Central Library Costume Party: A Kids' Halloween Parade Near Me Downtown

The Los Angeles Public Library's Family Halloween Costume Party takes place on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 11 am to 12 pm in the Children's Literature Department of Central Library, 630 West 5th Street in Downtown Los Angeles. For families with kids ages 3 to 8 typing halloween parade near me, this free hour packs stories, a craft table and a costume parade into the library's centennial year, and it lands on Halloween morning itself.

Central Library opened to the public on July 6, 1926, and LAPL is spending all of 2026 marking the milestone under the banner Central 100. That gives this year's Halloween party an unusual backdrop: kids in capes and dinosaur suits will be parading through a building designed by New York architect Bertram Goodhue, with its tiled pyramid roof and mural-lined Rotunda, during the very year the city is celebrating its first century.

The building has survived a lot. On April 29, 1986, an arson fire destroyed about 395,000 books, and more than 1,700 volunteers helped freeze and save damaged volumes. The library reopened on October 3, 1993, with the new Tom Bradley Wing, and an estimated 80,000 people came to the celebration. Susan Orlean's The Library Book later told that story, and it is a good read-aloud for older siblings afterward.

The party is held in the Children's Literature Department, which sits on Level Two (L2) of the original Goodhue Building. According to the library's own chronology, the children's room was formally named the Ivanhoe Room in November 1926 because of its murals depicting Sir Walter Scott's tale of Ivanhoe. Knights, castles and banners on the walls make a fitting stage for a room full of small superheroes and witches.

The department serves children from birth through fifth grade and their caregivers, and it holds more than 250,000 juvenile items in English, Spanish and 22 other languages, one of the largest such collections in the United States. Adults without a child are normally redirected to the nearby Art Department, so on party morning the space belongs to families. Grab a few Halloween picture books on the way out.

LAPL's event page describes three parts: stories, crafts and a costume parade, and lists the event under Storytimes and Read Alouds with a Fall Traditions tag. The listing gives no minute-by-minute running order, but in a single hour the parade is the big moment for kids who came dressed up, with read-alouds and a craft around it. The audience tags on the listing are Kids and Babies and Toddlers.

The parade here is a lap around a children's library, not a street procession with floats, judges or prizes. That is the honest appeal for this age group: a three-year-old who melts down at loud outdoor events can walk past bookshelves with other kids in costume, wave at parents and be done in a few minutes. The official age range is 3 to 8, and toddlers tagging along with older siblings fit the listing too.

Central Library opens at 9:30 am on Saturdays and closes at 5:30 pm, so there is no reason to cut it close. Arrive by about 10:40 am, head up to Level Two and stake out floor space near the storytime area. The Flower Street and Fifth Street entrances both have ramps, which matters if you are pushing a stroller loaded with a costume change and snacks.

Costumes for this one should be walk-friendly. Long capes, oversized masks and inflatable suits that block vision are a problem on stairs and in a crowded children's room, and a parade among shelves rewards a costume a kid can move in for an hour. Bring a small bag for the craft so the finished project survives the trip home, and save face paint for after the program.

The garage under the library is the Westlawn Garage at 524 South Flower Street, beneath Maguire Gardens, and it is not owned by the library. With a validation from the first-floor Information Desk, Saturday parking is a $1 flat rate between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm. Validation requires showing a Los Angeles Public Library card, and library cards are issued free of charge.

Here is the honest judgment: don't bother driving in without a library card in your wallet. Without validation, market rates at the garage run $4 per 10 minutes, which turns a one-hour storytime into a costly morning. Get the card at the Information Desk before you go upstairs, or take the train. Card payments are taken at the exit gates, and cash only at the P-1 level pay station.

Right outside is Maguire Gardens, a 1.5-acre public park adjoining the library, which is the easiest place to let costumed kids run off the post-parade energy and take photos against the Goodhue facade. It is also a calm spot to swap a sweaty costume for regular clothes before lunch, since the Halloween hour ends right around noon when everyone is hungry.

For lunch, walk east along 5th Street past Pershing Square and over to Grand Central Market at 317 South Broadway, roughly a 15-minute walk on downtown sidewalks. The market's own site lists it as open daily from 8 am to 9 pm, with hours varying by vendor, and a parking garage at 308 South Hill Street. Dozens of counters make it easy to feed a picky four-year-old and a hungry parent in the same stop.

If the children's room fills up or your kids want more after noon, the strongest nearby plan B is Gloria Molina Grand Park's Downtown Día de los Muertos at 200 North Grand Avenue. The park's 2026 listing describes a free 10-day outdoor exhibition of community ofrendas running October 24 through November 2, open from 8 am to 9 pm, so it is on view on Halloween afternoon.

It is a quieter, more reflective stop than a costume party, with altars, art and music rather than games, so it works best for kids at the upper end of the 3 to 8 range who can follow an explanation of why families build ofrendas. Grand Park is a short ride from Pershing Square on the B or D Line to Civic Center/Grand Park station, or a walk up Grand Avenue.

Event: Family Halloween Costume Party, Saturday, October 31, 2026, 11 am to 12 pm. Where: Children's Literature Department, Level Two of the Goodhue Building, Central Library, 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Ages: 3 to 8. Cost: free, and the listing mentions no registration.

Transit: the library says the A, B, D and E lines stop nearby, with Pershing Square station a short walk east and 7th Street/Metro Center to the south. Accessibility: both main entrances have ramps, and two free placard spaces sit on the south side of Fifth Street. Weather plan: everything happens indoors.