"Come for the candy, stay for your close-up!" That line closes this year's Trick or Treat Street announcement from the Historic South Gaylord merchants. It's a fair summary of what changed. The event now has a red carpet, a photographer and a costume contest, and it runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, on the 1000 block of South Gaylord Street.
The new hours matter more than the red carpet. In Denver the sun sets at 5:58 p.m. on October 31, so the candy wraps up two minutes after sundown. On Old South Gaylord this year, Halloween is a daylight event for kids, and the block turns into an evening for grown-ups the moment the light goes.
Three Years, Three Different Halloweens on the Same Block
The tradition is the same every year, but the day of the week keeps moving it, and this is the first year in a while that it lands on a weekend.
- 2024, a Thursday. The merchants' page from that year describes family trick-or-treating along the block, plus an association bar pouring Spooky Sangria and warm drinks.
- 2025, a Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. Last year's event listing promised "a spooktacular evening" of businesses handing out treats along the block.
- 2026, a Saturday, 3 to 6 p.m. This year the event starts and ends an hour earlier and adds the costume contest, the red carpet and the photographer.
With last year's 4 to 7 p.m. window, the last hour of candy happened in the dark. This year's window keeps almost all of it in daylight. The photographer gets good light for the red carpet, and small children get a route they can see. The page still promises strung lights overhead and jack-o'-lanterns along the sidewalks, so the block's glow will arrive right as the last trick-or-treaters head home.
One caution for anyone mapping the afternoon from memory: last year's times are still easy to find online. The 2026 listing is the one to trust, and it says 3 to 6.
The Last Evening Before the Clocks Fall Back
Halloween this year also falls on the last night of daylight saving time. According to NIST, daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, when clocks go back to 1 a.m.
So on Saturday, a 6 p.m. finish still means dusk. One week later, the same clock time will be noticeably darker. That makes the 3 to 6 window a narrow one, timed to the last late sunset of the year. For a family walking over from the streets around Washington Park, it also means the walk home happens in twilight, not full dark.
Walking the 1000 Block, Door by Door
Per the event page, "local businesses along the block" hand out treats, and this year's route runs from shop to shop toward the red carpet. The merchants' business directory, published in August 2026, lists these doors on the 1000 block.
The even-numbered side
- Hawthorne, 1000
- Trunk Show, 1002
- Devil's Food Bakery, 1004
- Creative Eye Framing & Gallery, 1010
- Broomtail Kids, 1014
- The Paper Lady, 1018
- The Cookery at Myrtle Hill, 1020
- Modern Bungalow, 1028
- Max Gill & Grill, 1052
- Perdida, 1066
- The Wash Park Social, 1096
The odd-numbered side
- Homegrown Tap & Dough, 1001
- Ranch Outpost, 1021
- Centered and Strong, 1025
- Sports Plus, 1055
- Sweet Action Ice Cream, 1061
- Silk Road, 1065
- Barbara & Co, 1067
- Reiver's Restaurant, 1085
- Wish Gifts, 1099
One address on that walk is different from a couple of Halloweens ago. The Wash Park Social at 1096 opened this spring in the old Wash Park Grille space. The Denver Post reported in March that it planned to open at the end of April, and the Grille had closed in February 2025. The restaurant's own site now says "Now Open". Down the block at 1080, the directory lists Uncle Tim's Tasting Room as coming soon, so that storefront probably won't be on this year's route.
If your family's route has always ended at a particular storefront, the block still has something sweet near each end. Devil's Food Bakery sits close to one end and Sweet Action Ice Cream is midway down the other side, though on a Saturday afternoon in late October the ice cream may well be the line worth beating.
After Six, the Block Keeps Going for Grown-Ups
When the candy stops at 6 p.m., the block's other events are still in their opening hours, and that handoff is the reason the earlier window works.
PARK Denver, the coworking space at 1040 South Gaylord, is hosting a free Halloween Costume Party from 4 to 10 p.m. on October 31. The listing calls it a costume party "for adults," but says it will also be family friendly, with door prizes, games and a kids' corner. It also invites guests to bring the kids for Gaylord trick-or-treating first. Registration on PARK's site requires a login.
The Local Parlor's event calendar gives a longer window for the same Saturday, 3 to 8:30 p.m., and promises treats for adults as well as children.
The block's sit-down dinner spots are also on the walk: Perdida, Reiver's, Max Gill & Grill, The Cookery at Myrtle Hill, Homegrown Tap & Dough and The Wash Park Social. On a Saturday, the 6 p.m. close leaves just enough time to get the costumes home, or simply walk down to dinner still wearing them.
Parking on a Saturday Evening
The merchants' visitor guidance says on-street parking is available near the block. It also says some nearby areas have resident-only parking restrictions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and that valet runs daily after 5 p.m. That combination fits this year's schedule awkwardly. Families arriving at 3 p.m. will be looking for curb space before valet starts, and Saturday-night restrictions apply on some nearby streets. Read the signs on the block where you park, not the one you parked on last year.
The 2026 event page doesn't say whether South Gaylord will close to cars during the event, and it gives no categories, prizes or sign-up process for the costume contest. For anyone living within a few blocks, walking over avoids both problems. It also means the walk home is still in dusk at 6, not after dark.
If you live a short walk from Gaylord and you're wondering what that walk is worth when you sell, Linkow Baltimore Team can put a number on it. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll show you how being this close to the 1000 block factors in.
