It’s time to sip pumpkin spice lattes, hunt for the perfect pumpkin, and begin the season’s adventures. In Omaha, the fun revs up in October with events the entire family will love. Here’s the ultimate list of Omaha’s Halloween events – all treats, no tricks – that are so fun you’ll make them an annual tradition.
Ghouls & Glow
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Select dates in October
To experience Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium at night is only available to families during Ghouls & Glow.
During this delightful month-long event, over 400 larger-than-life, custom-made lanterns illuminate Children’s Adventure Trails. Visitors will encounter dancing skeletons, candy monsters, jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, witches, spider web arches, sugar skulls with elements of nature, an eerie house, a mummy band, and other friendly ghouls. Bats, vultures, spiders and black cats also light up the trails.
Outside the main lantern display, hundreds of hand-carved pumpkins glisten along the zoo’s pathways, as well as a 14-foot-tall pumpkin tree and themed lighting and décor.
There’s plenty more to see and do during this special event. Go trick-or-treating, take a ride on Sue’s Carousel, and purchase a s’mores kit or pick out the perfect miniature pumpkin to decorate and take home.
Omaha Circus Arts will dazzle with their mind-blowing fire dancing, gravity-defying aerials, and mesmerizing flow arts. Omaha Street Percussion is back with sensational drumming beats that will thrill you to the bone. Prepare for enchantment, as magician Joe Cole takes the stage.
Visitors can also catch an animal ambassador program, grab a bite to eat, or explore some of the zoo’s indoor exhibits like Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night or the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium.
For guests 21+, there is a “Spookeasy” serving seasonal alcoholic beverages.
Each year, the zoo hands out more than one million pieces of candy during the festivities. Don’t miss this sweet and not-so-scary Omaha outing with your family.
Haunted TreeRush
TreeRush Adventures at Fontenelle Forest
Select dates in October
Swing from the treetops and traverse aerial trails at TreeRush, where a dressed-up forest welcomes haunted climbs for ages 7+ through the month of October during Haunted TreeRush.
TreeRush is an exhilarating way to experience a unique forested area. Visitors can explore the treetops at this aerial amusement park suspended over 6 acres. After expert instruction, navigate suspended obstacles, bridges, rope ladders, tunnels and other surprises that make up the more than 113 challenges and 18 ziplines. Eight different trails are color-coded according to the level of difficulty and are marked as beginner to expert.
For kids aged 4 to 6, there’s a KidsRush Park with five trails that are only one to three feet off the ground, swinging bridges and a zipline swing.
Omaha Children’s Museum
Select dates in October
The award-winning children’s museum’s not-so-scary haunted house returns for another season of hands-on play and learning. The seasonal exhibit Cobweb Castle gives kids the chance to climb their way through a spooky maze, scale a castle wall, or don a sorcerer’s hat and makeup.
Baseballoween
Werner Park
Oct. 20, 2023
Don your best costume and bring the family to this free event at the ballpark, returning for its twelfth year. The event will feature trick-or-treating, activity stations, and a family-friendly movie on the videoboard. Leashed dogs are also welcome!
Symphony Spooktacular: Día de los Muertos
Omaha Symphony
Oct. 22, 2023
Unveil the realm between the living and the departed in the Omaha Symphony’s vibrant Día de los Muertos celebration. Enjoy music from “Coco,” Glaser’s “March of the Little Goblins,” Arturo Márquez’s “Conga del Fuego Nuevo,” and more. Come in costume and delve into Mexican traditions!
Haunted Fun at Omaha’s Union Station
The Durham Museum
Oct. 24 & 25, Oct. 29 & 30, 2023
Omaha’s former Union Station-turned-museum has a handful of reasons to get dressed up this season, beginning with The Great HALL-oween Haunt. Indoor trick-or-treating, historical characters and spooktacular displays await. Try your hand at ghostly games and creepy crafts in the Swanson “Ghoulery.” Don’t forget to check out the spooky — but not scary— Haunted Train, and “crawl” your way through the Cobweb Caboose! Closer to Halloween, come dressed for fun during Hallo-weekend.
Ghoulish Garden Adventure
Lauritzen Gardens
Oct. 29, 2023
Stroll decked-out botanical gardens in costume during this special garden adventure, where you will visit activity stations throughout the gardens’ 100 acres and make crafts to take home.
Flight of Fright
Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum
Oct. 29, 2023
The Smithsonian affiliate invites everyone for a unique trick-or-treating adventure in the shadow of a hanger filled with aircraft. Look for kid-friendly activities to enhance the fun.
Bonus: Download the Omaha Savings Pack and save at a handful of the area’s best attractions, hosting special events and exhibits this Halloween season.
But wait, there’s even more fun to explore! See all the fantastic events happening in the Omaha area.
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