This year Halloween falls on a Saturday, and Topeka's calendar has spread itself out to match. The City of Topeka holds its trunk or treat two days early, on Thursday. Friday works as a warm-up night. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the trick-or-treat events start at 9 a.m. at the Topeka Zoo and keep going one after another until about 5:30 p.m. Once the sun goes down, most of what's on the calendar is ticketed and aimed at adults.
If you have kids in costume, plan your Saturday around daylight. If you don't, your Halloween starts after dinner.
Thursday, Oct. 29: The City Goes First
The City of Topeka's annual Trunk or Treat runs 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Evergy Plaza, at 7th and S. Kansas Avenue, and it's free. WIBW reported that the 2026 theme is "Classic Costumes," meaning witches, mummies, werewolves and vampires. There's a costume contest category for the theme, and any family-friendly costume is welcome.
The trunks come from law enforcement, first responders, community partners and car show entries. You'll also find crafts, games, music, and a costume contest for all ages. Topeka Hy-Vee donated to support the event. In that same WIBW story, City Manager Robert Perez said the event "is all about bringing the community together in a safe, welcoming environment." WIBW also passed along a tip from Topeka police: take a photo of your child in costume before you go, in case you get separated in the crowd. Downtown on a Thursday evening is the busiest it gets all week, so that photo takes ten seconds and is worth it.
Older kids have their own option the same evening. The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is holding Online to IRL: Teens Get Creative – Costume Lip Sync Showdown! from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in its Learning Center at 1515 SW 10th Ave. That gives families a choice on Thursday: little ones downtown, teens at the library.
Friday, Oct. 30: Two Calendars on One Night
Friday is the first night where the kid calendar and the adult calendar clearly split.
For families, Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church at 7433 SW 29th St. holds a trunk or treat from 7 to 8 p.m. Earlier that evening, the library runs a Jack-o-Lantern Sensory Bag session for children 5 and under, 5:30 to 6 p.m. in the Learning Center. Washburn Theatre stages "Little Shop of Horrors" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Neese-Gray Theatre in the Garvey Fine Arts Building.
For adults, Friday's events stretch from North Topeka down to SW 49th Street:
- Curious Cauldron: After Dark, 7 to 10 p.m. at Rogue Event Studio, 917 N. Kansas Ave. Tickets are $10 and it's 21 and over. Listing here.
- WHO KILLED THE BARTENDER? at Kickstart Saloon, 2521 N. Kansas Ave. The mystery starts at 7 p.m. and the killer is revealed at 11. Listing here.
- The Night Before Halloween Rock Party! at Happy Basset Barrel House, 510 SW 49th St., 8 to 11 p.m. It's a costume party with prizes. Listing here.
Nightmare Festival at Stormont Vail Events Center is also open Friday from 7 to 10:30 p.m. More on that in the Saturday night section.
Saturday, Oct. 31, by the Clock
This table shows how Saturday's family events line up. Each one starts as the previous one is winding down, so you can string several together.
| Start | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. | Boo at the Zoo, until 3 p.m. | Topeka Zoo, Gage Park | Included with zoo admission |
| 9 a.m. | Halloween Baby & Kid Photos, until 11 a.m., then 1 to 4 p.m. | Library, Marvin Auditorium 101A | Free |
| 10 a.m. | Spook-o-motive, until 5 p.m. | Mini-Train, SW 6th & Gage Blvd. | $2 |
| 10 a.m. | Classic Car Trunk or Treat, until 2 p.m. | Dugout, 1545 SW Fairlawn Rd. | No fee to enter a car; visitor admission not listed |
| 11 a.m. | Halloween Party | Barnes & Noble, 6130 SW 17th St. | Not listed |
| 1 p.m. | Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat, until 3 p.m. | Christ Lutheran Church, 3509 SW Burlingame Rd. | Not listed |
| 3 p.m. | Trunk or Treat, until 5 p.m. | Positive Connections, 2044 SW Fillmore St. | Free |
| 4 p.m. | Trunk or Treat | Victory City Church | Not listed |
| 5 p.m. | Wicked Wings | Gate 36, 3600 NE Sardou Ave. | Not listed |
| 5:30 p.m. | Trunk or Treat | West Side Baptist Church, 1008 SW 4th St. | Not listed |
The last trunk or treat in the table starts at 5:30 p.m. Six of the ten events start by 1 p.m. On a weekday Halloween, the kid events would all be squeezed into a short window after school. This year they're spread across the whole day.
A few of these are worth a closer look. The Barnes & Noble party has games, stories and giveaways in the kids' department. Christ Lutheran's drive-thru format lets the car do the walking, which helps with very young kids or bad weather. Porterfield's Flowers presents the Positive Connections event. Out by the airport, Gate 36 Eatery & Spirits gives its Wicked Wings trunk or treat an airplane theme and serves chili and cinnamon rolls along with the candy.
Gage Park Covers the Morning
If you only pick one stop on Saturday morning, Gage Park is the easy choice because two events overlap there.
Boo at the Zoo runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and trick-or-treating around the zoo comes with regular admission. Kids are invited to dress up as a superhero, a princess, or a Topeka Zoo animal, and the animals get special treats too. The zoo's admission page lists $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $8.50 for ages 3 to 12, and free entry for ages 2 and under and for members. Tax is added. Members also get express entry during the event, which matters at a busy gate. For lunch, Sunflower Cafe & Grill has an $8 meal deal with a hamburger or hot dog, chips, and a canned soda. Cheese is $1 extra.
A family of two adults and two kids between 3 and 12 pays $37 before tax at the gate. Compare that with the $2 Spook-o-motive ride at the Gage Park Mini-Train, which Shawnee County Parks & Recreation runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county calls it "delightful, not frightful," and riders can watch for "the 13 ghosts of Gage Park hanging out around the tracks." The train keeps running until 5 p.m., two hours after the zoo event wraps up. That means a family that leaves the zoo at 3 p.m. still has time to ride, then drive over to Positive Connections on SW Fillmore before its trunk or treat ends at 5.
If you'd rather have photos than candy, the library's Halloween Baby & Kid Photos offer free professional portraits in Marvin Auditorium 101A, 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. The library is close enough to Gage Park to do both in one morning.
Farther out, Shively Farms Pumpkin Patch south of Lake Shawnee is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. Entry is $10 for more than 40 activities, and kids 2 and under get in free. Shively stays open through Nov. 8, so it doesn't need to fit into Halloween day. Gary's Fall Festival in Grantville, by contrast, runs through Oct. 31, so Saturday is its last day this season. On its own site, Gary's Farm Fest lists 2026 single-day tickets at $16.95 online plus a $1.50 fee, or $21.95 at the gate.
After 5 p.m., the Calendar Turns Grown-Up
Once the 5:30 trunk or treat is underway, almost everything left on the Saturday calendar is for adults.
Nightmare Festival 2026 at Stormont Vail Events Center, One Expocentre Drive, wraps up its run with a "Blackout Night" on Oct. 31, 7 to 10:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:45. Entry to the festival is free, and attractions are paid with $5 tokens. The main Nightmare on the Boulevard haunted house costs three tokens, or $15. A second haunt costs two tokens. Axe throwing, the Nightmare on Wheels Escape Bus, and the Sleep Deprivation Experience run one or two tokens each. Tokens are sold at the door only, with no advance sales except for groups. Since entry is free, you can walk in, look around, and decide how many tokens you want.
Two bars that also hosted Friday events are back on Saturday. Happy Basset Barrel House has Departure – Halloween Night, 8 to 11 p.m., with the band starting at 8, a costume contest, and a $10 cover. Kickstart Saloon hosts Nightmare on the North Side with live music by Tyler Lyon, also 8 to 11 p.m., with its own costume contest. A Friday-and-Saturday costume could win twice. "Little Shop of Horrors" also plays its 7 p.m. Saturday show at Washburn, for anyone who prefers a seat in a theater.
Before You Load the Car
A few details to check before you head out:
- West Side Baptist's start time. The church's October newsletter says 5:30 p.m. Another online listing shows both 6 to 8 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Go by the church's own word, or call ahead.
- Victory City Church's address. The church's event page lists 4 p.m. Saturday but no street address, so look up the location before you go.
- "Not listed" prices. Several events in the table don't publish a price. Don't assume they're free, and bring a little cash just in case.
- Nightmare Festival tokens. They're only sold at the door, so arriving at 6:45 when doors open gives you the most time on the last night.
Plenty of what I love about living near Topeka shows up on a weekend like this one: a $2 train ride, a church parking lot full of decorated trunks, a costume contest at the bar down the road. If a friend or family member is thinking about moving here and wants to know what a regular Saturday looks like, have them reach out to Wendie Edwards. I'm glad to tell them about this weekend and help them figure out which part of town fits the way they live. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits you, and enjoy the weekend.
