Who decides when Halloween happens in Central Neighborhood? Almost everything in the last two weeks of October around Fifth through 13th streets has an official date behind it. The city sets the leaf crew's start date. The historical society sets the cemetery tours. The high school schedule sets Thirlby Field's Friday night, and a downtown permit sets the Halloween Walk.
One thing has none of that behind it. As of October 4, no city announcement for 2026 trick-or-treat hours has turned up. That evening has always run on porch lights, and that may be why it has lasted.
A month of fixed dates
Here is the late-October calendar around the neighborhood, put together from published schedules and permits:
| Date | What | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 16 | Last day to keep leaves off the street | City of Traverse City |
| Mon., Oct. 19 | Leaf pickup begins, moving west to east by zone | City of Traverse City |
| Fri., Oct. 23, 7 p.m. | Traverse City Central vs. Traverse City West at Thirlby Field | School athletic schedule |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 3 to 5 p.m. | Oakwood Cemetery Tour with a Halloween Twist | Traverse Area Historical Society |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 4 to 6 p.m. | Second Oakwood Halloween tour | Traverse Area Historical Society |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Monroe Street expected to reopen to traffic | City of Traverse City |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m. | MHSAA playoff slot, venue TBD | School athletic schedule |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 9 a.m. | Zombie 5K at Right Brain Brewery | Traverse City Track Club |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10 to 11:30 a.m. | Downtown Halloween Walk | Downtown Traverse City Association |
Each of these entries can be checked, moved or cancelled by the group that posted it. One of them already was moved this fall.
The Halloween Walk moved, then moved back
On September 10, The Ticker reported that the Downtown Halloween Walk would move to Thursday, October 29, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The Downtown Traverse City Association's current event page now lists Saturday, October 31, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. It says the walk returned to Saturday after community feedback.
The walk is big enough that the date matters. The city permit application estimates 3,500 to 4,000 participants. The city's approved-event notice closes half a block of Cass Street on each side of Front Street from 9 a.m. to noon, while Front Street stays open.
Saturday morning also brings the Traverse City Track Club's Zombie 5K, which starts at 9 a.m. at Right Brain Brewery, 225 E. Sixteenth Street. The DTCA says the run will still be going when the walk begins. It advises drivers coming from south of downtown to avoid the Zombie Run route and use Eighth Street. That makes the neighborhood's northern edge the suggested detour that morning. For walk parking, the association recommends the Old Town or Larry C. Hardy parking structures and prefers Old Town. It also points to the free Bayline shuttle and TART access.
Moving the walk back to Saturday gives October 31 a full shape. The run starts at 9, the walk fills Front Street mid-morning, and the neighborhood's own evening comes later.
Ghost tales start at Eighth and Steele
The Traverse Area Historical Society's Halloween tours of Oakwood Cemetery give the neighborhood's southeast corner its own date on the calendar. The society describes them as an enhanced version of its regular Oakwood tour, adding "light-hearted Traverse City area Ghost Tales" to the history.
There are two dates, each with a meeting time 15 minutes before the start:
- Sunday, October 25, 3 to 5 p.m., meet at 2:45
- Thursday, October 29, 4 to 6 p.m., meet at 3:45
- Both meet at the Oakwood Cemetery entrance closest to Eighth and Steele Street
- The suggested donation is $15 per person, and proceeds go to the society
In bad weather, the society posts cancellations on its Facebook page and aims to do so at least an hour before the tour. Its notes on the regular Oakwood walk describe about 1.5 miles over uneven ground across two hours. They also say some children lose interest before the end, which is useful to know before bringing younger kids along.
The Thursday tour runs the evening before the October 30 playoff slot and a week after the rivalry game. The rivalry game is set for Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m. at Thirlby Field. The playoff venue is still listed as TBD, so a second home Friday at Thirlby isn't confirmed.
The street-level schedule
The city's leaf rules arrive in the same weeks as all of this. Pickup starts October 19 and moves through the city from west to east by zone, with no fixed pickup date for any street. The city asks residents to keep leaves off the street until October 16 and not to cover catch basins. Because the crews move by zone without set dates, raked piles may still be at the curb on Halloween night.
Just west across Division, Monroe Street between Randolph and West Front has been closed since August 24 for reconstruction that includes utilities, sidewalks, curbs and paving. Traffic is expected back around October 30. Until then, the city asks residents on that stretch to put leaves in the alley.
Close by, Randolph Street from Division west to Cedar has switched from free two-hour parking to paid parking, payable only by app, text or phone. The city has called it a 90-day trial and says it will reassess. Anyone parking near the Division edge for any of the Halloween-week events will run into that change.
The one night without a calendar
Every item above has an organizer, a time and a page where it can be changed. Trick-or-treating in Central has never worked that way.
In 2014, The Ticker called Central Neighborhood the area's top trick-or-treating destination. It reported that "hundreds or even thousands" of visitors came from across the city and county. Commissioner Jim Carruthers, who lived on Eleventh Street at the time, told the paper, "Thousands of kids come from all over." Then-Central Neighborhood Association president Seamus Shinners described how the neighborhood managed it. Participation was voluntary, and residents who didn't want to take part left their porch lights off.
The same story put numbers on that generosity. Eighth Street resident Abby Porter estimated her family spent about $120 a year on candy and handed out around 1,200 pieces. She said some Sixth Street households went through more than 2,000. At Oak and Wadsworth, Central Grade School teacher Sara Bageris said her family had made cotton candy and popcorn for about 10 years and drew lines outside her door. Those details are nearly 12 years old. No newer reporting has confirmed which houses still keep those traditions.
What recent coverage does exist points the same way. On October 31, 2025, 9&10 News posted a video titled "Sixth Street Halloween Decorations." The page has no written details about crowds or traffic. The most recent citywide guidance found is from 2024. That year, the City of Traverse City set trick-or-treating for 5 to 8 p.m. on October 31 and asked participating residents to signal with porch lights. It also asked motorists to keep headlights on and slow down. The city hasn't announced 2026 hours yet, so the 2024 window is only the most recent published guidance.
The porch light has carried this event for years. The same porches had a scheduled turn this fall. The Central Neighborhood Association's eighth annual PorchFest, on September 20, spread 58 musicians across 43 porches between Fifth and 13th streets, from Division to Oak. The association's website shows no October or November event. Its next listed meeting is December 2 at 6 p.m. Between those dates, Halloween night happens without any organizer, decided house by house on the evening itself.
If you're getting your Sixth Street porch ready for the 31st or planning a walk from Oakwood to Thirlby, the team at The Mitten Group is happy to share what we hear from neighbors in Central and across Traverse City. Contact us anytime.
