Halloween events in Wilmington 2026

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. This page is updated each year at the same address. Dates, times and prices come from each organizer’s own page, linked below.

Looking for trick-or-treat hours on Halloween night, or the city fire stations’ candy stops? See our trick-or-treat hours guide. Pumpkin patches, the corn maze and the downtown fall festivals are on our fall festivals and pumpkin patches page.

Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. The season at a glance:

Who to call

• Eek! Week tickets: Children’s Museum of Wilmington, 910-254-3534
• Library programs: the New Hanover County Public Library calendar
• Emergency: 911

Halloween Day downtown

Eek! Week Festival, Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to noon. The Children’s Museum of Wilmington, 116 Orange St., holds its Halloween morning in costume, with pumpkin slime, an outdoor pumpkin party, bookmark decorating, a monster bean bag toss and “creepy and crawly critters” with Ken Hackney. Tickets are $15 general admission and $5 for members. The museum also runs free daily programs in the week before the festival, according to its Eek! Week page.

The Great Downtown Pumpkin Hunt, Saturday, Oct. 31, noon to 4 p.m. Families walk downtown looking for pumpkins hidden at participating businesses, scan the QR code at each one and enter the business name. The families who find the most have a chance at prizes from the Cape Fear Museum, the Children’s Museum and the Wilmington Railroad Museum, according to Wilmington Downtown Inc. Business owners can sign up on the same page to hide a pumpkin.

A ghost story on the river

A Colonial Apparition River Cruise, Friday, Oct. 30. The Burgwin-Wright House and Wilmington Water Tours run a cruise telling the story of the snowy Christmas Eve when the steamer Wilmington met the ghosts of two Scottish Highlanders killed in the American Revolution on the Cape Fear River. The house’s calendar lists the Oct. 30 sailing from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; a second, holiday sailing is Saturday, Dec. 5. Adult tickets are $40, with themed drinks at the bar. Book with Wilmington Water Tours at 910-338-3134, according to the Burgwin-Wright House listing.

At the Cape Fear Museum

Cape Fearful Skies, Friday, Oct. 23, 6 and 7:30 p.m. A Halloween planetarium show for adults 18 and older in the planetarium at the Cape Fear Museum, 230 Grace St. Reservations are required, the county calendar says. The museum is open late that night, from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

At Mayfaire

Halloween at Dave & Buster’s, Saturday, Oct. 31. Two ticketed events at the Mayfaire arcade and restaurant: the family Boo Bash from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with three hours of unlimited games, a breakfast banquet and a costume contest, and the adults-only Moonlight Mixer from 7 to 10 p.m., with games, a banquet and a costume contest, according to Mayfaire’s event page.

Free library programs

The New Hanover County Public Library has a string of free Halloween programs, all listed on its events calendar:

• Spooky Cinema at Northchase, 4400 Northchase Parkway W., Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.: Hocus Pocus Oct. 14, The Corpse Bride Oct. 21 and Hotel Transylvania Oct. 28. Family-friendly, with water and popcorn; bring pillows and blankets.
• Halloween Bedazzling for teens, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Northeast Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road (details).
• Halloween Paint and Pastels for kids, Monday, Oct. 19, 4 to 4:45 p.m., Northeast Library (details).
• Halloween Storytime, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 10:15 a.m., in the outdoor children’s area at Pine Valley Library, 3802 S. College Road (details).
• Spooky and Silly Celebration, Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Northchase Library: board games, coloring and crafts for “not-too-spooky kid fun” and a scavenger hunt for grown-ups. Costumes are optional but should not be gory or scary (details).

At the Pleasure Island branch in Carolina Beach, there is a Halloween Family Storytime at 10:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, and a Spooky Science Storyhour at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27.

At Airlie Gardens

Spooky Mushrooms: Friend or Foe?, Thursday, Oct. 29, 10 to 11 a.m. An environmental educator leads a classroom session on poisonous, edible and “just plain creepy” mushrooms, ending with a craft. Pre-registration is required, and registration includes garden admission, according to Airlie Gardens, 300 Airlie Road.

What this means for you

• The two big Halloween Day events overlap: the Children’s Museum festival ends at noon, just as the downtown pumpkin hunt starts, so families can do both.
• Cape Fearful Skies needs a reservation and is for adults only, as is the Moonlight Mixer.
• Trunk-or-treats at churches and schools are posted close to the day; organizers can send theirs through our contact page.

Related: trick-or-treat hours, fall festivals and pumpkin patches, things to do this month and Friday night football.

Frequently asked questions

What Halloween events are in Wilmington, NC on Oct. 31, 2026?

The Children’s Museum of Wilmington’s Eek! Week Festival runs 9 a.m. to noon, the Northchase Library’s Spooky and Silly Celebration 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Great Downtown Pumpkin Hunt noon to 4 p.m.

How much is the Eek! Week Festival?

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $5 for museum members, according to the Children’s Museum of Wilmington.

Are there free Halloween events in Wilmington?

Yes. The New Hanover County Public Library’s Spooky Cinema movie nights, Halloween storytimes and the Oct. 31 Spooky and Silly Celebration are free library programs, and the downtown pumpkin hunt is open to all families.

Is there an adult Halloween event at the Cape Fear Museum?

Cape Fearful Skies, an 18-and-older Halloween planetarium show, plays at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Reservations are required. The museum stays open until 8:30 p.m. that night.

When is trick-or-treating in Wilmington?

Halloween is Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. The city does not set official hours; see our trick-or-treat hours page for the fire station treats and neighborhood tips.