Happy Halloween from California courtesy of Halloween Horror Nights shown in the photo above from Universal Studios Hollywood. Their themed scare experience is but one of many to get you screaming with fear and delight. Do you like to celebrate Halloween in California? Once a few days celebration, Halloween has taken on a growing, festive meaning as people desire to party, masquerade and be entertained.  There is no Mardi Gras per se in California, celebrated as a state event, so the closest thing to it is Halloween. The biggest free block party is held in West Hollywood. Hundreds of thousands of people attend the event filled with quality live music and bands, costume contests and drag queens. But the naughtiest event is held each year at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Ladies and gents go for the body paint, skimpy clothes and innuendos at this debacle.

Family festivals abound throughout California's month-long Halloween held each October. Dog festivals and events, pumpkin and scarecrow fests, biggest pumpkin contests, best costumes, and theme park entertainment are part of the Halloween celebrations. Below are a few repeating events. Please let us know if you'd like to be added to the list, and tell us if your event needs updates. As you visit many of California's rural destinations, the spirit of Halloween colors the landscape with the bright orange pumpkins, scarecrows and festive farms featuring hay rides, pumpkin patches and more.  And that spirit is also introduced to the city where corner lots are transformed into fun zone attractions with pumpkin patches, petting zoos, carnival rides and a whole lot of fun in one of California's top holidays--Halloween.  

California Festivals & Fairs - October

hotels

Very cute, great foods, photo ops and tractor rides through pumpkin patch, this is perfect for families and kids

Cutest parade for pet lovers who like to dress up their dogs in costumes

Ranked one of the neatest places to shop and play, Burbank's downtown has really changed

Calabasas has a history as pumpkin growing region and tradition of festivals celebrating Halloween & harvests

Mazes abound during October in California

Sort of a combo Oktoberfest and Halloween event for dogs and pet owners

Biggest outdoor celebration in Bay Area for Halloween

Over 10 years of street trick-or- treats fun for kids

Largest corn maze on West Coast, pick pumpkins, rides, petting zoo

4 acre corn maze 10 feet tall offers only one way in and one way out. Takes approx. 45 minutes to find your way to the end. 550 Stony Point Rd.

Long tradition of Halloween haunts in Balboa Park San Diego

Sexy, sleazy, naughty and very erotic for adults only at Cow Palace

open year round, with special flashlight tours

5 acre corn maze at farm 4 miles north of Santa Cruz

Ventura County farm

Freddy Krueger

Fabulous entertainment and original costumes based on scariest movies

Ventura's Spanish culture keeps alive this Mexican tradition of honoring the Day of the Dead

Drag Races

This is the largest Halloween event in the world

Napa Valley can look eerie at night, so add some ghost designs and your imagination takes flight

slide show offers ideas for  costumes that can be shipped