Cathedral City is holding its 10th annual Halloween Spooktacular this Sunday, with more than 70,000 pieces of candy, over 20 trick-or-treat booths and bicycles given away every hour outside City Hall. The free event runs from noon to 3 p.m. in front of City Hall at 68700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero, with free parking for anyone who shows up.
The milestone celebration caps a weekend of Halloween programming for the Coachella Valley city, according to discovercathedralcity.com. Beyond the candy haul, the Spooktacular features costume contests with hourly bike giveaways, exhibitions from Cathedral City Police and Cathedral City Fire, children's activities from the Desert Recreation District, music and family games.
City officials describe the event as having grown from a small community gathering into a popular Coachella Valley Halloween tradition that brings together thousands of families, neighbors and public safety professionals. As MyNewsLA.com reports, participating vendors and partners this year include Read With Me, Palm Springs Unified School District, Friends of the Desert Mountains, Luchador Brewing Company, Burrtec, La Michoacana Ice Cream Parlor and the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City.
Dogs, Adoptions and a Discounted Movie Round Out the Weekend
The Halloween festivities actually kicked off a day earlier with the dedication of the “Great Scott” sculpture, followed by the Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest at Panorama Park Dog Park, where registration began at 9 a.m. Saturday and the contest started at 9:30 a.m. The contest split pups into small- and large-dog categories, with prizes for first, second and third place in each and a bonus award for best costume combo between a dog and its owner.
Adoptable dogs from Desert Paws Sanctuary were also on hand at the event, per kesq.com. Once the downtown Spooktacular wraps up Sunday afternoon, families can head to Mary Pickford Theatre is D'Place at 36850 Pickfair St. for a $1 screening of The Addams Family at 3:30 p.m., with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
A Tradition That Has Grown Nearly Fourfold
The scale of Cathedral City's Halloween bash has ballooned since its early years. Back in 2017, the city's 3rd Annual Halloween Spooktacular ran from 1 to 3 p.m. in front of City Hall and gave away more than 20,000 pieces of candy — a fraction of the 70,000-plus pieces promised this year, according to gcvcc.org. That earlier event featured DJ music, public safety exhibits, a ballet folklorico dance troupe, a kids' art party and the Bus of Horrors, plus an hourly costume contest where children could win a bike, the same prize format that carries through to this year's edition.
The movie tie-in has also stuck around in some form over the years. In 2017, Mary Pickford Theatre followed the Spooktacular with a free 3 p.m. screening of The Book of Life; this year's event pairs with a $1 showing of The Addams Family instead. Last year's 9th Annual Spooktacular, held the same noon-to-3 p.m. window on Oct. 26, 2025, offered free admission, trick-or-treating and a costume contest with bicycle prizes. This year's event is the 10th annual edition.
