An October Weekend Itinerary (Halloween All Month Long)
October weekends are extra thrilling, because Wicked Cool—Downtown Knoxville's Halloween celebration—is here all month long. Book a stay in one of our h̶a̶u̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ favorite hotels and enjoy all the fun and frights we have in store. Here's a weekend itinerary to help you get the most out of your experience in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee!
FRIDAY
Explore Market Square and Gay Street on foot to see all that's shadowing over the city. We’ve created a magical mood with flying ghosts, spooky photo ops and creepy-crawly frights. Take a picture with the Krutch Park creature!
While you're exploring, go on the Wicked Cool Cat Scavenger Hunt. Our nine clever felines are hiding in windows throughout the district—when you find one, you’ll know you’re someplace wicked cool. Plus prizes!
Worked up an appetite after those frights? Eat, drink, and be scary at Bistro at the Bijou, where you can enjoy live jazz on Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights. Pair farm-to-table dinner with a Caramel Apple Martini, Corpse Reviver, Dark & Stormy, or Autumn Mule! Fancy some food from across the pond? Saunter over to Boyd's Jig & Reel in the Old City for the Prince of Darkness, a purple Halloween cocktail to welcome All Hallows' Eve!
Bowling, snacks, and cocktails await in the cryptic corners of Maple Hall, an underground bowling alley fun for the whole family. Try the Bloody Mule or Caramel Apple cocktail. Don't forget your costumes (optional, of course)!
SATURDAY
Rise from the grave; uh, we mean bed, and head to the open-air farmers’ market located in the heart of Downtown Knoxville. Market Square Farmers' Market in the fall boasts pumpkins, apples, baked breads, and more cozy treats. Stop in the shops throughout downtown for frightful accessories and candy for your Halloween weekend – skull earrings, Zombie popcorn, bewitching candles, and so many more local goodies.
Get caffeinated at Frothy Monkey with the Grave Robber Dirty Chai, a classic dirty chai latte with a spooky twist: activated charcoal to make it as dark as night. Then bite into a light and puffy yeast doughnut raised to perfection from Status Dough with festive Halloween sprinkles.
For a full-on Halloween brunch, look no further than fan-favorite French Market for Wicked Cool crepes, like the Creepy Nutella with Butterfingers and the Creep Up – adding gummy worms to a sweet crepe, along with Bloody Zombie, Devil's Sour, and Purple Bat cocktails.
There are so many fun, scary, and family-friendly Halloween-themed events to check out while you're here, like Thrill the World, Monsters at the Museum, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and more!
Crawl on over to Theatre Knoxville for Night of the Living Dead Live! on stage October 13-29. Six strangers in a lonely farmhouse, surrounded by brain-eating zombies – what could go wrong? Purchase tickets here.
For drinks, something wicked is brewing in the Old City as Brother Wolf becomes Brother Werewolf. Prepare yourself for a spine-tingling, intoxicating experience with themed elixirs from October 6-31.
Taking it to another level, Tern Club has become sinister with the creepy Dollhouse theme. Order up Annabelle and Chucky cocktails if you dare!
Preservation Pub, Bernadette’s, and Alice in Appalachia have creative cocktails like the blood-red Wicked Witch of the West and Spooky Bones Shooter – all with views of ghosts in Market Square. Send your inner beast howling into the night with more spooky cocktail specials popping up at all your favorite haunts.
SUNDAY
Think you have the cleverest Halloween getup? The most sinister? The most relentlessly adorable? (Four-legged trick-or-treaters too.) Take your picture in costume, upload it or share it on social, and let us be the judge. We’ve got prizes for participants of all ages and pets of all sizes! Find categories, prizes, and contest details here.
Put a little tingle in your spine with Spooky Ghost Tours and Paranormal Adventure Tours exploring hanged killers, tragic fires, cold-blooded murder, and sweet revenge. The restless spirits still haunt the city streets of Market Square, Gay Street, and the Old City.
Don't go home without a sweet treat! If ice cream haunts your taste buds, The Phoenix Pharmacy & Fountain awaits with The Great Pumpkin Sundae. Proper Popcorn has some frightfully fun mixes, while Kilwins' adorable candy buckets are filled to the top with goodies. Plus, lots of pumpkin and fall-flavored treats for all!