Every week, Milwaukee With Kids answers a simple question for families across the area: What are we going to do this weekend? From indoor activities to outdoor adventures, we’ve got you covered. For the full weekend list, make sure to visit the Milwaukee With Kids website.
Top pick
Milwaukee Public Market Harvest Festival
Riverwalk Commons (across from the market)
Oct. 11 | 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Celebrate 20 years of the Milwaukee Public Market at this year’s Harvest Festival, with free activities and entertainment perfect for the whole family. Catch live music from Pay the Devil (11 a.m.) and Bluegrass Allstars (2 p.m.), create your own scarecrow, paint pumpkins, enjoy freshly pressed apple cider and grown-up drinks, indulge in food from Hundred Acre and other vendors, and check out the harvest mini-market. While you’re there, make a donation to Hunger Task Force.
Spooky(ish) stuff
Halloween Village
Baird Community Commons | 400 W. Wisconsin Ave. | Milwaukee
Oct. 10-31
Celebrate the magic of fall in the heart of Milwaukee with the return of Halloween Village. Guests can walk through a larger-than-life pumpkin, enjoy interactive lighting displays featuring classic Halloween characters and capture memories with brand-new seasonal photo ops. This event is free and open to the public.
Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium
Todd Wehr Theater | 929 N. Water St. | Milwaukee
Oct. 11-Nov. 2
Horror fans Brooke and Zeke are thrilled to be starring in a mysterious show called The Phantom and not the least bit frightened by the old legend that the play is cursed. But when strange, eerie messages start appearing and a masked menace disrupts rehearsals, they begin to wonder: What if there really is a ghost haunting their school, determined to stop the show?!
Spooky Sprint
Estabrook Park | 4400 N. Estabrook Dr. | Shorewood
Oct. 11 | 8 a.m.
Grab your costume — or just running gear is fine, too — and join the annual Spooky Sprint 5K/10K and Half-Marathon! This fun, Halloween-themed event is perfect for the whole family and includes great swag (a designer shirt and custom medal), chip-timing with live results and awards, free photos and delicious treats waiting at the finish line.
Halloween Glen
Hawthorn Glen Nature Center | 1130 N. 60th St. | Milwaukee
Oct. 10-11
Milwaukee Recreation is thrilled to celebrate Halloween Glen for its 32nd year! A spectacular event is on tap around the theme of "Claws Out." Watch out for tiffs and tussles, clashing and gnashing, snubs and scuffles. Even the cute and fluffy can dispute and get huffy. It’s a head-to-head throwdown where visitors brush up against prickly personalities, meet creatures in sticky situations and learn that, at times, we all need to make a big stink about something.