CARBONDALE HALLOWEEN 2024
Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/18/2024 - 11/09/2024
12:00 am
Categories
The City of Carbondale is overjoyed it is October, for we get to welcome in all of the amazing festivities for
Carbondale Halloween 2024!!
The Official Carbondale Halloween lineup has a variety of free and ticketed events running from October
18-November 9. We have a huge array of classic Carbondale Halloween events with some new traditions
getting their start this year!
What better way to kick off spooky season than with some classic Halloween films?? The Varsity Center
is getting things kicked off early with a spooky slew of classic horror films for their Special Film
Screenings, starting with “Young Frankenstein” (10/4), “Carrie” (10/5), “Suspiria” (10/12), “Twilight”
(10/18), “Donnie Darko” (10/19), “Blair Witch Project” (10/24), a special showing of the Orsen Welle’s
“Chimes at Midnight” freshly restored by SIU Alumni Michael Dawson, with a Live Q&A with Michael
(10/25), and capping off the series on Halloween night with the classic thriller “Scream” (10/31). Doors
open at 6 PM, with showtimes at 7 PM for all films.
You can also take in some classic Halloween films outside! SIU After Dark Presents: Outdoor Horror
Movie Nite, showing the original “Friday the 13th” out at the Becker Pavilion at the SIU Campus Boat
Docks, Tuesday October 22nd starting around 6:30, hosted by the The Student Programming Council at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale. On October 25, The Carbondale Park District will have an outdoor
showing of “Hocus Pocus 2”, at Parrish Park at 6:30 pm- bring your blankets, lawn-chairs or enjoy drive-
in style!
Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center invites people to immerse themselves into the woods of the
Shawnee for delightful, family friendly thrills! Their all ages, family friendly event, Haunted Hollow, takes
place on Sunday, October 20, free for entry with ticketed activities within, from 11 AM-4 PM. Come
October 26th, they will host the Spooky Catalyst Bike Race, held on their incredible Mountain Bike Trails.
Registration at 9 AM, race at 10 PM.
Some of Carbondale’s most iconic Halloween events will be returning once more! Green Earth, Inc. will
host the ever so popular event, The Pumpkin Glow at the Oakland Nature Preserve the evenings of Oct.
24, 25, and 26, held from 5:30-9:30 each evening. Rain alternative location TBD for this event. The Great
Carbondale Pumpkin Race will bring a rambunctious, competitive spirit to Downtown Carbondale on
Oct. 26th, as competitors send their homemade pumpkin racers down the Mill Street underpass, and
those who send down a cheater pumpkin will have to face the Mallot of Justice! Registration for the
Pumpkin Race is 1-1:45 PM, races begin at 2 PM. Rain alternative location will be at the Lakeland Center.
The day before on Friday, October 25, a Racer Making Workshop will be held at The Carbondale Public
Library from 2:30-5:30.
Saturday October 26th is an opportunity for kids and pets to dress up and enjoy candy walks and
costume contests! The Safe Howl-O-Ween will be held from 10 AM-2 PM at the Murdale Shopping
Center, where you can bring your pets for pictures and a costume contest! The Candy Walk, hosted by
Carbondale Main Street, will take place at participating downtown businesses from 12-2 PM. Maps can
be picked up at Carbondale Main Street’s office, located at 121 S. Illinois Ave. During this time, folks can
stop to make some crafts with Artspace 304’s Make and Take + Treats at their secondary location at 607
S. Illinois Ave.
Two new events to join the lineup this year are The Little Resource Center’s Keep Carbondale Weird Fun
Run/Walk and Si Cabe’s Dias De Los Muertos Community Altar! The Keep Carbondale Weird Fun/Run
Walk will take place on Saturday Oct. 26, from 2:30-4:30, starting at the Carbondale Town Square
Pavilion, giving folks of all ages the chance to dress up and run around in your own unique weird
Carbondale way, while raising money for The Little Resource Center! Check in/line-up begins at 2 PM.
The Fun Run is followed by a block party in the area of 216 N Washington with a DJ, performances, and
fall games.
The Dias De Los Muertos Community Altar is an opportunity for the community to honor loved ones they
have lost and an educational component to this Mexican tradition. The Ofrenda exhibit will be unveiled at
The Varsity Center on Oct.26. The Varsity Center will screen the Disney|Pixar film “Coco” on Friday, Nov 1
with doors open at 6, and showtime at 7 PM. The exhibit installation will remain for viewing through Nov.
2.
The festivities on Saturday October 26 will wrap up with the Carbondale Halloween “Off the Rails”
concert featuring The People Brothers Band and Ernie Johnson from Detroit! Held at the Downtown
Entertainment and Events Plaza, from 7-10 PM, this concert will also feature an all ages community
costume contest.
There is still more fun to partake in after Halloween! On November 9th, bring your used jack O’ Lanterns
and other decorative gourds (all free of any extra debris) out to the SIU Farms Service Center (2704 Union
Hill Road) from 12-3, to dispose of your pumpkins in a sustainable and fun way at The Great Southern
Illinois Pumpkin Smash hosted by SIU Sustainability! Chuck it, smash it, catapult it and more- have a
blast while keeping waste out of the landfill! This year guests can bring a container (5 gallon bucket, bag,
coffee container, etc.) to take home their own finished compost from the SIU Forced-Air Compost
Facility!
For a full detailed itinerary of Cabrondale Halloween 2024 events visit:
Carbondale’s official residential Halloween Trick or Treat hours will be on October 31st from 4-8 PM. If
you’d like to be part of the “Pumpkin Patrol”, the Halloween Safety Patrol sponsored by the Police
Department, you can contact Randy Mathis at 618-457-3200, Extension 402, or send an e-mail to
rmathis@carbondaleil.gov.
Interim City-Manager and Police Chief Stan Reno states, “We are excited to announce the details for
Halloween trick-or-treating in Carbondale this year. Halloween is always a special time for families and
children in our community. We encourage everyone to participate safely and responsibly. We ask that
parents accompany young children and for drivers to be extra cautious in residential areas during this
time. Let’s work together to ensure a fun and safe Halloween for everyone.”
Those wanting to show off their Halloween decorations and be eligible for a gift card ($50 for residential
winner, $50 for business), can submit photos of their spooktacular decor to contest@carbondaleil.gov
from now until Oct. 23.
For more information contact Carbondale’s Public Relations Officer at 618-713-0711.
“Carbondale prides itself on providing its visitors, students, businesses and residents with a unique mix of edge and ease. It’s a
cultural town, yet free of pretense, embracing the great outdoors as readily as urban sophistication. Here, we are open to new ideas,
experiences and cultures, so you are encouraged to both express yourself and be yourself, in all ways. That’s Carbondale…All Ways
Open… for family, fun, business, new ideas and a bright tomorrow.”
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