In Kirkland, Trick-or-Treat Comes a Week Early and Halloween Belongs to the Catrinas
Kirkland's free Halloween events are packed into Saturday, October 24, and this year they don't overlap. They start at Totem Lake at noon and end at Kirkland Urban's plaza at 8 p.m. A week later, on Saturday, October 31, the biggest public event on the calendar isn't a Halloween party. It's a Día de Muertos celebration that fills Marina Park from late morning into the evening.
So the costume-and-candy events come a week early, and the actual holiday goes to the Catrinas. Día de los Muertos shows up on both Saturdays, with two different hosts and two different settings. If you plan your family's last two weekends of October around that, the calendar gets much easier to follow.
The City, The Village at Totem Lake, and Kirkland Urban each scheduled their own event. The first two run back to back, and there's an hour's break before the third:
All three are free. The Village Halloween Celebration, the City's Día de los Muertos, and Treat Street each have their own event page, and those pages are the best place to check for any last-minute changes.
The order makes the day work. The Totem Lake event is built for crafts and a stage show, so kids can wear their costumes in the middle of the day without needing a candy bag. The Día de los Muertos event fills the afternoon, and the hour after it ends leaves time for an early dinner. Trick-or-treating waits until evening at Kirkland Urban.
The Peter Kirk event connects October 24 to October 31, because it's the first of the two Día de los Muertos celebrations on Kirkland's calendar this month.
The City's sponsor is Cafecito Mexican Bakery, a family-run bakery and café at 15364 NE 96th Place in Redmond that makes its pastries, desserts, and coffee from scratch. A Renton Reporter feature on Cafecito highlighted its conchas and its seasonal pan de muerto, the bread traditionally baked for the holiday. The paper also noted that the bakery caters and sells at farmers markets around King County.
Parking is the one catch. The City says on-site parking at Peter Kirk Community Center is limited and suggests the Kirkland Municipal Parking Garage under the Kirkland Library. If you're planning to stay downtown for Treat Street afterward, that matters. Your parking choice at 2 p.m. affects how the rest of the day goes.
Kirkland Urban's 2026 lineup goes well beyond a walk past the storefronts. The event page lists:
There are two rules. Costumes are encouraged, and minors need to stay with an adult. Parking is the better news: you can get up to four hours free with validation from a Kirkland Urban business. That window is long enough to cover dinner at the plaza and the full three hours of the event. The page doesn't list which businesses will hand out candy, so the route through the plaza is something you'll find out once you're there.
There's also a gap on the other side of Central Way. The Kirkland Downtown Association's October 2026 calendar lists no events between October 24 and October 31. Downtown merchants have run trick-or-treat events before, but nothing is posted for this year. For now, Treat Street is the trick-or-treat event on the downtown calendar.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. The event that fills the day is the Kirkland Catrina Walk, presented by Mundo Catrina at Marina Park, 25 Lakeshore Plaza Drive. It runs from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is free. The City of Kirkland also lists it on its community events calendar for that date.
The listing describes a family-friendly celebration of Mexican culture and traditions, with Catrinas, live music, cultural performances, art, local vendors, and family activities. The day also includes a Catrina Walk through downtown Kirkland. The organizers haven't published a start time or route for the walk itself. If you want to see the procession rather than the park festival, check back with Mundo Catrina closer to the date.
Putting the two Día de los Muertos events side by side shows how differently they're set up:
| October 24 | October 31 | |
|---|---|---|
| Host | City of Kirkland | Mundo Catrina |
| Location | Peter Kirk Community Center, 352 Kirkland Avenue | Marina Park, 25 Lakeshore Plaza Drive |
| Hours | 2 to 4 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Format | Traditional activities, food, music | Catrinas, performances, art, vendors, walk through downtown |
| Cost | Free | Free |
The City's event is a two-hour afternoon at a community center. Mundo Catrina's runs most of a day on the waterfront and goes out into the streets. If you go to both, you'll see the same holiday celebrated by two different hosts a week apart.
There's one more event for families with toddlers. The City's Pee Wee Monster Bash is Friday, October 30, from 10 a.m. to noon at North Kirkland Community Center, 12421 103rd Ave. NE. It's for kids ages 1 to 5 and includes crafts, Monster Ball Bowling, Little Vamp Skee Ball, a cookie stroll, prizes, and treats. Admission is $18 per child. It's the only paid event in the stretch and the only one on a weekday morning, so it works well for younger kids who may not last until 8 p.m. at Treat Street.
Both Saturdays end up downtown, and two restaurants near the waterfront opened or reopened earlier this year.
Von's 1000Spirits has opened its Kirkland location at 115 Park Lane, serving scratch sourdough pizzas and handmade pastas. When the opening was announced, Sip Magazine reported that it would also have a spirits-focused bar. Pizza and pasta are an easy fit for a family coming from Peter Kirk before Treat Street, or after an afternoon at Marina Park.
The Slip, at 80 Kirkland Ave., has reopened under chef-restaurateur Ricky Eng. Back in April, What Now Seattle reported the spring reopening under its new Kirkland owners.
One note if you get around by bike. The City has posted that King County would close part of the Cross Kirkland Corridor between NE 52nd Street and 108th Avenue NE as early as September 8 to repair a culvert, build a retaining wall, and stabilize a nearby stream. The notice says the work will take three months and that a detour route will be available. The City's CKC page links to the county's project details. If you're riding the south end of the trail toward downtown on either Saturday, check that page for the current status before you go.
October 24 has the candy at Kirkland Urban, October 30 has the toddler party at North Kirkland, and October 31 has the Catrinas at Marina Park.
If your family is trying to fit all of this in, or you have friends visiting who want a real Kirkland weekend, we're always glad to share what we know about the places that make this city feel like home. The Patterson Real Estate Team is here whenever you'd like to talk, whether it's about Saturday plans or bigger ones. Contact Us.
Ready for a no-stress, first real estate experience? Connect with the Patterson Real Estate Team and take your next move with clarity and confidence.