La Jolla's Halloween Week Mostly Happens Within a Few Village Blocks. Here's How the Evenings Line Up.
At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, Draper Avenue closes between Kline and Prospect streets. Trick-or-treating doesn't start until 5:30, so the closure gives about two and a half hours to line the block with decorated cars. In 2025 there were 32 of them. This year is the event's second, and the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board has already approved the closure, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Halloween roundup.
That closed block is the middle of La Jolla's Halloween this year. Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2026, but the Village's big public events take place on the weeknights before it. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday each have an evening event within a short walk of the corner of Draper and Kline. On Saturday itself, the listed Village event is an afternoon dog costume contest.
Three of the week's events start in the 900 blocks of Kline and Prospect, and Draper's closure sits between those two streets. Here's how the nights line up:
| Night | Event | Where it starts | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Oct. 27 | Taste of La Jolla | Spiro's Mediterranean Cuisine, 909 Prospect St., Suite 100B | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. | $69 early-bird ticket |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Trunk or Treat | Draper Ave. between Kline and Prospect | 5:30 to 7 p.m.; street closed 3 to 8 p.m. | Free bites and drinks |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | "Twilight" poolside screening | La Valencia Hotel, 1132 Prospect St. | Pool entry 6:15 p.m. | $35 |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Creepy Candy Crawl | Candy bags at 908 Kline St. | 3 to 6 p.m. | Free |
Tuesday is built for adults with a tasting ticket, Wednesday centers on younger kids and a closed street, and Friday spreads across every participating storefront in the Village.
Taste of La Jolla is the Foundation of La Jolla High School's fall fundraiser, and it has been running for more than 25 years. The evening has three parts. Check-in and a pre-party start at Spiro's at 4:30 p.m., where you pick up a wristband and raffle tickets. The tasting walk runs from 5:30 to 7:30. Everyone then heads back to Spiro's from 7:30 to 8:30 for the raffle drawing and prizes.
This year's participants include Georges at the Cove, Duke's, Queenstown Village, Turtle Rock Ridge, Lobster West, Parfait Paris, Isola Pizza Bar, Scoops, The Whaling Bar, Catania, Birdseye, Piazza 1909, La Jollita, Burger Lounge, Taco Time Cantina, Puesto La Jolla and Zoya, plus Spiro's as the host. The ticket page lists the early-bird price at $69.
The same Tuesday, La Jolla Playhouse begins preview performances of "GRIM," a world-premiere musical. Previews run October 27 through November 1, and the Tuesday show starts at 7:30 p.m., the same time the Taste walk ends. That makes it hard to do both in full on one night, but the musical stays at the Mandell Weiss Theatre through December 6, so there's time to see it later. The Playhouse's show page has the full schedule. The Union-Tribune's Best Bets column lists the theater's address as 2910 La Jolla Village Drive.
La Jolla Presbyterian Church hosts Trunk or Treat, which is a different setup from going door to door. Kids walk one long line of decorated cars and collect candy from the trunks. The Union-Tribune reports that free chili, apple cider and "apple in a cup" will be served, and there will be a pumpkin carving area.
The 3 p.m. closure matters most for anyone driving through the Village Wednesday afternoon. The block between Kline and Prospect is closed from then until 8 p.m., an hour after the last trunk closes.
A few blocks away, La Valencia's fall poolside movie series ends that same night with "Twilight." Pool entry starts at 6:15, and the film begins 30 minutes later. Tickets are $35. Lounge chairs are first-come, first-served, and dogs can come with a $5 "Pup Pass" that benefits the San Diego Humane Society. Details are on La Valencia's events page.
The La Jolla Village Merchants Association's Creepy Candy Crawl is free and runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, October 30. It spreads across the Village's commercial streets, but it starts at the La Jolla Real Estate Broker's Association building at 908 Kline St., where kids pick up candy bags. Businesses that are taking part will have balloons out front.
You don't sign up for the costume contest. Judges dressed as witches walk the Village and pick winners, Geppetto's toy store donates the prizes, and winners are announced at or around 4:15 p.m. If your family wants to compete, get there early.
Grown-ups have their own option a little earlier. La Valencia holds a Halloween High Tea at 2 p.m. that Friday, with French teas, scones and Halloween-themed pastries. It costs $95 per guest.
With the Village's big events done by Friday, Halloween itself is quieter on the public calendar. The Flower Pot Cafe and Bakery at 7530 Fay Ave. hosts Dogoween from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday. La Jolla Loves Pets presents it, and the afternoon includes a dog costume contest and prizes. The cafe says more details are coming, so check back before you go.
That frees up Saturday night for trick-or-treating at home. The Village's organized events are already over by then.
Two other venues have Halloween programs, and both work differently from the Village's free street events. Most of what they offer needs a ticket or a membership, and nothing requires a street closure.
At Birch Aquarium in La Jolla Shores, "Oceans at Night: Halloween" runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 22. It's for guests 21 and over, and admission is $59.95. On Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24, "Halloween Aglow" runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Adam R. Scripps Living Seas Gallery. It includes trick-or-treating, underwater pumpkin carving and the "Boo and Goo Lab," where you can see and touch animals that regrow parts of their bodies. Tickets are $49.95 for children and $59.95 for adults, and Birch members get 20% off. Tickets are on the aquarium's site.
La Jolla Community Center at 6811 La Jolla Blvd. runs a series of Halloween and Día de Muertos events from October 26 through November 2:
Every event is free for members. Non-members pay $10 for the workshops and the screening, and $15 for the happy hour and the November 2 celebration. Most of these run in the afternoon, so they end before the Village's evening events begin. On Tuesday you could finish the sugar skulls at 4:30 and be at Spiro's for Taste of La Jolla check-in the same hour.
The busy evenings fall during a week when a few daytime routines are also off schedule.
The beach stairs at Whale View Point, in the 400 block of Coast Boulevard, are being repaired through Wednesday, October 28. Crews work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Until the work is done, the Union-Tribune reports that beachgoers and surfers can use the stairs near the Surf Shack across from 333 Coast Blvd. Ellen Browning Scripps paid to build the original stairway in the 1920s. Project volunteer Bob Evans, a former La Jolla Parks & Beaches president, told the paper he doesn't think the stairs have been maintained or repaired in the last 100 years. The repair will cover the existing steps with precast concrete pavers.
That means the Draper closure and the last day of stair work fall on the same Wednesday. The stairs should reopen to morning surfers that Thursday, if the work finishes on schedule.
The La Jolla Recreation Center at 615 Prospect St. switched to a shorter week at the end of August, the Union-Tribune reported. It's now closed Sundays and Mondays. It's open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you were planning a Monday stop there between Community Center events, it won't be open.
The Village also has a tool for all this walking around. The La Jolla Village Savings Pass launched September 4 as a free app on Vibemap, with discounts at participating businesses in the Village and the Shores. The Union-Tribune's report on the launch has the details. You might want it before Friday's Candy Crawl, since you'll already be passing those storefronts. That same merchants group also put up 24 new wayfinding banners in late August, mostly on Girard Avenue and Prospect Street.
For La Jolla's Halloween this year, mark Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on the calendar and plan for Draper Avenue to be closed from 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
At Diana DuPre, we're part of the Village blocks these events fill up, and we think weeks like this one show what living here is like better than any listing can. If walking from Taste of La Jolla to the Candy Crawl gets you thinking about which La Jolla street you'd like to live on, we'd be glad to talk it through. Schedule Your Consultation.
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