Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, October 31. Most of Troy's organized Halloween events will be over a week before that. Between tonight, Thursday, Oct. 22, and Sunday morning, the Troy Police Department, Troy Historic Village, Stage Nature Center and Troy Recreation all hold their Halloween events. Each one needs a ticket, a registration or a timed slot, and several of those cutoffs close before the weekend starts.
On October 31 itself, the city's Halloween events list is short. Somerset Collection's haunted house runs that day, and the rest of the evening comes down to your own street.
Four days, most of the calendar
Here is the cluster, in order, with what each event asks of you before you show up.
| Day | Event | Where | When | Cost and catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Halloween Safety Bash | Troy Police Department, 500 W. Big Beaver Rd. | 5–8 p.m. | Free, but trick-or-treating kids need a ticket. Listed as sold out |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Tree Trunk or Treat | Turtle Woods, 2601 E. Square Lake Rd. | 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Preregistration by email or phone |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | Tween Scary Stories Night | Troy Public Library, Story & Craft Room | 6–7 p.m. | Ages 10–13. Registration and a Troy library card required |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Trick-or-Treat: Under the Sea! | Troy Historic Village, 60 W. Wattles Rd. | 5–8 p.m. | Advance registration closes today at noon |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Pumpkin carving add-on | Stage Nature Center, 6685 Coolidge Hwy. | One-hour slots, 4–8:30 p.m. | $15 per pumpkin. Requires a Saturday ticket |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Trick-or-Treat: Under the Sea! | Troy Historic Village | 11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Same pricing as Friday |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Jack-O-Lanterns Among the Trees | Stage Nature Center | 4–6 p.m. or 7–9 p.m. | $18 teens and adults, $8 ages 4–12 |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | 10th Annual Frightful 5K and Pumpkin 1K | Troy Community Center, 3179 Livernois | 5K at 8:30 a.m. | $45 through Oct. 24, $55 on race day. Roads close at 8 a.m. |
That's eight entries over four days, and most reward signing up early. The Village charges more at the door, and the 5K costs more on race day. The Pumpkin 1K is the loosest, since kids can run it without registering if they don't need a shirt and medal.
Thursday is the deadline day
Tonight has three events at once, and one of them is already full. The Troy Police Department Halloween Safety Bash is free and open to all ages. Every child who trick-or-treats there needs a registered ticket, though accompanying adults don't, and the Eventbrite listing shows the event as sold out. If you didn't get tickets, the Thursday alternatives are smaller and quieter.
Tree Trunk or Treat at Turtle Woods, off East Square Lake Road, is an hour-long walk through the woods with trick-or-treating, light refreshments and a chance to learn about the property. The Oakland County Moms guide to Troy Halloween events lists it under Oakland County Parks and Recreation, with preregistration by emailing [email protected] or calling 248-601-2816. For older kids, the library's Tween Scary Stories Night runs 6 to 7 p.m. for ages 10 to 13 and requires both registration and a Troy library card.
The most important time today, Thursday, is noon. That's when advance registration closes for Troy Historic Village's Trick-or-Treat: Under the Sea!, and advance registration does two things. It saves money, at $5 instead of $7 for Troy Historical Society members and $9 instead of $10 for nonmembers. It also gets you in an hour early, at 4 p.m. Friday or 10 a.m. Saturday. After noon, you can still buy tickets at the door. You just pay more and lose the early hour.
Friday and Saturday split by age and by hour
The Village and the nature center aim at different ages, and their Saturday schedules don't overlap.
Trick-or-Treat: Under the Sea! is built for younger kids. The Village describes it as "friendly, not scary." Every stop has teal pumpkin options, and families should expect to spend one to two hours on ocean-themed games, a craft and candy stops. It runs rain or shine, with activities indoors and out, and Genisys Credit Union sponsors it. Children under 2 get in free. The Saturday session ends at 1 p.m.
Three hours later, Stage Nature Center opens the first session of something Troy hasn't had before. The Troy Nature Society calls this year's Jack-O-Lanterns Among the Trees "inaugural." Carved pumpkins line the Sugar Maple loop, and the evening adds stations about nighttime animals, refreshments, a storyteller, live owls and guided night hikes, which the organizers describe as "a rare treat." You can pick the 4 to 6 p.m. session or the 7 to 9 p.m. session. The earlier one starts in daylight and ends around dusk. The later one is fully dark, which is when lit pumpkins look best.
Tickets cost:
- Teens and adults: $18
- Troy Nature Society members: $16
- Children ages 4 to 12: $8
- Children under 4: free
Anyone 17 or younger has to come with a registered adult.
The Friday carving session is what connects the two nights, and it's why Saturday's tickets matter before Saturday. For $15 per pumpkin, with up to four people per pumpkin, you carve at the nature center and they handle the cleanup. Your jack-o'-lantern then goes out on the trail for Saturday, and you take it home after the event. Carving slots run 4 to 5 p.m., 5:10 to 6:10, 6:20 to 7:20, and 7:30 to 8:30. Carving isn't sold on its own, so you need a Saturday registration first.
So a family could carve at Stage Nature Center on Friday and trick-or-treat at the Village Saturday morning, then go back to Coolidge Highway Saturday evening to see the pumpkin lit on the trail. That's three outings in about 28 hours, all within Troy.
Sunday morning changes the drive along Big Beaver
The 10th Annual Frightful 5K starts at 8:30 a.m. Sunday from Troy Community Center. The route heads onto Big Beaver Road, loops back onto Livernois and finishes through the Civic Center campus. The Pumpkin 1K runs on the field outside the community center in four time slots starting at 9:30 a.m.
The price depends on when you sign up. Through Saturday, Oct. 24, the 5K costs $45, up from $35 before Oct. 12, and it rises to $55 on race day. The 1K costs $15 through Saturday and $25 on race day. Advance registration is online only through the race provider, with no cash and no front-desk sign-ups, and race-day registration opens at 7 a.m. Kids only need to register for the 1K if they want a shirt and medal, and strollers and leashed dogs are welcome on both courses.
Troy Recreation's logistics affect neighbors who aren't running:
- Road closures begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 25. Lots and roads marked in red on the city's map reopen no later than 10 a.m.
- Lots and roads marked in purple have limited access starting at 8 a.m.
- The Troy Community Center Fitness Center opens late, at 10:30 a.m.
- If you need to leave before the race ends, the city suggests parking at Liberty Center Garage.
Packet pickup is at the community center front desk, south main entrance, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Race-day pickup starts at 7 a.m., but the city warns of long waits and says shirt sizes are first come, first served. That makes the Friday trip to Livernois one more stop in an already full weekend.
After the weekend, the calendar thins out
Once the race finishes Sunday, Troy's organized Halloween drops to two events in six days.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the library holds Halloween Storybook Trail Adventures at its offsite Storybook Trail, with start times between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. and everyone done by 6 p.m. Sessions cover Baby/Toddler/Pre-K and Kids groups. Each child needs to be registered, a Troy library card is required, and residents get priority.
Somerset Collection is the only one that runs through Halloween itself. Boogah & Hoogah's Haunted House Party is back from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 at the mall, 2800 West Big Beaver Road. Somerset's announcement lists the dates only, so check hours and admission with the mall before you go.
Then there's Saturday night. The Oakland County Moms guide quotes the City of Troy's suggested trick-or-treat hours as 6 to 8 p.m. on Halloween. The city's own October calendar doesn't post a separate announcement of those hours. With Halloween on a Saturday, there's no school night to plan around, and the city-hosted events listed above are finished by then.
If you missed the Safety Bash, Thursday still gives you a woods walk at Turtle Woods and a Village ticket you can lock in until noon. Saturday is the busiest day, with the Village in the morning and Stage Nature Center after dark. By Sunday at 10 a.m., Big Beaver should be open again and the 1K kids will be on the field.
At Joan Schinderle King, we keep track of Troy's community calendar along with the market, because which events happen near you and how far you walk to them are part of what living on a street is like. If this weekend has you wondering how your street or subdivision compares with others around the city, schedule a consultation and we'll go through it together.
