Last year, downtown Berkley's Halloween was one long Saturday, a week before the real date. This year it's two Saturdays, and the second one is October 31.
The Downtown Development Authority's two biggest BOO!kley events now run separately. The Monster Mash Block Party closes Coolidge this Saturday, October 24. The Trick or Treat Stroll moves to Halloween itself, Saturday, October 31. The city made the change on purpose, and it changes how the whole week goes. Downtown candy and neighborhood candy now fall on the same date, a few hours apart.
Last year, one Saturday carried both
In 2025 the two events were stacked on top of each other. The Oakland Press listing for Oakland County Halloween events had downtown trick-or-treating from noon to 3 p.m. on October 25, with the Monster Mash starting on Coolidge at 2 p.m. and running until 5. So for an hour both were running at once, and families going straight from candy to the DJ were downtown for most of the afternoon. Then Halloween came six days later, and the neighborhoods did it all again.
Here's how the two years compare:
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Trick or Treat Stroll | Sat., Oct. 25, noon–3 p.m. | Sat., Oct. 31, noon–3 p.m. |
| Monster Mash | Sat., Oct. 25, 2–5 p.m. | Sat., Oct. 24, 2–5 p.m. |
| Overlap | One hour, same street grid | None |
| Stroll's distance from Halloween | Six days early | Same day |
The times are almost the same as last year. The dates are what changed.
Saturday the 24th belongs to Coolidge
The split came before the city council at its September 21 meeting. According to the city's recap of that meeting, DDA Director Nate Mack and event lead Lisa Kempner presented the special event application for the BOOkley Monster Mash Block Party. The recap explains the reason directly:
"This will be the first year the event is held separately from the Trick or Treat Stroll after concerns about the long day both events created previously and to hopefully increase event safety."
With its own date, the Monster Mash gets Coolidge to itself. The DDA's event page says the block party closes Coolidge between 12 Mile and Catalpa from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 24. It lists a DJ, crafts, performances and photo spots, and calls the event suitable for all ages.
That stretch of Coolidge is also on the city's long-range agenda. At the same September meeting, the council heard a proposal from Spalding DeDecker for a Coolidge Corridor Study covering Coolidge from 11 Mile to Webster. The firm laid out a rough timeline running to July 2027 and an engagement plan that includes SMART, the Road Commission for Oakland County and city departments. For three hours this Saturday, the block between 12 Mile and Catalpa is a car-free street with a DJ, so anyone who goes will see that part of the corridor in a different way.
Halloween afternoon moves downtown
The Stroll's new date matters most. The DDA lists the Trick or Treat Stroll for Saturday, October 31, from noon to 3 p.m., along the sidewalks of 12 Mile and Coolidge. Participating downtown businesses hand out candy, and the DDA asks visitors to walk clockwise along 12 Mile. The page says in capital letters that the Stroll and the Monster Mash are "SEPARATE EVENTS" this year.
Then the residential streets take over. Berkley doesn't set official trick-or-treat hours. The 2025 Oakland Press listing put it as "no set hours, Oct. 31," and an October 5, 2026 roundup from Oakland County Moms cites the City Clerk as saying the city has no specific ordinance setting them.
So for the first time, Halloween in Berkley runs in this order:
- Noon to 3 p.m. Downtown storefronts on 12 Mile and Coolidge, clockwise along the 12 Mile sidewalks.
- The hours after. A pause between downtown and the front porches on the same day. Last year the two were six days apart.
- Evening. Front porches across the city's residential blocks, with no hours set by the city.
Last year a family could have spent October 25 downtown and then done the neighborhoods six days later, and the two outings had nothing to do with each other. This year they happen on the same day, so the downtown afternoon is the first half of Halloween. The costumes don't have to survive a second outing a week later.
The block that sits this one out
One street has its own rules this Halloween. Bacon Avenue between 11 Mile and 12 Mile is in the middle of a water main and pavement replacement. As of the city's mid-October update on its construction page, Bacon is an active work site. No parking is allowed on either side, only northbound traffic gets through, and the page says "absolutely no drop-off or pedestrian travel is permitted along Bacon Avenue."
That update also said paving was finished from 12 Mile to Wiltshire Road, while demolition, grading and base work continued on both sides of Bacon from Cambridge Road to Oxford Road. Homes on the west side of that block were losing driveway access for about three to four weeks while the road was built. Bacon residents received overnight on-street parking passes good through January 2027, and the Department of Public Works at 3238 Bacon has more.
The project is replacing the water main, the storm catch basins and the pavement from 12 Mile to 11 Mile, along with driveway approaches and sidewalks in the city right-of-way. The city expects it to be substantially complete by the end of November 2026, depending on weather. On the same page, the city says Bacon was chosen partly because many of its homes had lead service lines and the section had a history of water main breaks.
Bacon residents have one more date after Halloween. The city asks them not to blow leaves into the street until November 14 at the earliest, and leaf bags are available at the DPW. Public Works answers questions at 248-658-3490 or [email protected], and the construction page has an email sign-up for project updates.
Filling the week between
The split leaves seven days between the two Saturdays, and BOO!kley fills them. According to the DDA's BOO!kley Month page, skeleton decorating is closed for 2026, but the skeletons stay up along the 12 Mile and Coolidge sidewalks for anyone walking by. The same page runs BOO!kley Boneyards, a map of decorated Berkley homes where the community votes for Best Decorated this season.
The council recap adds one more spot. The Dorothea Pocket Park is open throughout October. That's the same block of Dorothea that hosted the BOO!kley Night Market during Witches Night Out on October 8.
At least one 12 Mile business is having its first Halloween season in Berkley. Slows Bar BQ opened at 3087 12 Mile on December 19, 2025, the Detroit Free Press reported, so this October is its first BOO!kley. The DDA hasn't published a list of businesses taking part in the Stroll. The storefronts with candy at the door on the 31st will be the ones taking part.
For businesses or neighbors who want to help next year, the DDA takes sponsorship inquiries through Executive Director Nate Mack at (248) 658-3353. Checks go to the Berkley Downtown Development Authority at 3338 Coolidge Hwy.
Things like a car-free Saturday on Coolidge, a week of skeletons on 12 Mile and a street being rebuilt one block at a time are part of what it's like to live in Berkley day to day. They come up whenever we help someone decide whether a home fits their life. If you'd like to talk about how Berkley's calendar and street projects affect a home you own or are considering, Deborah Gannes is glad to help. Schedule a Free Consultation.
