It brings thousands upon thousands of costumed revelers to Santa Monica Boulevard and it’s finally back after a four-year absence: That’s right, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is upon us.
Every year on Halloween night, WeHo welcomes countless attendees to a mile-long street party filled with food trucks, a performance stage and an absolutely electric atmosphere. At least, that was usually the case until the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 edition (in 2021 and 2022, the city encouraged local venues to host their own celebrations but didn’t shut down the street).
But now, the bona fide Carnaval is back—and that means it’s bringing lots of road closures along with it. Here’s a quick rundown on everything you need to know about this year’s return of the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval.
When is the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval?
The event takes place on Halloween night (Tuesday, October 31, 2023) from 6 to 11pm, though you can expect to find plenty of after-parties along the route.
Where does it take place?
Along—and literally on—Santa Monica Boulevard from Doheny Drive to La Cienega Boulevard.
What street closures will be in effect?
Oct 31 at 12:01am–Nov 1 at 7am
- N San Vicente Blvd between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave
- All alleyways between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave
In addition, West Hollywood Park, including its dog parks, basketball court and parking garage, will be closed during this span.
Oct 31 at 10am–Nov 1 at 6am
- Santa Monica Blvd between N Croft Ave/Holloway Dr and N Doheny Dr
- La Cienega Blvd between Holloway Dr and Willoughby Ave
- N San Vicente Blvd between Santa Monica Blvd and Cynthia Street
- N Robertson Blvd between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave
- N La Peer Dr between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave
- N Almont Dr between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave
- Sunset Blvd eastbound and westbound turn lanes onto southbound La Cienega Blvd
What about parking and transit?
WeHo’s usual residential permit parking restrictions will be temporarily lifted from 11am on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday, meaning you can technically street park.
But if you don’t want to worry about circling the city for a spot, you can take advantage of a few transit options: The PickUp trolley and Cityline shuttles (both free to ride) will be running from Kings Road to La Brea Avenue (with a connection much farther east at the Hollywood/Highland Metro station) from 5pm to 11:30pm; the PickUp will continue running after that until 3am, sans the Metro connection.
West Hollywood is also serviced by a whole bunch of Metro bus routes, including the 4, 10, 30/330, 105, 212/312, 217 and 218.
Are tickets required? What actually happens there? And are there any special rules?
Nope, it’s totally free to attend. It’s not really an overly programmed event: People kind of just hang out, dance to DJ sets and show off their costumes (to be clear, there’s not a parade, unlike WeHo Pride). There is, however, some considerable security set up for the event, so you can’t bring in any backpacks, camera cases or tote bags (other than clear plastic bags); no alcohol is allowed in the street, and weapons, fireworks and drones also aren’t permitted.