroom! Vroom! Wonder Wheels will be zooming back to Wonder Works Children’s Museum! For just two days, children and their families will be able to explore wheels by sitting behind the wheel of real trucks and vehicles, doing laps around the tiny tots vehicle race track, playing in a giant sand pit mini construction site, and designing LEGO cars to test on a pinewood derby track. Visit the website here.
Open House Chicago
Citywide - FREE
Saturday & Sunday, October 19-20, 2024
The Chicago Architecture Center hosts Open House Chicago, a free public festival that offers behind-the-scenes access to more than 20 buildings throughout Chicago. Guests can enjoy access to Chicago's architectural gems, including skyscrapers, repurposed mansions, opulent theaters, exclusive private clubs, private offices, and breathtaking sacred spaces.
Visit the website here.
Spooky Saturday on the Main-Dempster Mile
Evanston - FREE
Saturday, October 26, 2024
North suburban families can enjoy live music and a pumpkin carving contest to celebrate fall along the Main-Dempster Mile. Trick-or-treat at local businesses and participate in a kid or pet costume parade. Music from SCarolers will add to the fun. Visit the website here.
Hinsdale Fall Family Fest
Hinsdale - FREE
Saturday, October 12
West suburban families can visit Katherine Legge Park to paint pumpkins, enjoy giveaways from local businesses, visit food trucks, and trick-or-treat at downtown businesses. Inflatables and roaming entertainment will also be on hand. Visit the website here.
Arts in the Dark
Downtown - FREE
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Arts in the Dark is an evening parade that celebrates Halloween as the "artist's holiday," bringing together Chicago institutions and organizations dedicated to art and education. Audience members will be delighted by unique floats, spectacle puppets, and creative performances set against the backdrop of Chicago’s majestic skyline.
Visit the website here.
Wicker Park Boo-palooza
Wicker Park
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Families can help raise money for the Wicker Park "Gardens We Design" at this family-friendly Halloween event featuring kids' musicians, a costume parade, and a pumpkin patch and decorating area. Play games including pin-the-tail on various popular cartoons, find the "needle" in the haystack, or work your way through a straw maze. Visit the website here.
Ackerman Spook Trail
Glen Ellyn
Thursday & Friday, October 24-25, 2024
Take a walk along the spook trail to enjoy Halloween-themed games. Refreshments will be available from local vendors. From 4-6pm., the trail will be non-scary and geared toward younger children. From 6-8pm, it will be spookier for kids 11 and up. Visit the website here.
Stars, Stories & S'mores
River Forest - FREE
Friday, October 25, 2024
Enjoy a cozy fire, s'mores, a spooky story trail, and pumpkin painting in Thatcher Woods. Kids can also stargaze in their Halloween costumes at this Forest Preserve District event. Visit the website here.
Addison Park District Candy Carnival
Addison
Friday, October 25, 2024
Kids can play games to win candy at this annual event. Kids receive an extra treat for coming in costume. Inflatables, crafts, and games round out the fun. Parents must accompany their children at this event. Visit the website here.
Naperville
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Kids can celebrate the season by coming in costume to the DuPage Children's Museum for STEAM-themed, non-scary activities. Build your own Franken buddy from recycled toys, create wearable art, brew your own slime, and mix and mash pumpkin guts!
Visit the website here.
Lincoln Park Spooktacular 2024
Lincoln Park - FREE
Saturday & Sunday, October 26-27, 2024
Trick-or-treat at select businesses along Lincoln Avenue between Wrightwood and Webster on Saturday or Clark Street on Sunday for the week before Halloween. Magicians, stilt walkers, and jugglers will meet and greet trick or treaters along the way.
Visit the website here.
Lincoln Scared and Ravenswoooooood
Lincoln Square and Ravenswood - FREE
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Lincoln Square and Ravenswood transform into Lincoln Scared and Ravenswooooooood for early trick-or-treating. Businesses hand out candy and other treats, and a pumpkin decorating station sets up on Damen Avenue. Visit the website here.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Lincoln Park
Opens Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Come along with Jack and his best friend Carmelita (a Spanish-speaking cow), as they try to save their village from a crazy giant! Along the way, you’ll meet a beautiful singing Harp, a Golden Goose, and a wacky Bean Salesman. Watch the Giant Beanstalk grow on stage!
Visit the website here.
Blodgett House Boo Fest
Downers Grove - FREE
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Families can avoid the rain (or snow) by trick-or-treating indoors at the Downers Grove Museum. The Victorian themed Blodgett House will be decorated for the occasion and will host a scavenger hunt. Visit the website here.
Jack's Pumpkin Pop-Up
Goose Island
Jack's is one of Chicago's largest fall themed festivals. With 10,000 pumpkins, fortune tellers, a corn maze with a secret bar, gem mining, photo opportunities, carnival games, and food trucks, Jack's provides to unique experience for each guest that comes through the doors. It is also kid friendly! Visit the website here.
Señorita Mariposa Story Walk
Lisle
Señorita Mariposa is a Spanish-English bilingual book by author, musician, and early childhood educator MISTER G. The story, told in playful rhyme and brought to life by illustrator Marcos Almada Rivero, follows the extraordinary migration of a monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico. From September 15 through the end of October, each gorgeously illustrated page of Señorita Mariposa will be displayed on large-scale panels along the Arboretum’s Meadow Lake Trail. Visit the website here.
Skeletober
LaGrange
Downtown LaGrange celebrates Skeletober, a display of unique life-size decorated skeletons on the sidewalks of local businesses. Families can take pictures with the skeletons and participate in a skeleton scavenger hunt. Visit the website here.
Lincoln Park Zoo Fall Fest
Lincoln Park
Families can enjoy a walk through the pumpkin patch, a pumpkin-carving demonstration, and pumpkin-themed treats like a caramel apple station and a s'more station at Lincoln Park Zoo throughout October. Visit the website here.
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