Join us in Carbondale for spooky season!

Special Film Screening: Beetlejuice

Bar at 6PM, Screening at 7PM

Special movie screenings in October to celebrate the spooky season, from new releases to cult classics and more!

Location: The Varsity, downtown at 418 S. Illinois Ave.

Special Film Screening: Sinister

Bar at 6PM, Screening at 7PM

Special movie screenings in October to celebrate the spooky season, from new releases to cult classics and more!

Location: The Varsity, downtown at 418 S. Illinois Ave.

Special Film Screening: The Addams Family

Bar at 6PM, Screening at 7PM

Special movie screenings in October to celebrate the spooky season, from new releases to cult classics and more!

Location: The Varsity, downtown at 418 S. Illinois Ave.

CPKD Presents: Halloween Movie Night

7:00pm

Join us for an evening under the stars! We're bringing the Halloween spirit to life with a special outdoor screening of Ghostbusters. Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and favorite snacks to enjoy this classic on our giant outdoor movie screen.

Location: Parrish Park

The Pumpkin Glow

5:30PM-9:30PM

Family Friendly nighttime Jack-O-Lantern Hike within Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve. Enjoy Hayrides, Live Music, Concessions, and of course, the Magical Glow Trail with nearly 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns on display!

Location: Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve

The Pumpkin Glow

5:30PM-9:30PM

Family Friendly nighttime Jack-O-Lantern Hike within Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve. Enjoy Hayrides, Live Music, Concessions, and of course, the Magical Glow Trail with nearly 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns on display!

Location: Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve

Arts n Crap Festival

10AM-7PM

Free community event showcasing local artisan’s, vendors, music, entertainment, food trucks with activities for all and more! Held outdoors-carnival style, in the heart of Downtown Carbondale.

Location: Thrift Shop - 215 N. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL

Candy Walk

12pm-2pm

Carbondale’s downtown businesses will have lots of candy to hand out! All the little ghosts and goblins are welcome to walk around downtown and fill their treat bags. For a map of participating businesses check the Carbondale Main Street Facebook page.

Location: Downtown Carbondale

Halloween Calaveras

12PM-2PM

A make-and-take kids' art project. Choosing from 12 designs, young artists will create colorful "sugar skull" wooden ornaments that make perfect mementoes and gifts. Older artists can use blank wooden skull shapes to create their own calaveras designs!

Location: Artspace on the Strip – on the front patio at 607 S Illinois Ave

The Great Carbondale Pumpkin Race

2pm (Register from 1pm–1:45pm)

The Great Carbondale Pumpkin Race is a fun, family-friendly fall tradition where participants transform pumpkins into creative racers and send them speeding down the track in downtown Carbondale. Open to children, individuals and families, the event features free races, cash prizes, costumes and plenty of laughs—including the crowd-favorite “Mallet-O-Justice” for pumpkin racers that don’t follow the rules. Part of the annual Carbondale Halloween celebration, the Pumpkin Race brings the community together while raising funds for SI Reads and the Science Center. 

Location: Mill St. Underpass, Carbondale, IL (Rain location: Carbondale Park District - Lakeland Center, 925 S. Giant City Road)

The Pumpkin Glow

5:30PM-9:30PM

Family Friendly nighttime Jack-O-Lantern Hike within Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve. Enjoy Hayrides, Live Music, Concessions, and of course, the Magical Glow Trail with nearly 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns on display!

Location: Green Earth's Oakland Nature Preserve

Haunted Hollow

11am-4pm

Haunted Hollow is back for another year of fall family fun! Enjoy the perfect mix of laughs and lighthearted scares at this Halloween-themed event featuring both free activities and ticketed attractions for all ages. Costumes are encouraged, and the event will be held rain or shine, so dress for the weather and bring your fall spirit! Touch of Nature is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible, and children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Location: SIU's Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center

Mudale Ace Hardware Presents: Murdale Safe Halloween

10am-2pm

Bounce houses, Hayrides, Trick-or-Treat with the Murdale Merchants. Lunch will be available will be available with proceeds going to Toys-for-Tots. Menu will include: Bison burgers, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, chips and soda. Concessions will also be available with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls club to include Cotton Candy, Pop Corn, Nachos, Slushies.

Location: Murdale Ace Hardware Parking lot

Dome Glow: The Fourth Annual Jon Davey Memorial Celebration

6pm-9pm

Dome Glow returns for its fourth year, lighting up the grounds of the historic Buckminster Fuller Dome Home with extraordinary carved pumpkins, old movies, a fire, candy, and the glowing Dome itself. Inspired by the late SIU architecture professor Jon Davey and his tradition of challenging students to create remarkable architectural carvings, Dome Glow celebrates pumpkins that go well beyond the traditional jack-o’-lantern.

Location: Buckminster Fuller Dome Home, 407 S. Forest Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901

Special Film Screening: Rocky Horror Picture Show

Screening at 7PM and 11PM

Special movie screenings in October to celebrate the spooky season, from new releases to cult classics and more!

Location: The Varsity, downtown at 418 S. Illinois Ave.

Dome Glow: The Fourth Annual Jon Davey Memorial Celebration

6pm-9pm

Dome Glow returns for its fourth year, lighting up the grounds of the historic Buckminster Fuller Dome Home with extraordinary carved pumpkins, old movies, a fire, candy, and the glowing Dome itself. Inspired by the late SIU architecture professor Jon Davey and his tradition of challenging students to create remarkable architectural carvings, Dome Glow celebrates pumpkins that go well beyond the traditional jack-o’-lantern.

Location: Buckminster Fuller Dome Home, 407 S. Forest Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901

The Great Southern Illinois Pumpkin Smash

12pm-3pm

Pumpkin drop off and some hands-on pumpkin smashing activities will be offered in this fun and family friendly event! The resulting pumpkin remains will be hauled off to SIU’s Forced Air Composting Facility on Pleasant Hill Road and kept out of the landfill. Join us for a fun time and bring a container to take home some fresh compost.

Location: SIU University Farms Service Center - 2704 Union Hill Rd, Carbondale, IL 62903