Oak Island's Halloween starts Friday at Bill Smith Park, eight days before Oct. 31. From there, the Town of Oak Island and a group of local businesses have scheduled six separate events between Oct. 23 and Oct. 31. Each one is built for a particular audience and a particular time of day. The schedule is split most clearly on Saturday, Oct. 24. An adults-only ride across more than a dozen restaurants and bars starts at noon, and a free family event with police and first responders opens at Middleton Park at 4 p.m.
On Halloween itself, the events are split by hour instead of by age. Shops give out candy along East Oak Island Drive all day, and the town's Trunk-or-Treat runs for two hours after dark.
Here is the full schedule, followed by the details for each day.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Who it's built for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct. 23 | Egg-Stra Spooky Halloween Egg Hunt | Bill Smith Park, 4410 Fish Factory Rd. | 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Kids, by age group |
| Sat, Oct. 24 | 6th Annual Oak Island Witches Ride | Restaurants and bars across the island | From noon | Adults only |
| Sat, Oct. 24 | National Night Out / Spooktacular | Middleton Park Complex, 4610 E. Dolphin Dr. | 4–8 p.m. | Families and pets |
| Thu, Oct. 29 | Haunted Fishing Derby | Oak Island Pier, 705 Ocean Dr. | Check registration page | Anglers in costume |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Oak Island Candy Crawl | 12 participating businesses | 8 a.m.–6 p.m. | All ages |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Trunk-or-Treat | Recreation Center, 3003 E. Oak Island Dr. | 5–7 p.m. | Young trick-or-treaters |
Friday opens with the shortest event of the week
The Egg-Stra Spooky Halloween Egg Hunt runs one hour, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, at Bill Smith Park on Fish Factory Road. It is free, and hunts are divided into age groups. Because the window is so short, arriving by 6:30 matters more than it will at any other event this week. It is also the only Halloween event held at Bill Smith Park. Saturday's family event moves east to Middleton Park.
Saturday, Oct. 24: two events built for different crowds
Noon onward: the Witches Ride
This is the sixth year of the Oak Island Witches Ride. According to the event listing, it is adults-only and has no registration, no fixed start and no finish line. Participants visit as many venues as they like, and the organizers describe the turnout as "well over 1500 participants." The event also raises money. Organizers suggest a minimum $10 donation per participant to Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter, the Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program or both, and the sponsoring venues have committed to donating to those two nonprofits.
The listing ranks the sponsors in three tiers:
- Cauldron Club, lead sponsor: Paul's of Oak Island
- Coven Circle: The Lazy Turtle and The Pirates Deck
- Broomstick Lounge: The OKI Pub, Second Wind, Tranquil Harbour, and 49th Street Grill, Bar & Patio
- Witches Watering Holes: The Seahorse at Ocean Crest Pier, Duffers Pub & Grille at Oak Island Golf Club, The Elks Club, Solar Brewing, The Grape & Ale, Koko Cabana, Tipsy Tuna, Lonerider, and Rusty Hooks Dockside Grill for South Harbor Village
The organizers also address how participants get around:
"Witches and warlocks can ride bikes, LSVs, shuttles, the official Southport Trolley, Paradise Shuttle or brooms! I don't care how you ride, just ride sober and smart!"
With that many people moving between venues all afternoon, expect bike, LSV and shuttle traffic on the island's main roads well before the family event starts.
4 to 8 p.m.: Spooktacular at Middleton Park
Four hours after the ride begins, Oak Island Parks & Recreation and the Oak Island Police Department open National Night Out / Spooktacular at Middleton Park Complex, 4610 E. Dolphin Drive. It is free and pet-friendly. The schedule includes an outdoor concert, trick-or-treating, first-responder displays, a costume contest, a fall market, carnival games and food.
The town also bills the evening as the last night of the fall Live & Local concert series. Under the Live & Local format, the market opens at 4 p.m. and the music starts at 6 p.m.
Check the weather before you go. On Oct. 9, the town canceled the Oct. 10 Live & Local show because of an inclement-weather forecast. The series page still has "CANCELED" in its title and lists Oct. 24 as its next date. The Spooktacular page, meanwhile, still advertises the concert. Before you leave Saturday afternoon, check the town's events page at OakIslandNC.gov/EVENTS for the current status.
Two venues, both audiences
Two businesses appear on both the Witches Ride venue list and the Candy Crawl map for Oct. 31: Koko Cabana on Ocean Drive and Tipsy Tuna on East Oak Island Drive. On Saturday they are stops on the adults' ride. A week later they are handing out candy to families during regular business hours.
Thursday, Oct. 29: the pier hosts the midweek event
The only weekday event on the schedule is the Haunted Fishing Derby at the Oak Island Pier on Thursday, Oct. 29. The town asks participants to come "dressed in your spooky best" and to bring their own fishing pole and bait. Entry is free, but you have to register in advance, and the start time is listed on the registration page. The pier at 705 Ocean Drive is open year-round from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31: Candy Crawl by day, Trunk-or-Treat after dark
The Candy Crawl route
The Oak Island Candy Crawl runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Halloween. Participating shops give out candy during their regular business hours. It is free, open to all ages, and the town says the point is to encourage people to explore local businesses.
The town's Candy Crawl map shows 12 stops. Nine are on East Oak Island Drive, two share the pier address and one is a motel on Ocean Drive:
| Stop | Address |
|---|---|
| Thai Noodle House | 8610 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Dunes Mercantile Gifts & Guitars | 8600 E. Oak Island Dr., Suite 5 |
| Tipsy Tuna | 8520 E. Oak Island Dr., Suite 5 |
| Island Jo Coffee -n- Cafe | 7916 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Double the Threads Boutique | 6012 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Beachlife Sweets | 5809 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Dairy Queen | 5701 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Oak Island Pub | 5422 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Kai Joe's | 4722 E. Oak Island Dr. |
| Koko Cabana | 705 Ocean Dr. |
| Ruby's Coffeehouse & Eatery | 705 Ocean Dr. |
| The Beach House Motel and Suites | 500 Ocean Dr. |
The stops fall into clusters, so you can cover them by area. Thai Noodle House, Dunes Mercantile and Tipsy Tuna sit within about a block of each other, from 8520 to 8610. Beachlife Sweets and Dairy Queen are about 100 numbers apart near the 5700–5800 blocks. Koko Cabana and Ruby's share the pier address, which also makes them an easy stop on Thursday for Derby participants. One stop is handing out something different. According to its note on the map, Dairy Queen is giving Candy Crawl participants small ice-cream treats instead of candy.
The Candy Crawl ends at 6 p.m., and Trunk-or-Treat starts at 5 p.m. That leaves one hour when both are running.
Trunk-or-Treat closes the week
The town's free Trunk-or-Treat runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on Halloween in the Oak Island Recreation Center parking lot at 3003 E. Oak Island Drive. Local vendors give out treats from decorated vehicles, and the town awards first, second and third place for Best Decorated Car. The town is still recruiting vendors. Any business, organization or social group that wants to enter a vehicle can sign up through the registration link on the event page.
If you're planning to drop by the Recreation Center earlier on Saturdays, note that its Saturday hours changed to 7 a.m. to noon starting Oct. 17. Weekday hours did not change.
Two weeks later, Middleton Park hosts Doggy Daze
The concert lost to weather on Oct. 10 has a new date. The British Invaders were moved to the town's first Doggy Daze of Fall on Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 4 p.m. at Middleton Park Complex. The event combines pet adoption with a family festival and includes a dog splashpad, games, vendors and food trucks. The town closed the Middleton Park basketball court Oct. 13 to 16 to replace its hoops, backboards and posts, and expected it to reopen Oct. 16.
On a nine-day schedule like this one, a home's location determines which events are close by. Middleton Park, the Recreation Center, the pier and the clusters of businesses along East Oak Island Drive each draw crowds on different days and at different hours. If you are thinking about a second home or a move on the island and want to know how a particular street feels during the town's event weekends, Crystal Austin can walk you through it block by block, privately and without pressure. Schedule a Private Consultation.
