"We highly encourage attendees of the festival to walk or use public transit." That request comes from the organizers of this year's Fauntleroy Fall Festival, and it's practical advice. It also works for the whole season. West Seattle doesn't do one Halloween. It does five, spread across Fauntleroy, Alki, the Junction, Admiral and the Lower Junction, each on its own date. By the evening of October 31, almost all of the organized events are over.
The date that surprises people most is the Junction's. Trick-or-treating along California Avenue happens on Sunday, October 25, as part of Harvest Fest. I found no separate Junction trick-or-treat listed for Halloween itself. If you've been saving the costume for the 31st, this year's dates look like this:
- Sunday, October 18: Fauntleroy Fall Festival and the Great Pumpkin Search, 1 to 4 p.m., 9140 California SW
- Saturday, October 24: Alki trick-or-treat at Alki Beach Park
- Sunday, October 25: Harvest Fest in the Junction, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Friday, October 30: Admiral business trick-or-treat, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- Sunday, November 1: Day of the Dead in the Lower Junction, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Today closes out a smaller event first. Ounces wraps its Oktoberfest 2026 at 3809 Delridge Way SW this afternoon, with the final day running noon to 7 p.m. From here the calendar runs mostly north along the peninsula for two weeks.
Fauntleroy starts it, on one side of the street
The Fauntleroy Fall Festival moved to an earlier time slot this year, 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 18. Organizers also changed the layout. Most of the festival will be at the Fauntleroy Church and YMCA, and all three levels of that parking lot will be open. Pumpkin painting, birdhouse building and live music will all be on one side of California SW.
Organizers gave two reasons. Safety was one: fewer activities across the street means fewer people crossing, though the crossing guards will still be on duty. The other is a private afternoon event at The Hall at Fauntleroy, which closes the back parking lot to festival traffic. That's why they're asking people to walk or take transit. The Fauntleroy Children's Center will be open as a quiet space and a diaper-changing room. If you're bringing a toddler who gets overwhelmed by noise, plan around that room.
The Fauntleroy Community Association runs the free Great Pumpkin Search during the festival, starting at 1 p.m. Pumpkins and prizes will be hidden around the grounds, and one prize is a glass pumpkin from Avalon Glassworks.
If your household wants a fall Saturday outdoors before the festival, Duwamish Alive! needs volunteers on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. One site is White Center Heights Park at 10208 7th Ave SW, just past the peninsula's usual boundaries.
Alki takes Saturday the 24th
The next weekend opens at the beach. Alki's community trick-or-treat is at Alki Beach Park on Saturday, October 24. The two listings give different hours. The Alki Community Council's event page says 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The West Seattle Blog calendar says noon to 2 p.m. If you arrive at noon, you'll be inside both windows. The Council organizes the event, so check its page that week for the final time.
Because Alki and the Junction fall on back-to-back days, a family can get two full trick-or-treat outings in one weekend without either one landing on a school night.
The Junction's Sunday is the main event
Harvest Fest is the largest event of the stretch, and it's free. The Junction Association's lineup runs in this order:
- The West Seattle High School Marching Band leads a costume parade to kick things off
- Seattle Thrillers perform in the All-Ways intersection
- Trick-or-treating runs along California Ave from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- A La Mode hosts pie-eating contests for adults and kids
- The West Seattle Food Bank Chili Cook-off starts at 11 a.m. and goes until the chili's gone
The pie contests have age brackets. Kids' rounds are for ages 6 to 15, and the adult round is for 16 and up, according to the Junction's October 1 signup post. The Association hasn't published a parade route or a separate parade start time. Since the parade opens the festival, arrive close to 11 a.m. if seeing the band matters to you.
October 25 is also a Sunday market day in the Junction. The West Seattle Kiwanis booth is back at the south end of the West Seattle Farmers' Market every Sunday through early December, with Toys for Tots drop-off and children's activities. On Harvest Fest day, you can combine produce shopping, the toy drive and trick-or-treating in a single trip on foot.
Admiral takes the Friday before Halloween
Admiral's business district hosts its trick-or-treat on Friday, October 30, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. It's an after-school window, and of the five events, it's the only one on a weekday.
The Admiral Neighborhood Association's 2026 roster is long, and it includes much of the district's regular shopping. Participants include Alki Bike and Board, Meeples Games, West Seattle Runner, Mioposto, Pizzeria 22, Shugs Soda Fountain, Menchies, Taste of Mumbai, Mud Bay, PCC, Current Coffee, Seattle Yarn, Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop, and The Admiral Pub. Two details are worth knowing. The Nook opens at 4 p.m., so start there after the first half hour. Seattle Dive Tours promises extra candy for marine-life costumes, for any age.
That roster also shows the pattern behind this whole post. In West Seattle, Halloween is organized through business districts and their associations, each with its own sponsors, volunteers and date, so the schedule follows the merchant groups and not the calendar holiday.
Day of the Dead finishes on Fauntleroy Way
The series ends on Sunday, November 1, with Day of the Dead in the Lower Junction on Fauntleroy Way SW, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that, the Junction Association's next date for small businesses is Shop Small Saturday on November 29, on its 2026 Hometown Holidays schedule.
New stops along the route this year
Several businesses opened in time for this season.
Starbird Chicken opened September 28 at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW, on the same street as November's Day of the Dead. It's the chain's first location in Washington. The West Seattle Blog counted about 80 people in line before the doors opened at 11 a.m., and the first 200 were promised free food. Rachel Porter of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce emceed the ribbon cutting.
CraftLab Seattle held its grand opening yesterday, October 3, at its new studio at 4411 California SW, a short walk from the Harvest Fest route.
Phoenecia, at 4717 42nd SW in the Alaska Junction, was serving Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as of its August update, so it's open during the Harvest Fest hours. Saturday brunch was planned, but no start date was given.
Coming later
Two bagel shops are on the way, though neither will be open for this Halloween run. Royal Bagel had construction underway at 6045 California SW in Morgan Junction as of August 24. The owner hoped to open in the fall, and I haven't found an opening date since. Hey Bagel, whose University Village shop is run by Andrew Rubinstein, signed a lease in the nearly finished mixed-use building at 4448 California SW, just north of the Alaska Junction. The Seattle Times reports a target opening of May 1, 2027.
Mashiko is moving from 4725 California SW to 9640 16th SW in White Center. As of the September 11 update, the owners planned to announce their last day in the Junction soon and hoped to reopen after a short renovation. I haven't found a confirmed final date in the Junction. If you've been meaning to go one more time at the California Avenue location, plan that dinner sooner.
Every one of these events is organized by a neighborhood group, and that local knowledge is how I work with sellers too. If you're thinking about how your home would show this fall or next spring, Terry McMahan can walk you through what it's worth and how your block's routine fits into the marketing. Request your personalized home valuation, and we'll talk once the candy is gone.
