Ypsilanti doesn't have one Halloween organizer. The library runs one event, a performance space in a former church runs another, and a brewery, a game center, the Township, a handful of small studios and a crew of volunteers each run their own. Every one of them picks its own date. Put the dates on one calendar and the busiest stretch is October 23 through 25, a week before the holiday. The season ends after October 31, on the evening of November 1 at Frog Island Park.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. Even so, more of Ypsi's family-friendly Halloween happens on the weekend before it than on the day itself.
Six Events in Roughly 48 Hours
This is what the weekend of October 23 to 25 looks like, in order:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Halloween Downtown at the YDL-Michigan Library Plaza, 229 W. Michigan Ave. Kids trick-or-treat in the library parking lot, and the evening includes the BOO-kmobile, a costume contest, putt-putt golf and a Spooky STEM Tent.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, noon to 11 p.m. Corner Brewery's annual Halloween party at 720 Norris St.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 1 to 9 p.m. The YPSI Halloween Festival at 218 N. Adams St.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. The Ypsilanti District Library's "How to Go Bump in the Night Like a Pro" program.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A free trunk-or-treat at BIG Best in Games, 4095 Carpenter Rd.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 to 3 p.m. Ypsilanti Township's Trunk-or-Treat at the Community Center, 2025 E. Clark Rd.
Look at the Sunday times. BIG's event wraps up at 1 p.m., the same hour the Township's starts. Different hosts set those schedules, and they happen to run one after the other without overlapping.
Halloween Downtown also shows how many groups it takes to put on one event. The library hosts it on its own plaza, and the sponsor list includes Ypsi Real, SPARK-East, the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority and the Friends of YDL. Downtown's biggest family Halloween night is a library event with the downtown authority listed as a sponsor.
A Festival Inside an 1882 Church
The YPSI is the Ypsilanti Performance Space, and its building is older than almost anything else on this calendar. A 2018 Concentrate Media report traced it to the former First Congregational United Church of Christ. The original north hall dates to 1882, an addition went up in 1898 and a separate annex followed in the late 1980s. According to that report, the venue's first event was planned for May 16, 2018, in the renovated annex conference room, and the sanctuary, reception hall and basement were expected to need at least another year of work.
The 2026 festival page bills the day as a community fundraiser presented by Ypsilanti Performance Space, Inc. It runs 1 to 9 p.m. with a vendor market, trick-or-treating, a magician at 2:30 p.m., the A2 Magic Show at 3 p.m. and the Riverside Ramblers playing bluegrass at 7 p.m. Michighost Paranormal is the festival partner. The same page lists featured artist Anna Miklo and the Moonlight Mischief Makers among the performers.
Tickets are $5.72 online in advance and $7.34 at the door. Children 13 and under get in free with a ticketed adult. A family of four with two younger kids pays for two adult tickets, which comes to less than $15 if bought ahead.
The festival and Corner Brewery's party overlap for most of Saturday. Corner Brewery offers pumpkin carving from noon to 4 p.m. for $5, which covers the pumpkin and supplies. A DJ plays from 6 to 11 p.m., and the brewery becomes 21 and over after 8 p.m. Families are welcome there in the afternoon, and the evening is adults-only. Both parties start in daylight and end well after dark.
Two Trunk-or-Treats, Two Different Pitches
The Township's Community Center event is free and gives every participating child a free meal. A DJ is booked, and parking is across the street at Community Center Park. Kids don't need to register.
BIG Best in Games says its morning event is free, with candy stations, a costume contest and carnival games. Taken together, the two make a full Sunday that costs nothing, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Adult Calendar Lives in Small Rooms
Away from the family events, many of the October listings come from small venues around downtown and Depot Town. Ypsi Real's October roundup includes:
- "Black Cat: Ghoulita Graves Presents...The Curse of Blood," various dates from October 17 to 24 at The Back Office Studio, 13 N. Washington St.
- Halloween Boylesque Drag Brunch, October 18 at Sidetrack Bar & Grill, 56 E. Cross St.
- Burlesque & Halloween Party, October 31 at Rhizome Roots Studio, 108 Pearl St.
The roundup doesn't list times or prices for these three, so check with each venue before you go. Rhizome Roots is also one of the few hosts in this research that scheduled something on Halloween night itself.
What October 31 Holds
Halloween Saturday has less on it than the weekend before. The library has Halloween Storytime on October 31. The library's horror short-story contest also ends that week. Entries close October 28, finalists are announced October 29 and the winner after Halloween.
Official trick-or-treat hours for October 31 are harder to find. We couldn't locate any posted for 2026 by the City of Ypsilanti or Ypsilanti Township. The City's calendar page titled "Downtown Ypsilanti Halloween" is a 2019 listing, so it doesn't cover this year. If your family plans its evening around neighborhood trick-or-treating, watch for City and Township notices as the day gets closer.
Wiard's Runs the Whole Stretch
The longest-running thing on this calendar sits on Merritt Road. Wiard's Country Fair at 5565 Merritt Rd. runs through November 1. The tourism calendar lists the fair as weekends only, but Wiard's own hours page shows more days, so use that one. The same page says November hours vary and asks visitors to call ahead.
| Days | Hours | Admission | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country Fair | Wednesday to Sunday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | $18 Wed. to Fri., $27 Sat. and Sun. |
| Country Store | Tuesday to Sunday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Free to enter |
According to Wiard's tickets page, a weekend fair ticket costs $9 more than a weekday one, and babies 23 months and under get in free. The store is free to enter, so you can stop in for cider and doughnuts without paying for the fair.
Night Terrors, which bills itself as "Michigan's Premier Haunted Thrill Park," shares the address. It runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through November 1. The calendar listing doesn't include hours or ticket prices.
The Night After, on Rice Street
The last event of the season is on Sunday, November 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Frog Island Park, 699 Rice St. It's the All Hallows Illumination of Frog Island. Admission is free, and the listing asks people to bring a carved pumpkin and a pumpkin light.
Here is how the event's own listing describes it:
"The evening after Halloween, this family-friendly event is a celebration of magic and community. Spooky effects, entertainment, LED lights, and cider will be provided."
According to the listing, volunteers run the whole event as a not-for-profit, and it takes place every year on November 1. The pumpkin you carved for your porch on October 31 can go to Frog Island Park the next evening.
At The Faeth Team, we keep track of the calendars that make Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township feel like home, including the ones that end the night after Halloween. If you're wondering what your home is worth as the season changes, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.