Mandan Halloween 2026: Why Friday Is the Big Night
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
On Mandan's 2026 Halloween calendar, the busiest night is Friday, Oct. 30. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. The City of Mandan's events calendar puts four separate events on Friday: the Law Enforcement Center trunk or treat, trick-or-treating at Edgewood Mandan, trick-or-treating at Dialectic Brewing & Ciderhouse and a Halloween dance party at Central Station Bar & Events. The calendar lists one event on Saturday, Oct. 31.
If you plan the week around the 31st, you could miss most of it. This guide runs in date order from today, Thursday, Oct. 22, through Halloween night. Use it to decide which evenings need a costume ready, which need a ticket bought now and which can stay open.
Haunted Fort at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, 4480 Fort Lincoln Rd., has been running since early October. Its main event runs Oct. 9–10, Oct. 16–17 and Oct. 23–24, so tomorrow and Saturday are the last regular nights. Hours on the North Dakota Tourism event listing are 7 to 11 p.m. The haunted houses are set inside the fort's reconstructed historic military buildings.
Tickets come in three tiers: General Admission, Fast Pass and VIP. General admission covers the haunted attractions, mazes and encounters. VIP adds priority access and unlimited re-entry. The 2026 ticket page recommends the experience for ages 13 and up and leaves the final decision to parents and guardians. Prices change by date, so check hauntedfort.com for the night you want.
The age guidance matters for the rest of the month. The Fort's gentler options for younger kids are already over. Spookless Nights ran Oct. 2 and 3, and the free Halloween Kids Bash with its Little Monsters Hike was last Sunday, Oct. 18. From here on, the Fort is for teens and adults. That leaves the family events in town, and most of those are on Friday the 30th.
The one weeknight event before Halloween is a grown-up dinner. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Morton Mandan Public Library at 609 West Main St. hosts OctoberWest from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. KX News reported that the fundraiser will help replace Mortie, the library's bookmobile. The library's event page says the money goes to two projects: a new bookmobile to serve Morton County and a Creativity Studio, a new space for making and learning.
The evening is built around local names:
Tickets are sold through the North Dakota Community Foundation event page. The price rose from $50 through September to $60 starting Oct. 1, and capacity is 80 people. With 80 seats, it could sell out before Wednesday, so this is the one event this week to book ahead.
OctoberWest comes eight days after the library opened a new location. The Branch, a satellite of the Morton Mandan Public Library, held its grand opening Oct. 20 inside the Mandan PlayLab building. It offers books for checkout and regular library services. The library describes it as a resource for PlayLab visitors, families in the surrounding neighborhood and all library patrons. The PlayLab is at 701 5th St. SW.
The PlayLab is part of the Mandan Public School District's early-learning program. It combines a play space, a family resource center and a discovery museum, built around learning through play. Its posted hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 to 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. For younger kids who are too young for the Fort, a Tuesday or Thursday visit is a calm option between costume nights.
Friday is when the family events all happen. The windows overlap, so you can visit more than one in the same evening:
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 4–6 p.m. | 8th Annual Morton/Mandan Trunk or Treat | Morton Mandan Law Enforcement Center, 205 First Ave. NW |
| 4–6 p.m. | Trick-or-Treating | Edgewood Mandan |
| 4–8 p.m. | Trick or Treat at Dialectic Brewing & Ciderhouse | Dialectic Brewing & Ciderhouse |
| 8–11 p.m. | Open Dance Night Halloween Party | Central Station Bar & Events |
The trunk or treat is the biggest of the four. It's run jointly by the Mandan Police Department and Morton County Sheriff's Office and is now in its eighth year. Decorated car trunks hand out candy, first-responder vehicles are parked on site and costumes are encouraged. For kids who'd rather see a squad car up close than walk through a haunted barracks, this is the night.
The times line up well for families. The trunk or treat and Edgewood both end at 6 p.m. Dialectic runs until 8, so families can stop there after the Law Enforcement Center. Dialectic is also one of the three hosts of Wednesday's OctoberWest dinner, so it appears twice on this week's calendar. Central Station's party starts at 8 p.m., as Dialectic's trick-or-treat ends.
To eat out between stops, Chopsticks and Fries opened on Memorial Highway in late summer. KX News confirmed it was open in a Sept. 25 story. Its address is 4524 Memorial Highway, Suite 108.
After Friday's family events, Halloween night is for older kids and adults, and the Fort is the main event.
On Oct. 30 and 31, Haunted Fort runs Darkness Unleashed in place of its regular show. The Haunted Fort site says the lanterns and lights are removed and each visitor gets a single glowstick to find the way. The 13-and-up recommendation still applies, and in the dark it carries more weight. If you have teens in the house, last-weekend Fort tickets and the Friday trunk or treat don't conflict. Younger kids can do the trunk or treat early Friday, and teens can head to the Fort either night after 7.
In town, the city calendar lists Red Trail House of Terrors from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday at 4521 34th Ave. NW. The event listing describes a spooky trail around the house, a haunted garage and treats for visitors. It starts at 5 p.m., so younger kids can go early on Halloween night before the Fort crowd heads out.
Friday has the most events and the widest age range of any night this week. Saturday has two.
Halloween is also when more neighbors see your front walk than any other night of the year. If the porch lights, steps or entry have you thinking about small fixes or a bigger project, I'm happy to talk it through and connect you with local contractors who do that work. Reach out to Jessica Silha any time. Let's Connect.
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