On Saturday, October 31, the ofrendas inside the Santa Monica Pier's Merry Go-Round building open at 11 a.m. They stay open until 7 p.m., which takes them through the whole Halloween afternoon. On Sunday the same building hosts folklórico dancers and mariachi. That same day, on 14th Street, Woodlawn Cemetery holds its first Día de los Muertos celebration in six years.
So Halloween and Día de los Muertos aren't two separate dates on the Santa Monica calendar this year. They make one connected weekend. Halloween falling on a Saturday is only part of the reason. The rest comes from two scheduling choices: the Pier moved its dates, and a neighborhood group decided to bring back an event the City used to run.
The Pier moved its dates
In 2025, the Pier held its Día de los Muertos celebration on November 1 and 2. That was a weekend after Halloween, with a day in between. This year, the seventh annual celebration runs October 31 through November 1, 2026. It opens on Halloween itself.
That change gives Saturday a different feel. A family that trick-or-treats in the afternoon can stop at the Pier's Merry Go-Round on the same outing. Local artist Sylvia Sanchez made the altars inside, and visitors are invited to bring a personal photo for the communal ofrenda. This year's tribute honors Pedro Infante, the singer and actor from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. He starred in more than 60 films and recorded more than 350 songs before his career ended in 1957. The 100-year-old carousel is decorated with marigolds and papel picado for both days.
Thursday night comes first
The weekend's first event is tonight. The Santa Monica Family YMCA's 2026 Halloween Spooktacular runs Thursday, October 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It's free and includes a costume runway, bounce houses, face painting, rock wall climbing and a Thriller dance-off. It's a short, early-evening event, a low-key start to a busy Saturday.
Saturday runs from the coast inland
Saturday's events are spread across the city, but the times fit together well. The day starts at the Pier, moves to Montana Avenue for the afternoon and ends on Olympic Boulevard in the evening.
- 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Santa Monica Pier. Ofrendas are open to view, and you can add a photo, inside the Merry Go-Round building.
- 2 p.m., Santa Monica Playhouse. The final Saturday show of Absolutely Halloween!, which runs October 3 through October 31. Tickets are $15 for children 12 and under and $17.50 for adults.
- 2 to 5 p.m., Montana Avenue. The free Halloween Walk, with trick-or-treating at participating businesses, plus activities and merchant sales.
- 5 to 8 p.m., PAL Youth Center, 1401 Olympic Blvd. The City's free Halloween event, where the building becomes a Halloween wonderland with a haunted maze.
The Montana Avenue entry is the one that changed the most. The street's merchants now call it the Halloween Walk and run it from 2 to 5 p.m. Under its old name, the Montana Halloween Hop traditionally ran from 3 to 6 p.m., as the Santa Monica Daily Press noted in its October guide. Starting an hour earlier means the walk now ends right as the PAL Youth Center opens. A family can finish one and go to the other without waiting around.
The organizer's page says activity details "will be added as plans are confirmed." Check it before you leave.
Downtown is less settled this year. The Daily Press listed a free October 31 trick-or-treat downtown and said participating shops have traditionally handed out candy from 3 to 6 p.m. But on Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.'s official October calendar, October 31 shows the Sunshine Social Series, with no trick-or-treat listing. The organization's most recent official trick-or-treat page is for 2025, when the event ran 3 to 6 p.m. on a Friday. If the Promenade is on your list, treat those hours as tradition until shops post their own. Main Street's Howl-O-Ween page still shows a 2024 date. Main Street's October event was the Block Party and Day of the Dog on October 18.
Sunday has two Día de los Muertos events at once
On Sunday, November 1, two free Día de los Muertos celebrations happen at the same time. Their hours overlap for four hours.
| Woodlawn Cemetery | Santa Monica Pier | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Noon to 5:30 p.m. |
| Location | 1847 14th St. | Merry Go-Round building and West End |
| Host | Pico Improvement Organization | Santa Monica Pier |
| Program | Live music, traditional altars, art, food, activities | Aztec blessing, Ballet Folklórico, mariachi, consul general's speech, live music |
| Edition | Returning after a six-year break | Seventh annual |
The Pier's Sunday schedule is fixed. Ofrendas and face painting start at noon. The traditional Aztec blessing is at 1 p.m. at the West End. Santa Monica Ballet Folklórico performs at 2 p.m., then mariachi and Ballet Folklórico together at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., Carlos González Gutiérrez, Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles, gives a speech. The band Brotherhood plays the outdoor stage at 4:15 p.m. A procession led by Aztec dancers goes from the blessing site to the Merry Go-Round, and guests are invited to wear Día de los Muertos attire and walk with it.
The overlap means you can do both. You could arrive at Woodlawn when it opens at 11, then head to the coast in time for the 1 p.m. blessing or the 2 p.m. folklórico set. Woodlawn closes at 4, about when the consul general starts speaking on the Pier.
Woodlawn returns with a new host
The Woodlawn celebration used to be a City event. In 2017, Santa Monica Next described the City of Santa Monica presenting its sixth annual Día de los Muertos at the cemetery. The lineup included Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, Trio Bolero, performer Martin Espino and the strolling musicians Trio Mexicano. There was also a communal memory wall, calavera activities, an altar and food vendors. By 2019, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported it as the eighth annual. That year's format kept the sacred activities inside the cemetery and moved the secular ones, including workshops and food trucks, onto Delaware Avenue. The City still owns and operates Woodlawn Cemetery.
This year the Pico Improvement Organization is bringing it back. The group describes the event as a celebration for "residents, families, artists, students, local businesses, and community partners," and frames it as Día de los Muertos "returning to Pico Boulevard." The organizer has promised music, traditional altars, art and food, and says "more information to come." No performer lineup or parking details have been posted yet. Visit Santa Monica lists it at 1847 14th St., 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
That makes Sunday a pairing of two different kinds of events. The Pier's celebration has support from the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, a consular speaker and a fixed hour-by-hour schedule. Woodlawn's is run by a neighborhood organization, returning to the cemetery where the City presented at least eight annual editions. If you went to the Delaware Avenue version in 2019, this is its first return since.
Halloween falling on a Saturday is a calendar accident. Opening the Pier's ofrendas on October 31 and holding Woodlawn's return on November 1 were choices, and together they link Montana Avenue's afternoon, Olympic Boulevard's evening, the Merry Go-Round and 14th Street into one weekend. Sunday's last scheduled event is Brotherhood on the Pier's outdoor stage at 4:15 p.m.
At Shelton Wilder, we follow Santa Monica's calendar block by block, from Montana Avenue's merchants to the Pico Improvement Organization, because that's where the city's character shows. If you'd like to talk about the parts of Santa Monica whose weekends suit the way you live, schedule a private consultation with Shelton Wilder.
