What does Andover have planned for Halloween night this year? October 31 is a Saturday in 2026, and the town calendar has no Halloween event on it. The last organized costume event is Downtown Trick or Treat on Wednesday, October 28, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Everything else happens before then, across a handful of addresses.
So the week that starts today is the season. Anyone who plans for the 31st and waits until the weekend before will miss most of it. Here is how October 22 through 28 lines up, in order, and what is left after it.
The Week Opens Tonight, Before Anyone Puts On a Costume
The first three events have nothing to do with Halloween. They still belong on the calendar because they fall in the same week, and two of them take up the evenings ahead of the costume events.
- Thursday, October 22, 5 to 9 p.m. fiVO Studios hosts its Open Studios & Art Show at 12 Dundee Park Drive. The town listing describes open studios and gallery space with more than 20 artists plus four visiting artists.
- Thursday, October 22, 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Andover Center for History & Culture has a "History at Play" program featuring Rachel Revere. The calendar lists it as "Rendezvous with Rachel Revere."
- Friday, October 23, 6 to 9 p.m. Andover's Diwali Festival is at the Cormier Youth Center, 40 Whittier Court.
The usual Saturday anchor is already gone. The Andover Farmers Market finished its 20th season on October 17, after running Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. since June 20. That frees up The Park at Chestnut and Bartlet streets for the one weekend event built around costumes.
Saturday the 24th: A History Walk in the Morning, Dogs in the Afternoon
This is the only Saturday on the town's Halloween calendar, and the schedule leaves room to do two things.
The morning goes to the History Center's Elm Street walking tour, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The calendar entry doesn't list a meeting point, so check with the History Center before you go.
The afternoon belongs to Andover Recreation. The town's Howl-O-Ween listing describes it this way:
"Join Andover Recreation for our Annual Howl-O-Ween featuring a dog parade, costume contest, concert, and beer & wine garden. Prizes and fun for all!"
The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Park, 36 Bartlet Street, on a fixed schedule. The White Street Band starts at 1:00, dog registration opens at 1:30, and the parade steps off at 2:00. Registering a dog for the parade costs $5, and all net proceeds go to the Andover Dog Park. If your dog is marching, arrive by 1:30. If you're only there to watch, the parade is at 2:00.
The town calendar also lists The Park, 34 Bartlet Street, as one location for the ARTful Andover Art Walk, which runs October 3 to 31.
Then the Calendar Moves to Weekdays
After the weekend, the remaining Halloween events fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly during work and school hours. That is the scheduling choice behind this week. Andover's two biggest costume events for kids are on weekdays, and the second one is over before 6 p.m.
| Day | Time | Event | Where | Cost or notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue., Oct. 27 | 10 to 11 a.m. | Too Cute to Spook | Old Shawsheen School, 18 Magnolia Ave. | $10 per child, pre-registration required, caregiver stays |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | 6:30 to 8 p.m. | Dr. Don Slater talk on Revolutionary War symbolism and currency | Andover Center for History & Culture calendar | Evening program |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | 10:30 a.m. to noon | Walking tour, "Tales of Haggett's Pond" | Andover Center for History & Culture calendar | Meeting point not listed |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. | Downtown Trick or Treat | Downtown Andover | Town's last listed costume event |
Too Cute to Spook is a morning event for little kids. Andover Rec describes games, art projects and a costume parade, and the town listing requires pre-registration with a caregiver along. Since it's capped by registration, sign up early rather than showing up Tuesday morning.
Downtown Trick or Treat gets one hour in the town calendar listing, and the location is simply "Downtown Andover." No route, participating businesses or parking plan has been posted. With a 4:30 start on a Wednesday, the window is tight for anyone coming from work or school.
Elm Square at 5:30, and What's Changing on Elm Street
When the hour ends at 5:30, families will be downtown and hungry, and two spots fit that moment.
Nan's Rustic Kitchen + Market at 10 Main St. lists daily hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with dine-in, takeout and online pickup orders. Nan's opened in June 2025 in the former Pazzo Pizza space, according to Andover News. A pickup order placed while the kids are trick-or-treating is the easiest way to get dinner at that hour.
For something faster, there's Gong Cha in Elm Square. The bubble tea shop took part in this month's Andover Goes Purple fundraiser, offering a Mango Coconut and a Strawberry Lemonade from October 1 to 3 with 10 percent of proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Association, as Shop Dine the Andovers reported.
The downtown map has also shifted since last Halloween. BuenoMalo at 93 Main St. announced it would close on January 24, according to Andover News. A few doors off Main, the building that housed Palmer's Restaurant and Tavern at 18 Elm St. is the subject of a demolition application. Andover News reported on September 9 that a developer wants to combine 18 Elm St. with the neighboring 24-26 Elm St. and put up a 12-unit residential building. The Andover Preservation Commission began reviewing the application on August 11 and held a site visit on August 20. The building dates to about 1819. It has served as a home, a funeral home and other businesses, and was most recently Palmer's, which closed in May 2025 after 30 years.
That is good context for Saturday's Elm Street walking tour. A tour of the street's history arrives while a two-century-old building on that same street is under commission review. The application goes through the Preservation Commission's process, and its agendas are where any decision will show up.
What's Left for the 31st, and the Week After
By Saturday, October 31, the organized calendar is done, and the night is up to individual neighborhoods. The town's last posted Halloween-night hours are from 2025, when trick-or-treating ran Friday, October 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. Last year's hours don't carry over to a Saturday, so watch the town calendar for the 2026 notice before you plan porch lights and candy.
The next week moves outdoors and toward the holidays:
- Sunday, November 1, 1 to 3:30 p.m. The AVIS Eco Team holds an invasive-plant identification and removal session, with more on November 14 and 28 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Sign up by email through AVIS.
- Saturday, November 7. Orders close for the Andover High School Marching Band's annual wreath sale, which includes wreaths, swags, kissing balls and poinsettias. The town calendar calls it the band's largest fundraiser of the year, paying for instruments, equipment, uniforms and truck rentals. Orders go through andoverbands.com/wreaths.
- Saturday, November 7, 1 p.m. Author Tara Lynn Masih speaks at the Andover Center for History & Culture, 97 Main St.
For more on how Andover spends its weekends the rest of the year, see our earlier post on weekends in Andover, or the Andover neighborhood page.
What happens to the Palmer's building on Elm Street is a decision about one block of downtown. If you own nearby and want to talk through what changes like that usually mean for a street, Jodi Fitzgerald has followed these towns block by block since 1991 and will give you a straight answer. Schedule a free consultation.
