Best Halloween Parties

The best early Halloween parties: 10 spooky bashes that will leave you screaming for more

Halloween festivities start early this year with several days of hair-raising fun parties leading up to the big Friday scare. Hit up these 10 bashes for a devilish good time before Halloween night itself:

The Bash: A Halloween Happening

Details: Don a creative ensemble for your chance to win a prize, and have some anonymous fun, at this Museum District-area gathering. Beats are courteous of Skyrocket and Disco Expressions. Libations and bites are included in the ticket price with proceeds benefiting Easter Seals Greater Houston.
Locale:Hotel ZaZa
Date: Saturday
Time: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Tickets: $200 per person

Twin Peaks Masquerade Party

Details: It's bazooms and beer during the breastaurant's week-long All Saints' Day-inspired spree. Snap a pic with your favorite costume-clad waitress and enter to win your very own man cave complete with a 60-inch TV, two Dos Equis bar stools, a Dos Equis mini fridge, a catered party and more. Say cheese.
Locale:Twin Peaks
Date: Saturday through Oct. 31
Time: Regular business hours
Tickets: Free

13th Annual ArBOOretum

Details: For something PG-rated, grab the kids and head to the Arboretum for quality family time. Activities for the munchkins include decorating pumpkins, hayrides, a petting zoo, pony rides and puppet shows. Costumes encouraged for your little goblins, and you.
Locale: Houston Arboretum & Nature Center
Date: Saturday
Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets: $15; free for Houston Arboretum members

Wicked Things Halloween Party

Details: Arrive dressed to impress a panel of judges. Compete in contest categories from best group to best individual male and female Allhalloween garb. Break out an old bridesmaid dress and triumph in the challenge for ugliest outfit. This sinfully good time, presented by and benefiting Houston Makerspace, also features a DJ, food trucks and an open bar.
Locale: 100 Hutcheson St.
Date: Saturday
Time: 9 p.m.
Tickets: $40 in advance; $50 at the door

Tales from the Haunted House

Details: The attire at ritzy River Oaks restaurant Brasserie 19 goes from the usual designer labels to masks and capes as the West Gray hot spot hosts its third annual costume party.
Locale:Brasserie 19
Date: Saturday
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: Free

Haute Halloween Pet and Polo Party

Details: Fido goes to the polo match this Sunday. Dress him to the nines for the Howl-o-ween costume contest. Your pooch doesn't get to have all the fun though. For the humans: Have a wicked blast stomping the divots, noshing on tasty snacks, sipping wine and throwing back booze-filled shots. It's all in the name of charity. Proceeds from the event benefit Citizens for Animal Protection.
Locale:Houston Polo Club
Date: Sunday
Time: 4 to 7 p.m.
Tickets: $20 suggested donation

Bewitched Halloween Ball

Details: Make sure you costume has an elastic waist. The tasty fare here includes smoked salmon roulettes, orange sesame chicken skewers and mini smoked brisket paninis. There's also a lengthy list of spirit-based cocktails, a DJ, photo booth and spooktacular Halloween decor.
Locale:Gage Lounge
Date: Oct. 29
Time: 8 to 10 p.m.
Tickets: $65 per person/ $100 per couple

Hollywood Halloween

Locale: It's cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and costumes as you mingle at the ballpark with Hollywood royalty like faux Marilyn Monroe. Ticket sales and a silent auction benefit the Fanatical Change Foundation.
Locale: Minute Maid Park
Date: Oct. 30
Time: 7 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$80

Cirque du San Luis Asylum

Details: Not for the faint of heart, the Galveston hotel keeps the creepy vibe going for three days of sinister fun. The 7,000 square-foot venue will be crawling with ghastly creatures. Make your way through a maze of eerie rooms and be ready to scream loud enough to wake the dead.
Locale:San Luis Resort, Spa and Conference Center
Date: Oct. 30 through Nov. 1
Time: 6 p.m. to midnight
Tickets: $10 per person for hotel guests/ $15 per person for visitors

Mo's Halloween Eve Party

Details: Break out your sultriest getup (sexy Annise Parker, anyone?) at the Galleria steakhouse’s annual Halloween soiree. Get into the Halloween spirit while you imbibe, dine and dance the night away.
Locale: Mo's... A Place for Steaks
Date: Oct. 30
Time: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Tickets: Free

Photo by Carlos Barria Reuters

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red bull recap

35,000 Houstonians race downtown for free Red Bull F1 showcase

The Red Bull Show Down was full of racing, drifting, stunts, and more.

Photo by Chris Tedesco / Red Bull Content Pool

Arvid Lindblad drove his first F-1 in Houston.

Houston hosted the Red Bull Showrun on Saturday, September 7, and a crowd of 35,000 watched in awe as drivers engaged in high octane action.

“Thank you to the city of Houston for getting us all together. And the thousands of people who turned out for today’s Red Bull Showrun,” 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard said in a statement. “To come to Houston, it’s such a vibrant city, not far from the baseball stadium and we’re right in the heart of where all the action’s happening from a sporting sense. The fan base in America is so passionate, and I think the energy has been amazing today.”

Against the backdrop of Discovery Green on the first fall(ish) day of 2024, drivers showed off their incredible skills in a free event sponsored by Ford. Coulthard and Junior Driver Arvid Lindblad took center stage in the RB7 and RB8 F1 care respectively. Both drivers ran the custom-built track at the same time, a first for F1s in the Red Bull Showrun in the United States. The F1 cars are known as some of the fastest cares on Earth, reaching speeds of well over 200 mph (370 kmh). Notably, this was the first F1 run for Lindblad, who previously competed in F3 in Italy and F4 in Macau.

“The Red Bull Showrun today was absolutely awesome, I loved every moment of it,” Lindblad added. “It was my first time in a F1 car, and I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it was going to be super cool, but this topped anything I’d ever imagined and I loved every moment! It was amazing to drive the RB8 and to get the opportunity to drive it here in Houston for the fans is one I never thought would come. This was an amazing crowd and is a day I’ll never forget. And to have had that moment with David Coulthard at the end with both of us on the track at the same time, I’ll never forget that.”

Coulthard’s RB7 was given an appropriate Houston touch while running in the city. The pit crew added spiked rims. The rims have become something of an H-town trademark, to the glee or dismay of the residents depending on who you talk to.

Red Bull Showrun Houston The RB7 car got adorned with some Houston touches.Photo by Chris Tedesco / Red Bull Content Pool

In addition to the F1 cars, drifting expert “Mad” Mike Whiddett showed off a dizzying display of donuts to the delight of the crowd in his custom MadMac McLaren P1 Hypercar. Rapper Paul Wall of Swishahouse fame made a surprise ride along with the Mad One.

Motorbike acrobatics by Aaron Colton, a car parade, and trophy trucks also gave the gearhead crowd something to cheer for. Musicwise, the event was enhanced greatly by dueling DJs, Houston’s own DJ Mr. Rogers tag-teaming with DJ Hed from Los Angeles. They would later compete in the sold out Red Bull Turn It Up event that took place Saturday night.