Zombie walks, Museum of Fright, ‘Thriller’ and more kick off two weekends of Halloween fun around Seattle!

Halloween might be next weekend, but with all the fall fun going on, you’ll want to break out the costumes and start celebrating early!

Free Halloween festivals, trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving

West Seattle will be hosting Harvest Fest on Sunday, complete with a costume parade and marching band, trick-or-treating on California Ave., and there will also be a chili cook-off! This free, family-friendly event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Junction. That’s not the only Harvest Festival going on this weekend. In Auburn at Les Gove Park, you’ll find the Halloween Harvest Festival. There will be games, inflatables, crafts, and rides for the kids, plus a trunk-or-treat and food vendors to try. Halloween Harvest Fest is also a food drive for the Auburn food bank, and if you have an old Halloween costume taking up closet space? You can donate them on site. The Halloween Harvest Fest is Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Seattle Parks are offering a variety of free events this weekend and next, including the Rainer Beach Harvest Fest at the Rainer Beach Community Center on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., family pumpkin carving at the Northgate Community Center Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the Halloween Bounce and Swim at the Green Lake Community Center and Evans Pool, and plenty more. You can get more details and a full list of events on the Seattle Parks website.

Día de Muertos at Pike Place Market and zombie fun in Issaquah

The Pike Place Market is putting on a special Día de Muertos celebration this weekend, as you may have heard on “Seattle’s Morning News,” and this is going to be a great reason to get downtown and to the market! Complete with art, mariachi, lucha libre, and an evening parade, you won’t want to miss this. This is an all-day event for the market, with the fun starting Friday at noon.

If dressing up and acting like a zombie is your idea of Halloween fun, there are a couple of events for you, including the Issaquah Zombie Walk on Saturday and the Thrill the World Dance event in Woodinville.

At the Issaquah Zombie Walk, join your fellow undead and crawl through downtown Issaquah to City Hall, where there will be the Zombie Dance. Keep your eyes out for flash mobs when you are down there as well. Come dressed and in your own makeup, or take advantage of the Zombie makeover stations to help get you looking your best. At 1:30 p.m. is when the makeovers begin, 3 p.m. is the Zombie walk practice run, and 4:30 p.m. will be the actual crawl all leading to the Zombie dance at 5 p.m. The meeting place for the crawl is the Historic Shell Station in Downtown Issaquah, and the zombie walk is free.

‘Thriller’ dancing, Museum of Fright and lantern festival

Meanwhile, in Woodinville, Thrill the World is part of a worldwide simultaneous dance to “Thriller” and is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Leading up to the dance, there will be a festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Woodin Creek Village, complete with live music and performances, a costume contest, and so much more. The main event will be at 3 p.m. when the Seattle Thrillers will be putting on their Thrill the World performance. Thrill the World is free to attend.

The Museum of Flight is transforming into the Museum of Fright on Sunday for its annual celebration. There will be Halloween-themed games and activities, arts and crafts, face painting, a mad science show, and live music from the 8-Bit Brass Band. Costumes are strongly encouraged, and admission will be free for visitors 17 and under if they are in costume. The Museum of Fright is Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum of Flight.

Friday at Freeway Park, there will be free brats and cider, live music, crafts, and Tarot Card readings during the Fall Lantern Festival. There will also be a spooky creature feature and more fall fun. This free event is from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

It’s not often you get two weekends of Halloween, so get out and enjoy it! Anything else going on during spooky season? Let me know, paulh@kiroradio.com.