Calling All Goblins, Ghouls, and Ghosts!

Whispers are reverberating off the pavilions at Downtown Cary Park, doors are creaking at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center and empty footsteps are rustling leaves throughout Bond Park. This can only mean one thing - the Halloween season has arrived in Cary! Check out all the chilling and thrilling events and activities below. 

Create Your Own Halloween Costumes 
Sept 27–Oct 18 | Saturdays, 9–11:30 a.m. | Cary Arts Center 

Craft your own Halloween costume using sewing, painting, and design. Instructor will provide guidance and a supply list. More info

Downtown Cary Park Workshops & Programs
October 1, 14, 15, 18, 21, 27, 29 | Downtown Cary Park |Free & Fee-based

Get your creative juices flowing with these Halloween-themed workshops! Try your hand at ghostly watercolor painting, brave haunted nature walks, craft puffy pumpkins, or learn to paint spine-chilling faces. Teen artists can dive into "Dead Serious Drawings" while families enjoy pumpkin paint parties. Registration opens two weeks before each event. Find each program on Downtown Cary Park's web calendar 

Halloween Costume Help Session
October 8 & 15 | 7–9 p.m. | Cary Arts Center 

Need help sewing, zippers, or machine access? Get one-on-one help to bring your costume to life.  Oct 8 link | Oct 15 link 

Movie Night: The Nightmare Before Christmas 
October 10 | 6-9 p.m. | Downtown Cary Park | FREE 

Join the Pumpkin King himself for this beloved Tim Burton classic! Jack Skellington's identity crisis leads him from Halloween Town to Christmas Town, creating delightfully chaotic results. Arrive early (6 p.m.) for Zero-themed activities before the 7:30 p.m. screening. Perfect for the whole family!  

Learn more here

Can I Kick It? – Blade
October 11 | 7:30 p.m. | The Cary Theater

See Wesley Snipes’ 1998 vampire classic, Blade, with a live hip-hop score by Shaolin Jazz. Tickets & Details

 

Walking with Ghosts: An Evening of True Crime Hauntings with Amy Bruni

October 16 | 7:30 p.m. | The Cary Theater

Paranormal researcher Amy Bruni shares chilling stories of hauntings connected to real-life murders. Explore her museum of haunted artifacts before the talk and ask your burning ghost questions at the end! 

Tickets & Details

Harvest Fest
October 18 | noon - 4 p.m. | Good Hope Farm | Free

Celebrate Cary's agricultural heritage with live music, farm tours, food, crafts, and family activities. Satellite parking info: carync.gov/harvestfest

Costume Class: Create a Witch Hat 

October 19 | 2–4:30 p.m. | Cary Arts Center

Sew and decorate your own witch hat for spooky style.  Register here

Mummy & Son Ball
October 21 | 6–8 p.m. | Harold Ritter Park, Rotary Shelter 

Costume up for dancing, games, prizes, and marshmallow roasting.

Science + Cinema: Frankenstein
October 22 | 7 p.m. | The Cary Theater

Host Alonzo Alexander leads a discussion on reanimation with electricity before a screening of James Whale’s 1931 classic Frankenstein. Tickets & Details

Pumpkin Flotilla

October 24 | 4–7 p.m. | Bond Park Boathouse | FREE (pumpkin drop-off required for participation)

 Watch carved pumpkins float across the lake at sunset! Enjoy food trucks, live music, and boat rentals before the flotilla.

Zombiepalooza (All Ages)

October 24 | 6-10 p.m. | Downtown Cary Park | FREE

Cary's own zombie film festival featuring locally made short films (1-5 minutes each)! The night includes pre-film activities, dual costume contests (kids at 7:30 p.m., adults at 7:45 p.m.), and the main event film competition at 8 p.m. Local filmmakers, this is your chance to shine!

Learn more here

Haunted Walk

October 24 & 25 | 7 – 10 p.m. | Bond Park Challenge Course

Take a stroll down the spooky path in Bond Park. Cary Teen Council’s bringing thrills and chills outside this year offering a frightening fun time for all. All ages are welcome, but parental discretion is strongly advised. Please note parking will be very limited. This tour is hosted by Cary Teen Council. Admission is $5 per person on site cash or credit card.

Downtown Scary Park: Haunted Hotel

October 25 | 2-10:30 p.m. | Downtown Cary Park | FREE

"Check in" for a full day of Halloween hospitality! Start with afternoon family pumpkin carving featuring costumed characters and festive activities. Then settle in for a hotel-themed movie night double feature. Families can enjoy Hotel Transylvania with themed lobby activities and treats. Later, brave adults can extend their stay for the spine-tingling 1408 (PG-13) - where checkout might not be an option!  Learn more here

Halloween at the Old Hotel

October 25 | 6:30 & 8:30 p.m. | Page-Walker Arts & History Center | $10 per ticket

Come enjoy eerie and spooky traditional tales that will give you a spooky shiver. Storyteller Jennifer Armstrong weaves fiddle, bagpipe, and songs throughout her stories. From haunted houses to unquiet graves, come enjoy a Halloween story treat. Recommended for ages 11+. Jennifer Armstrong is a singer, storyteller, piper and poet living in Asheville, North Carolina. She started at age five singing in a family band and was blessed with bedtime stories and lullabies and shares her legacy wherever she goes.  Tickets are $10 and available through ETIX and at The Cary Theater box office. Buy tickets for 6:30 p.m. or tickets for 8:30 p.m.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

October 25 | 8:00 p.m. | The Cary Theater

The cult classic returns! Complimentary prop bags provided. No outside props allowed.
Tickets & Details

Cary Police Department Trunk or Treat

October 30 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Downtown Cary Park, E Park Street | FREE

Get a head start on Halloween treats! The Cary Police Department's Downtown Team hosts this family-friendly trunk-or-treat event along Park Street. Costumes encouraged - come show off your Halloween spirit before the big night!

Learn more here

Discover Dance: Thriller Choreography

October 31 | 7:30-8:30 p.m. |Downtown Cary Park | FREE

Get ready to unleash your inner zombie! Join us for Thriller themed Discover Dance with local Zumba dynamo and choreographer Tameka Pettigrew. She’ll lead you through the iconic moves of Michael Jackson’s Thriller—no graveyards required. Whether you’re a seasoned dancer or just want to shuffle like the undead, all are welcome. Keep your eyes peeled… there may be surprise pop-up performances haunting the park when you least expect it! Learn more here

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Club Cary Movie Party

October 31 | 8:00 p.m. | The Cary Theater

Celebrate Halloween with a Club Cary Movie Party screening of Rocky Horror! Includes soda or water, candy or popcorn, prop bag, party favors, and a photo booth.
Tickets & Details