Bring your pack. The second annual Howl-O-Ween, Flagstaff's pet parade and costume contest, returns to Heritage Square on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 3 to 7 PM, with a block of Aspen Avenue closed in front of the square for the party. Created and hosted by Freaky Foot Tours, it is free to watch, $10 to walk your pet in the parade and enter the contest, and 100% of profits benefit High Country Humane. Everything you need to plan the afternoon is below; registration and the day-of details live on the Howl-O-Ween event page.
One date to get right: Halloween 2026 falls on Saturday, October 31. Howl-O-Ween is the Saturday before, October 24. Put it in the calendar now, because the first one drew more than 100 costumed pets and more than 1,000 people to the square.
When and where
- Saturday, October 24, 2026, 3:00 to 7:00 PM
- Heritage Square and Aspen Avenue, downtown Flagstaff. Aspen is closed in front of the square for the pet block party
- Live music from Bluebird Mountain, 4:00 to 5:30 PM
- The parade howls off at approximately 5:30 PM
- Costume contest judging and awards follow, wrapping in the square by 7:00 PM
- Free to watch. Friendly, leashed, costumed pets are welcome to walk
Sunset is about 5:40 PM that day, so the parade steps off in the last of the light and the awards finish in the dark. Late October at 7,000 feet is cold once the sun drops behind the peaks; bring a layer for yourself and think about one for a short-haired dog.
Registration and prices
Watching costs nothing. A $10 registration covers one pet to walk in the parade and enter the costume contest, and you can sign up online in advance or at the registration tent in Heritage Square on the day, any time from 3:00 PM until the parade howls off. Registration runs on our sister shop, Weird and Wild West, which handles the payment; the link is on the event page. The $35 and $50 packages that bundled a Howl-O-Ween shirt and bandana closed on October 8 so everything could be printed for pickup, so day-of signup is the $10 ticket. 100% of profits benefit High Country Humane.
The costume contest
Four categories, judged in Heritage Square after the parade, with the awards closing out the evening:
- Best Pet Overall
- Best Pet and Owner Duo
- Most Creative
- Best Howl
Last year's field set the bar: a golden retriever delivering pizza as Pizza Mutt, a corgi in a hot dog bun, two small dogs riding a wagon as Bert and Ernie, a taco walking itself down Aspen, and a chicken in a witch hat held by a child in a matching one. Dogs are the majority, but any friendly, leashed or safely contained pet is welcome; 2025 included two cats and that chicken.
New for 2026: the pet ofrenda
This year the square makes room for a pet ofrenda, a place to remember the animals who walked with us before. Submit your name, their name, a short bio, the year they passed and a photo through the form on the event page, and they will have a place in the square alongside the costumes and the noise, a quieter corner of the afternoon in the week before Dia de los Muertos.
Adoptions, vendors and the rest of the square
High Country Humane brings adoptable animals to the square, and if you adopt one that afternoon, your new dog walks in the parade the same day; two adoptions happened at the first Howl-O-Ween. Local vendors line the block, and booth space is still open at one flat fee of $75 for a 10 by 10 space, no tiers. Vendor registration and volunteer signup both live on the get involved page; there is no electricity at vendor spaces, so bring battery lighting for the last hour.
The Howl-O-Ween artwork is hand drawn in Flagstaff by Brigitte De Marco and lives on Weird & Wild West as a tee, long sleeve, dad hat and sticker, with a portion of every sale going to High Country Humane. If you ordered the shirt or bandana package with your registration, pick it up at the tent in Heritage Square; nothing gets mailed.
Know before you go
- Keep pets leashed and under control at all times, and make sure the costume lets them walk, see, hear and breathe easily
- Bring water, treats and waste bags; the square gets crowded near the stage once the parade lines up
- No alcohol at the event. The 21+ crowd can keep the party going downtown afterward
- Downtown parking runs on ParkFlag pay-by-plate kiosks; enforcement runs to 8 PM on a Saturday, so plan to pay or park a few blocks out. Our downtown parking guide lists the garages
- Freaky Foot Tours guides and staff avoid petting animals while on duty, to keep everyone comfortable
How Howl-O-Ween started, and why we run it
Freaky Foot Tours has told Flagstaff's strange, spirited stories since 2015, and we created Howl-O-Ween in 2025 to bring that same love of Halloween, local character and community into the heart of downtown, for the animals and the people who love them. It is one piece of a larger habit: a share of what the tours earn goes back into Flagstaff's creative and community life, from the arts organizations we support to the Halloween aerial show we are sponsoring the following Saturday. The first Howl-O-Ween made the Arizona Daily Sun, The Lumberjack and NAZ Today, ran without a single safety incident, and ended with two dogs going home with new families. That is the standard for year two.
Make a full weekend of it
October 24 is the crowded Saturday on the Flagstaff calendar. The Pumpkin Walk at the Arboretum and Celebraciones de la Gente at the Museum of Northern Arizona both run to 7:30 PM, and Rocky Horror opens its doors at the Orpheum at 6; our Halloween in Flagstaff 2026 guide has every listing with its source. For the humans in your pack, the Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour departs Wheeler Park at 7 and 8 PM that night, two blocks from the square and 75 minutes long, and Mountain Town of Madness, the 18+ version, goes out at 9. Every Freaky Foot Tours walk that happens outdoors is pet-friendly, so a tired, leashed parade veteran is welcome to come along.
Then come back the following Saturday. On Halloween night, October 31, Freaky Foot Tours sponsors Book of Shadows: Nocturne, Momentum Aerial's Halloween aerial and circus show at Prochnow Auditorium on the NAU campus, with a costume contest of its own and Freaky Foot Tours prizes. Doors 7, show 8, $30, NAU students free.
Questions people ask
When is Howl-O-Ween 2026?
Saturday, October 24, 2026, 3:00 to 7:00 PM at Heritage Square and a closed block of Aspen Avenue in downtown Flagstaff. The parade steps off at approximately 5:30 PM. It is the Saturday before Halloween, not Halloween itself.
Is Howl-O-Ween free?
Watching is free. Walking your pet in the parade and entering the costume contest costs $10, and 100% of profits benefit High Country Humane.
Can I register on the day of the event?
Yes. Sign up at the registration tent in Heritage Square any time from 3:00 PM until the parade howls off around 5:30 PM. Day-of signup is the $10 registration; the shirt and bandana packages closed on October 8.
Does my pet have to be a dog?
No. Any friendly, leashed or safely contained pet is welcome. The 2025 parade included dogs, two cats and one chicken.
Can I bring my dog on a Freaky Foot Tours ghost tour afterward?
Yes. Every Freaky Foot Tours experience that takes place outdoors is pet-friendly, including the Downtown Flagstaff Haunted History Tour, which departs Wheeler Park at 7 and 8 PM that Saturday. Keep them leashed and comfortable; it is a mile of walking in the cold.
