Calgary goes all-in on Halloween, and the run-up to Oct. 31 this year is stacked with things to do after dark. Whether you want to be chased through a haunted house, wander among thousands of carved pumpkins, or just watch hockey with a beer, the city has a full slate between Oct. 26 and 31.
Hockey fans can start the week at the Scotiabank Saddledome, where the Calgary Flames host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m., with tickets from $95.90. Same night, horror cinephiles can catch a big-screen screening of the 1987 cult classic Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn at The GRAND on 1st Street SW for $20.48 — timed perfectly for the season.
For a different kind of midnight countdown, Wild Rose Brewery is throwing an 18+ release party for the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series, running 9 p.m. to midnight Oct. 26-27. The $100 ticket includes themed crafts, pizza, cake and a hardcover copy of the book itself.
The big Halloween attractions are hitting their final nights. Pumpkins After Dark at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park runs through Oct. 31, with a walk-through trail of thousands of glowing pumpkins, carnival games, food trucks and a spooky maze — adult admission starts around $17, and kids three and under get in free. Screamfest at GMC Stadium wraps its season Oct. 29-31 with six haunted houses and a monster truck ride; general admission starts at $35.40. Heritage Park's after-dark outdoor escape room, Where Dark Things Dwell, also plays its last games (8 and 10:30 p.m. slots) through Saturday, at $54.95 plus GST.
If jump scares aren't your thing, there's plenty that's gentler. Colobri Art Studio runs a beginner-friendly Halloween glass painting workshop at Doma Studio in the Beltline on Wednesday, Oct. 28 — $47.68 buys you 2.5 hours of guided crafting, plus a drink and snack. The Lougheed House hosts a free Trick or Trivia Night on Oct. 29 covering horror movies and Halloween history, costumes encouraged. And The Confluence's Frights and Delights event on Oct. 30-31 is free to enter, with an adults-only night market, true crime tours, tarot readings and horror films. For a splurge, Spruce Meadows is staging an 18+ murder mystery dinner at the British House on Oct. 30-31 at $110 plus GST, with a gourmet Halloween menu thrown in.
Why it matters: if you're visiting Calgary in late October, this is the week the city shows its fun side — and most of these events cost less than a nice dinner out. Families will get the most out of Pumpkins After Dark, thrill-seekers should book Screamfest before it closes for the year, and budget travellers can string together a full Halloween itinerary (trivia, night market, pumpkin trail) for under $50.
Curiocity has the full week-by-week rundown.
