Halloween in the Peninsula will scare the wits out of you with everything from the most frightening home animatronics to haunted hallways, a spooky yacht party, and more. There’s also no shortage of fun kids’ costume contests to keep the little ones amused.
Liberty Station
Halloween at the Station is a free, family-friendly Halloween celebration on Sunday, Oct. 25, from noon to 4 p.m. at Ingram Plaza. The event offers an afternoon packed with festive activities including a live DJ, trick-or-treating around Ingram Plaza, a Hollywood car show, inflatable obstacle courses, crafts, and an all-ages costume contest with prizes from participating Liberty Station businesses.
Along with the frightening festivities, Liberty Station is partnering with the Rotary Club and Feeding San Diego for the Uniting to Combat Hunger Food Drive, helping provide meals to military families and veterans through Feeding San Diego’s Feeding Heroes initiative. Attendees are encouraged to donate nonperishable food items such as peanut butter, canned goods and ready-to-eat meals.
Feeding San Diego works with a network of partners that serve the military community to provide nutritious meals to active-duty military families and veterans.
Point Loma Pumpkin Patch
It wouldn’t be Halloween without a community pumpkin patch. And, for the 6th consecutive year, Liberty Station’s Pumpkin Patch is open for business.
Created and run by the Goff family, this annual seasonal attraction features more than 10,000 pumpkins located next to The Loma Club putting green and across from Spark Cycle. Now open through Oct. 31, the venue offers photo opportunities, lawn games, and beer and wine for adults on Fridays and Saturdays. Hours are Sundays-Thursdays from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Owner-operator Adam Goff said their pumpkin patch is a family tradition adding he and wife, Kaitlyn, began their display in 2021, the year they were married. Goff promises every year that their patch will have new stuff that’s fun. He added their family also gets creative devising “new and cool” things to improve their pumpkin patch.
A visit to the patch any day reveals pumpkins of every imaginable shape, color (including white), size, and variety strewn everywhere within a huge fenced-in area. Invariably, you’ll also find families, dogs, and kids beside themselves with joy as they play in the patch. “It’s all about the kids and giving people a farm experience,” said Goff. “It’s an immersive thing.”
The seasonal Liberty Station Pumpkin Patch is also available to be rented out by large groups including families and corporations.
Loma Portal Monster Bash
Loma Portal Elementary School is holding its annual Halloween Monster Bash that started in the school’s gymnasium, but has ended up haunting a hallway instead thanks to the efforts of the volunteer Loma Portal Dads Club.
The creepy event is set for 5-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Ticket sales will be cashless this year. Tickets, wristbands, and VIP tables are available for pre-sale now through Thursday, Oct. 22 HERE.
Loma Portal Elementary parent spokesperson Laureene Buck noted that the highlight is the school’s haunted hallway.
“Each year, it’s a little bit different,” Buck said of the spine-chilling event, adding that children, of course, are the real beneficiaries of the annual Monster Bash. “The kids love it and they look forward to it every year, and that’s why we do it,” Buck said. “For the kids, being able to go to school at night with a special event – it’s the best.”
Other Peninsula Hauntings
- OB People’s Annual Halloween Party: Kick off your Halloween afternoon on Oct. 31 with a lively community party in the Ocean Beach People’s Food Co-op parking lot from noon to 2 p.m. It features a bounce house, a costume contest, and a live kids’ musical performance by Trees of Dreams. Arrive at noon if you want a free treat bag as they are limited to the first 150 kids.
- Halloween Trunk or Treat: For a safe and concentrated trick-or-treating experience before dark, head over to the parking lot of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Church members decorate their car trunks and pass out candy and prizes to costumed kids. It’s a wonderful, tight-knit neighborhood gathering that finishes right as the sun sets.
- Ocean Beach Community Foundation: Explore the most spookily decorated homes across Ocean Beach using an interactive map provided by the Ocean Beach Community Foundation. Neighbors register their homes to compete in the neighborhood decoration contest. Walking or driving past these meticulously decorated beach cottages makes for a perfect, free post-sunset family activity.
- Nightmare on the Bay Yacht Party: If you are looking for an adults-only celebration, Chere Amie Yacht Charters is hosting a premium Halloween Yacht Party departing from Point Loma Sportfishing, located at 1403 Scott St. Expect a festive crowd in full costume, dramatic bay views, and a live DJ setup on the water.
Midway’s Fright Deck Party and Movie
How often do you get to attend a costume party and movie night aboard a monstrous battleship? Calling all swashbuckling pirates, ghosts, ghouls and creatures of the deep inviting them to an eerie night of movie viewing and epic celebration Saturday, Oct. 24 on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum. One event highlight is an outdoor screening of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl!”
Before the moon rises and the movie begins, dance the monster mash to a live DJ, enter a Halloween Costume Contest (with $300 & $500 cash prizes), hunt down Captain Jack Sparrow’s missing skeleton crew, and uncover a bounty of tricks and treats along the way.
Ticket Information: Midway Members will receive a 20% off ticket discount and a separate purchase link via email. Non-members click here to join.
Midway’s Fright Deck is Halloween fun for all ages and an experience you won’t find anywhere else. Come aboard – if you dare!
