Anaheim's Halloween Parade Is Still Built by Volunteers on Sunday Mornings

Last October 19, a Sunday, volunteers were putting the finishing touches on floats for the 102nd Anaheim Fall Festival. That was the final build day before the 2025 parade, and the Orange County Register ran a photo of the work this September. The same item put out this year's call. Every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. leading up to October 24, crews build new floats and spruce up the existing ones.

That schedule ends this Saturday, October 24. The Anaheim Fall Festival and Halloween Parade takes over downtown on Saturday, October 24. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the parade starts at 7 p.m. Both are free. The organizers describe it as "a beloved hometown tradition run by local volunteers," and the whole day works best if you treat it that way. This is a parade a town builds for itself, and it is scheduled for neighbors who show up early.

A tradition that already came back once

The festival started in 1923 as the Halloween Carnival and Festival. The parade followed in 1924, with Babe Ruth as its first grand marshal, according to Visit Anaheim. It was once billed as "the largest nighttime pageant west of the Mississippi."

It has not run at full strength the whole time. The tradition dipped in the 1980s, and city boosters and volunteers brought it back. The City of Anaheim marked the festival's 100th anniversary in 2023 and the parade's centennial in 2024. Going by the Register's count of 2025 as the 102nd festival, the October 24 festival is the 103rd.

Floats that recreate the old ones

The revived parade looks back to its own peak years. Float designs draw on classic Halloween styles from the mid-twentieth century, the 1950s and 1960s, and include recreations of historic floats like the "Rocket Witch" and the saucer-shaped Flying Sasser. The city says the Flying Sasser is a resin replica of a 1950s parade float, recreated in 2012. Los Angeles Magazine reported in 2023 that the volunteer artists and craftspeople doing this work included many with Walt Disney Company experience.

The current parade page shows two floats with the same handmade feel: the Bisabuela, or Grandmother, float and Mr. Pumpkin Man. The organizers haven't published a full 2026 lineup, so treat those older floats as the tradition rather than a promise for this year.

You can add to the Bisabuela yourself. One of the festival activities is folding an origami butterfly to go on the float. Any kid who folds one in the afternoon can watch for it after dark.

You can also help build next year's floats. The festival's volunteer page describes the work as painting, sawing and assembling float parts. Cause IQ lists the organizer, Anaheim Fall Festival, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Saturday, hour by hour

Since every piece comes from volunteers and local groups, the festival program reads like a directory of downtown Anaheim. The festival is set at Center Greens and runs through Center Street Promenade. Visit Anaheim's write-up for the 2024 centennial year put the festival on Center Street Promenade from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year it wraps at 4 p.m.

1. 10 a.m., festival opens. The stages feature King Kukulele, Bob Baker Marionettes, The Deadbeats and My Safe Harbor Folklorico, plus drawing lessons with artist Rene Pompa. Around the grounds you'll find wooden ornament painting with Jack Knight, piñata making with Piñata Design Studio, the Anaheim Public Library STEAM Van, MUZEO, Halloween scratch art with the Boys & Girls Club of Anaheim, monster-making with Altrusa International, and a visit from Wild Wing of the Anaheim Ducks.
2. All day, Tiny Cinema. Davey B. Gravey's Tiny Cinema shows a silent film with live music.
3. All day, car show. The classic car show fills Center Street Promenade from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Car registration is sold out, but walking the rows is free. The car-show stage hosts The Tone Slingers, J.P. McDermott & Western Bop, Tequila Worms, and Trevor Kelly & Mr. Man. Awards start at 3:30 p.m. A beer garden with Pfeiffer, Beachwood, Radiant and Unsung runs the same hours.
4. Costume contests. The kiddie contest is for ages 12 and under and has a family-group category. Registration is capped at 300 entries. The dog contest has small-dog, large-dog and family/group divisions, with 20 competitors per division. With caps that low, register early.
5. 3 p.m., City Hall parking locks. No cars can enter or leave the City Hall lot from 3 to 9 p.m. because of parade road closures.
6. 4 p.m., festival closes. The parade is still three hours away.
7. 5 p.m., overflow lot opens at Anaheim High School.
8. 7 p.m., parade steps off.

The three hours between 4 and 7 shape the evening. Families who come for the festival and want to stay need a plan for that stretch. Anyone coming just for the parade is arriving while the City Hall lot is already shut.

Where to park, and when each lot works

The organizers list these options and warn of many road closures on event day. They haven't posted a street-by-street closure list, so check the parade page before you leave.

If you plan to park on the street, the organizers point out that many nearby neighborhoods are permit-only and ask visitors to be respectful of residents.

Picking a spot along the route

The parade starts at Anaheim Boulevard and Broadway, turns left onto Center Street Promenade, then heads down Broadway and ends at Broadway and West Street. In 2024 the route was described more simply as starting at City Hall and heading west on Broadway. This year's detailed route runs through the Promenade, so the car-show stretch becomes parade frontage once evening comes.

The volunteer announcers call the parade in two languages, and where you stand decides which one you hear. The English announcer is at the Car Show Stage at Lemon and Center St. Promenade. The Spanish announcer is in front of CarPark 3. If you park in CarPark 3, the Spanish commentary is right outside. If your afternoon ends at the car show awards, you can stay put and hear the English call.

The rest of Halloween week downtown

The parade isn't the only Halloween event downtown. Several more run through the following week, close enough to walk from the route.

• Monday, Oct. 26, 7 to 8:40 p.m. The Anaheim Packing District shows "Hocus Pocus" for free at Farmers Park, 412 S. Anaheim Blvd., as part of Monster Monday Movie Nights.
• Thursday, Oct. 29, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Downtown Anaheim Association turns its farmers market into "Nightmare on Center Street," with spooky vendors, trick-or-treating and costume contests at 201 W. Center Street Promenade.
• Friday, Oct. 30, 5 to 10 p.m. GardenWalk hosts a Halloween-themed Friday Night Market with local vendors and trick-or-treating at 400 W. Disney Way.

After Saturday, the float crews' Sunday 8:30 a.m. sessions are done until the build starts again for next year. Anyone who wants to help can email the organizers at [email protected].

The BAIKHOME team will be downtown on Saturday cheering the floats along Broadway with our Anaheim neighbors. If the parade has you thinking about your own place near Center Street, we're glad to help in English or Korean. Get Your Free Home Valuation whenever you're ready.