Manhattan Beach Family Halloween Carnival: A Kids' Halloween Parade Near Me

Most Halloween events in Los Angeles County with a costume parade are built for adults, which is why South Bay parents searching halloween parade near me keep coming back to this one. The City of Manhattan Beach's 38th annual Family Halloween Carnival runs from 1 to 5 pm on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at Manhattan Heights Park, 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, and it opens with a costume parade across the park's baseball field at 1 pm sharp. Entry is free, it is aimed at ages 2 to 14, and the games are paid with a carnival bracelet.

The carnival is run by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, and 2026 is its 38th edition, so it has been a fixture of the Manhattan Beach calendar since the late 1980s. In 2026 it falls on the Saturday a week before Halloween, so a costume can get its debut at the parade and still be ready for trick-or-treating on October 31.

Part of its charm is that it is homemade. According to the city, most of the game booths are built by kids in the department's REC Program and Teen Center along with staff, so the carnival games on the basketball courts have a handmade, school-fair feel. The Teen Center also hosts the haunted house, which gives older kids a scarier stop than anything aimed at toddlers.

The costume contest and parade is the first thing on the schedule, and it runs on the baseball field. Families line up behind colored balloons according to their category, and staff check everyone in there, so the city asks participants to arrive 15 minutes early, around 12:45 pm. The parade starts at 1:00 pm sharp, and prizes are handed out immediately afterward.

There are four categories. Individuals aged 7 and under line up at the green balloons, and individuals aged 8 to 15 at the red balloons. For groups, siblings gather at the blue balloons, and parent-and-child entries at the purple balloons. Prizes go to first through fifth place in each, so a well-made costume has a real chance, and a parent who dresses up alongside a toddler can compete in the parent-and-child category.

Entry to the park is free, but the activities run on a carnival bracelet that costs $20 per participating child, and the city recommends every child who plays buys one. The bracelet gives unlimited access to the carnival games, the haunted house, snow cones and face painting. Three activities are limited to one turn per bracelet: the SusieCakes cupcake walk, cookie decorating and a Halloween craft. Extra activity tickets cost $2 each.

Bracelets are valid from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm, after the parade wraps up. Everything is sold at the Information Booth by the basketball courts, which takes cash or credit cards but not checks, and asks for no bills larger than $20. With two kids, a sensible plan is to buy bracelets right after the prizes are announced, before the line forms.

The food booth keeps prices low and simple. A slice of pizza is $2.00 and so is a hot dog. A bag of chips, a can of soda, a bottle of water, a juice box and a rice crispy treat are $1.00 each. Food tickets are sold at the same Information Booth as the bracelets, so buy everything in one stop.

That makes it easy to feed a family of four for well under $20, which is part of why the event fills up. Snow cones are already included in the bracelet. If you want something more substantial, eat lunch before you come, since the parade starts at 1 pm and the line-up begins earlier.

One less obvious extra: during the carnival, the park auditorium hosts open gymnastics time with instruction from South Bay Sprouts. It is a good place to send a kid who has had enough of the crowd outside, or a toddler too young for the haunted house, and it gives parents a few minutes to sit down.

Children under 6 must be with an adult at all times, which the city states plainly. The park is large enough that families split up between the courts, the field and the auditorium, so agree on a meeting point, such as the Information Booth, before the parade ends.

The cupcake walk is sponsored by SusieCakes, the bakery with a shop in Manhattan Village at 3500 North Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 150, open seven days a week from 10 am to 7 pm. If your kid misses out on the cupcake walk, the shop is a short drive from the park and makes a natural last stop on the way home.

SusieCakes describes its Manhattan Beach shop as a bakery for celebration cakes and desserts, and its October menu lists Halloween frosted sugar cookies. Order a dozen ahead if you are bringing treats to a class party the following week.

The city takes volunteers for the carnival, which gives older teens who have outgrown the parade a way to stay involved.

The city notes that events, attractions and costs can change and that prizes are given while supplies last, so arrive on time for the parade if your child is set on a prize. Late arrivals can still play the games all afternoon, but the parade is a one-shot event at the start.

Event: 38th annual Family Halloween Carnival, Saturday, October 24, 2026, 1 to 5 pm. Where: Manhattan Heights Park, 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. Costume parade: 1 pm sharp on the baseball field, with check-in 15 minutes early. Categories: 7 and under, 8 to 15, siblings, and parent and child, with prizes for first to fifth place. Cost: free entry, with $20 bracelets valid 1:30 to 5 pm and extra tickets at $2. Payment: cash or card, no checks.

Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a family lunch spot near Manhattan Heights Park or more South Bay Halloween events for the week of October 31.