Go Costume Crazy at West Hollywood’s Halloween Carnaval

Ariel Ostrowiecki

The biggest free Halloween party on the planet brings more than 500,000 souls to Santa Monica Boulevard on Oct. 31.  With miles of multiple brightly lit musical stages and crowds in crazy costumes, the Annual West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval is always quite a sight and quite a night.

Roaming the streets are the flashy, the proud, the fancy, and the loud, so hold on to your masks.  With dozens of food trucks lining the streets with good eats, this festival is a delectable affair, that will offer hot dogs, French fries, and lemonade to the crowd of neon divas and feathered super-fairies.  Alcohol is not allowed on the festival’s route, but many of the bars will still be open on All Hallow’s Eve, such as WeHo’s famous Abbey.

Last year, the Halloween Carnaval marked the occasion of the 40th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  To pay tribute to the cult classic, Boy George and Culture Club performed at this raucous venue. This year will also feature entertainment along with the crowing of the Queen of the Carnaval.  Folks dressed up as “Rihanna, Lisa Vanderpump and Ryan Seacrest,” have been dubbed past queens.

Due to the immense crowds who attend this event, carvnaval-goes might want to get dropped off through Lyft, Uber, or any other rideshare service a few blocks away from the festivities.  Think your costume is absolutely amazing?  Ready to show off “what your mama gave ya?”

The event attracts television coverage, magazine writers and photographers, and people who just want to be awed by your Halloween presence. So you never know whose video, blog, Instagram, Twitter Hashtag, Magazine or Online Forum you will show up on.

The WeHo Halloween Carnaval takes place 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Oct. 31 on Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.