Last Call for China Lights Festival

200-foot-long dragon at China Lights festival. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Sure, you could walk into any Milwaukee establishment this weekend and chances are you’ll stumble into a Halloween party. But that’s a lot of decisions to make, so we’ve made your weekend plans easier with this curated list of Halloween-themed events. Check out the Bayshore Boogie Bash & Costume Contest for example, where the entire family can trick-or-treat, dance and eat good food all in one spot. It’s the last weekend to check out China Lights, and Eagle Park Brewing Company is giving your dog a chance to show off its costume this year. 

October 28: Bayshore Boogie Bash & Costume Contest

The third annual Bayshore Boogie Bash & Costume Contest is celebrating Halloween at The Yard in the middle of the shopping center. The event will feature a costume contest as well a dance party orchestrated by Kid Boogie Down. The Yard will be fully transformed with spooky decor, and children can interact with Halloween-themed fairytale princesses and giant LED robots. The outdoor event will kick off with trick-or-treating at Kilwin’s at 5 p.m., and food trucks and pop-ups will be available throughout the evening. The event lasts until 8 p.m.  

Mad Planet, 533 E. Center St., presents two nights of dance parties, with Friday night celebrating the best of the ‘80s and ‘90s with DJ Andrew Optimist and Saturday night will celebrate the best of the ’90s and ’00s with DJ Milkman. Both nights will feature drink specials, and costumes are encouraged but not required. Both events will run from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

October 28-30: Last Call for China Lights

The popular China Lights festival has been running since mid-September but is now coming to a close. This weekend marks your last chance to check out this year’s Alice in Wonderland-themed lights festival. China Lights is set up at the Boerner Botanical Gardens and is open from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Advance ticket purchase is recommended.

October 29: Halloween on Brady

Brady Street is celebrating Halloween with the city’s largest costume contest. Bars all along the Lower East Side street will be holding individual costume contests between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Finalists will then head to Nashville North, where an overall winner will be determined. And even if you’re not the competitive type, there’s sure to be plenty of specials, cool decorations and fun costumes to experience!

Black Husky Brewing, 909 E. Locust St., is celebrating the release of its Sparkly Eyes Imperial Sproose with a 1970s-themed costume party. Aside from disco balls and bell bottoms, the event will also feature a costume contest as well as a contest for whoever can most accurately (or most hilariously) reenact Saturday Night Live’s iconic “More Cowbell” skit. The event will run from noon to 9 p.m.

October 29: First Annual Canine Costume Contest

Eagle Park Brewing, 823 E. Hamilton St., is partnering with Skilos Family Pet Store for an adorable Halloween event featuring the city’s best-dressed canines. The event will feature a variety of pet vendors, and local rescue group Rescue Gang will be in attendance with some of the organization’s adoptable friends. The brewery will be snapping photos of the dogs in attendance, posting them online and letting social media decide who wins the costume contest. The event will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.