Weekend Packed With Opportunities To Show Off Your Costume

Halloween. (Pixabay License)

Hopefully you have a costume figured out by now, because there are plenty of events this weekend where you can show it off, win some prizes and get in the Halloween spirit. The Milwaukee Art Museum’s MAM After Dark event series is back with Fright at the Museum, a Halloween party that will take place after the museum closes its doors for the evening. Brady St. is hosting Milwaukee’s largest costume contest as part of its annual Halloween on Brady St., and Forest Home Cemetery is honoring the traditions of Dia de los Muertos with an event that will feature dancing, live music, face painting and more.

October 24: MAM After Dark: Fright at the Museum

If you’ve ever wanted to dress up in costume and dance the night away at a museum, you’re in luck! The Milwaukee Art Museum’s MAM After Dark event is back with a Halloween edition. Fright at the Museum will take place after hours at the Milwaukee Art Museum and will feature live music, drinks, food, a costume contest and more. Guests can participate in tarot card readings and Drag Queen Bingo and enjoy spooky cocktails and seasonal snacks. The costume contest will be broken up into four categories – dress up in a museum-inspired or art-themed costume in order to win the Masterpiece Award. MAM After Dark will run from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Milwaukee Art Museum’s website.

October 24-26: Boo at the Zoo

The Milwaukee County Zoo is getting in the seasonal spirit with Boo at the Zoo, where guests are encouraged to show up in costume and participate in a number of special themed activities. Traverse the Trick-or-Treat Trail through Adventure Africa and enjoy spooky experiments courtesy of Mad Science of Milwaukee. Other activities include a haystack maze, a light show, Halloween-themed conservation connections and more. Boo at the Zoo will run from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit the Milwaukee County Zoo’s website.

October 24-31: Suckfest

The Sugar Maple is going all out for Halloween with an eight-day celebration called “Suckfest.” Throughout the eight days, the craft beer bar will show vampire-themed films and host live entertainment and costume contests. Each day will focus on a different film or television series. October 24, for example, will show every Twilight film followed by a Twilight-themed trivia event. The event will end with classic vampire flicks like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and will feature a drag-themed costume contest, where guests can win the title of Drag “Queen of the Damned” or Drag “King of the Damned.”

October 25: Halloween on Brady

Your favorite haunts on Brady St. will quite literally become haunted this weekend as Brady St. gears up for Halloween on Brady. Over a dozen Brady St. bars will participate in the city’s “largest costume contest,” where each bar will host an individual costume contest. Winners from these smaller contests will move onto the overall costume contest, where first place will win $1000. The final winner will be determined at midnight. For more information, visit the Brady Street website.

October 25: Harvest Day

Walnut Way Conservation Corp. is putting on Harvest Day, a community-oriented celebration aimed at bringing together Lindsay Heights residents and folks from the greater Milwaukee area. In the words of Executive Director Antonio Butts: ““Harvest Day is a celebration of the Lindsay Heights neighborhood and lifts up the remarkable talents, gifts and culture of our community.” Guests can expect live entertainment, health and wellness resources, local vendors and more. There’s fun for the whole family as well – children’s activities such as games and crafts will also be available. Harvest Day will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Clarence and Cleopatra Johnson Park and is free to attend.

October 25: Dia de Los Muertos Festival

Celebrate the traditions of Dia de los Muertos at the Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum, where attendees can participate in a 5K run/walk as well as a festival that will feature food trucks, traditional music and dance, local vendors and more. Check out the chapel, where altars to the dead will be constructed, and participate in traditional face painting. The 5K run/walk will kick off at 9:30 a.m. and the festival will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m. Registration for the run/walk will open at 8:30 a.m. For more information, visit the Forest Home Cemetery’s website.