LA’s Best Halloween Festival: Finding Our Inner West Hollywood Halloween Queen

For your spooks with some sass, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is not only one of the most remarkable seasonal events in the Los Angeles area, but it just might be the most wickedly exceptional Halloween festival in the world. We even included a visit to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval on our Los Angeles Bucket List!

 

 

 

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Before You Go

• Read our guide on how to score the cheapest flights
• Review our carry-on packing list 
• Learn everything you need to know about traveling through airport security
• Pack the right travel cameras and comfortable travel clothes
• Check out our LA Bucket List for the coolest things to do in LA
• Book your stay at an affordable Los Angeles hotel
• Secure your LA car rental here or here
• Plan which of the best LA restaurants you’ll eat at
• See all our Los Angeles blog posts
• Get discounts on LA activities & tours
• Get a good ol’ fashioned paperback LA guide. We like this one.

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WARNING: The following post contains a few photographs of devilish and cheeky costumes taken from the West Hollywood Halloween parade that may be considered provocative. No nudity (this is a public event in the street monitored by police, after all!), but definitely some skin!

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West Hollywood Halloween Festival

With enough light-hearted debauchery to make your party goblin squeal, the West Hollywood Halloween festival attracts a solid half a million party people, dressed to the nines in some of the most elaborate, witty, and, of course, downright raunchy costumes you’ll be honored enough to see.

Set in the the gay epicenter of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, the festival promotes a positive, welcoming atmosphere that’s enjoyable for open-minded people of all walks of life. If you’re looking for more LGBT-friendly activities in LA, we recommend this Gay Los Angeles travel guide.

The West Hollywood Halloween festival attracts people from all over Los Angeles. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, purple, or green–just be fun and fabulous!

In fact, the West Hollywood Halloween festival is such a crucial LA bucket list item, some consider a visit to the carnivalesque affair essential to be considered a true Angeleno.

 

 

LA Transportation Remember, Los Angeles is notorious for its less-than-stellar public transportation, so you’re DEFINITELY going to want to rent a car.

 

 

 

WeHo Stomping Ground

The largest street Halloween festival on the planet, the West Hollywood Halloween festival claims Santa Monica Boulevard as its stomping ground for the evening, between N Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.

Food Trucks and Music Stages

It’s this mile or so West Hollywood stretch in which you can partake in some Bachanalian fun (October seems to be the month of drunkenness, after all), enjoy the spectacle of the Halloween festival parade, feast on some delicious munchies from the plentiful street food trucks and food vendors, and visit some of the several music stages scattered across the closed-off street.

Here you can witness the crowning of the Halloween Queen and dance your witchy booty off to DJ’s and live music. It’s no mystery why the event is often considered LA’s best Halloween festival.

 

READ MORE| Learn about the best scenic drives in LA

 

 

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Halloween vibes got you feeling spirited? Check out this creepy Bone Church in the Czech Republic!

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No Dolla Makes Me Holla

And what makes LA’s best Halloween festival even better? The West Hollywood Halloween Festival is FREE. The Halloween street festival is all-ages, and everyone is invited (it’s not a gay-only event, but it is very LGBT-friendly!), but you really probably should not bring children or dogs!

 

READ MORE: Coolest Things to Do in LA

 

 

Other Budget-Friendly LA Activities  We also highly recommend checking out the current Groupon Los Angeles deals, to get a feel for the kinds of discounted activities you can enjoy nearby.  You’ll find discounts on everything from food and drink to amusement parks like Universal Studios, whale-watching, sporting events, concerts, and TONS more. And for Hollywood specific deals, it’s worth checking out the Groupon Hollywood deals.

 

 

The Party Don’t Stop

The Carnaval itself will start at 6 pm and finish at around 11 pm, but the party doesn’t stop there. The numerous bumping bars in West Hollywood will satisfy your late night Halloween party thirst (and will be available during the festival, as alcohol isn’t allowed on the street itself). Check out this list of nearby Halloween parties in WeHo to work out your plan of attack ahead of time.

 

Does the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval allow nudity?

No, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval does not allow nudity. It is a public, street festival, and public decency laws still apply.

There are also many West Hollywood police who patrol the event, but in our experience, they are friendly and understand people are there to drink and have fun.

 

Best Costumes in LA

What can you expect to feast your eyes on? Drag queens? Duh. Massive group costumes? Yes, and they’re a hit! Costumes with some biting and hilarious political commentary? Most definitely. The most muscles on a man you’ve ever seen? Um yes, this is West Hollywood. Hysterical takes on pop culture? Do you even have to ask?! And of course, your standard slutty (fill-in-the-blank) from the ladies (and the boys—and some of those in between!). Clap your hands, Los Angeles!

In a class all by itself, the West Hollywood Carnaval steps up the Halloween costume game big-time. Attendees get their creative juices seriously a-flowin’, their political correctness thrown out the window, and all judgement lost and forgotten.

The spectacle is such a delight, you may even spot straight older couples perched out on lawn chairs on the sidewalks, relishing in the people show.

Male beer guts and tutus, furry heeled pandas, dancing dinosaurs and wolves, twerking dead presidents, 7-foot-tall feats of engineering and design, juicy-bottomed green fairies, and almost certainly a horde of staggering touped Trumps can be found twirling their way through the fantastic event.

 

 

 

From the campy to the creative, you’ll find some of the best costumes in LA at the West Hollywood Halloween festival!

 

 

 

Things to Know About LA’s Best Halloween Festival

Entertainment

• At least 4 stages can be found throughout the festival, showcasing bands, performances, DJ sets, and prize contests.

• This is a popular event: 500,000 people (or more) will be in attendance. So if crowds aren’t your thing, you should plan for a different event!

Hours

• The festival will be held from 6-11 pm, after which the event itself will be shut down by police, but bars will be open until late. But remember, the later you arrive for the festival, the more of a nightmare traffic and parking will be! 

Location

• The West Hollywood Halloween festival will take place on a 1-2 mile-long closed-off stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard between N Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.
• So Bring Comfy Shoes! You will most likely be doing a lot of walking, standing, and dancing, and you don’t want those stilettos to interfere with your fun!

Parking

This is LA, after all.

• Most people will be driving, so if you rent a car, keep in mind street parking will be near impossible to find, and will be pretty much all gone by 7 pm. To find street parking before 5 pm, you’ll need to look several blocks away and walk the rest of the way.
• Parking lots will cost about $20. But remember, the event is free! The parking fees go towards cleanup and security for the event.
• Recommended parking places: the Beverly Center (it will be a mile walk to the event, but traffic won’t be as bad when you’re trying to leave later!) and the Pacific Design Center.

 

Alternative Ways to Get There

Do NOT drive if you intend on drinking. Here are some DUI-free options you can use to enjoy the festival with some peace-of-mind!

• Take a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft. You will need to set your drop-off point a few blocks away from the Halloween festival and walk the rest of the way.
• Stay at a nearby hotel (look for West Hollywood, Melrose, Hollywood or Beverly Hills). No traffic, parking fees, or DUI’s. Voila!
• Take the bus:  For about $1.25 you can take a bus that will save you the $20-30 bucks on parking. From the bus stop, it will be a short half a mile walk downhill to reach the festival. You’ll still want to leave early to avoid the hellish traffic. Words of warning: Plan your return bus time carefully! You would hate to be waiting outside in the cold (well, cold for LA) for an hour waiting for your bus to show up. While this is the cheapest option, keep in mind that the buses can get very busy during the festival and may reach capacity quickly!

Food/Drinks

• Food trucks and food vendors will be readily available throughout the festival, but there’s nowhere to sit (other than the street curb). Prices aren’t cheap, and lines can get long, which will suck up valuable time that you could be spent having a blast!
• We recommend you eat beforehand (maybe at one of these dope places to eat in LA or using one of these Groupon LA deals or Groupon Hollywood deals), then enjoy one of the cheap bacon dog vendors on the street on your way out!

Bathrooms

• Port-a-potties will be available throughout the festival.

Safety Tips

• • Check out the city of West Hollywood’s Halloween Carnaval Safety Tips.
  • Security for the event will be provided by police, who will be found everywhere.
  • THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR KIDS AND DOGS! The festival is a crowded event, and (especially smaller) dogs may not be safe walking through the drunken crowd. While the event is all-ages, many attendees will be drinking and wearing provocative costumes, so bringing your kids is highly discouraged.

Plan the rest of your LA trip! Check out our LA Bucket List, the best places to eat in LA, the best scenic drives in the LA area, and consider decorating your own cake at the Ace of Cakes chef’s studio.

Also, learn about the best dog-friendly hikes in LA, these tips and tricks for Universal Studios Hollywood, and why we think LA is freaking awesome.

 

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