For households in East Hempfield, West Hempfield, Mountville and East Petersburg, Halloween 2026 runs on two calendars. At home, the season starts with a pumpkin giveaway on October 10 and ends with trick-or-treat on Saturday night, October 31. In between, every parade is out on the Susquehanna. Columbia and Marietta hold theirs within three days of each other, and a regional outdoor weekend lands in Columbia at the same time.
LancasterOnline's 2026 roundup of eight Halloween parades in Lancaster County runs from Millersville to Akron. It doesn't include one in any of the four Hempfield municipalities. A roundup can miss a small event, so that alone doesn't prove nothing exists. Still, the township and borough calendars we checked don't add one either. The closest parades on the 2026 calendar are the river-town events below.
October 10: the hometown opener in East Petersburg
The Hempfield-area event most worth marking this month is small, and it's early. East Petersburg's free Pumpkin Festival runs Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Petersburg Community Building. The first 250 kids get a free pumpkin to decorate. Simply Greek at Roots Market is also running a fundraiser for the group behind it.
The organizer is East Petersburg Events, which the borough describes as a community-events site run by local residents. That shows how Halloween works on this side of the county. The homegrown events are three-hour, volunteer-sized affairs. The parades with bands, floats and fire companies happen in the river towns to the west.
October 22: Columbia's Thursday-night parade
The Columbia Lions Club gives its parade's schedule in one sentence:
"Columbia's Mardi Gras 'Halloween' Parade is always the fourth Thursday in October."
That puts it on Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m. this year. The Lions co-sponsor it with the Sunsnappers. It steps off at the Columbia Borough Fire Department at 10th and Manor streets, which LNP lists as 726 Manor St.
The route goes from Manor Street to 4th, 4th to Union, Union to Second, Second to Locust, Locust to 6th, and finishes on Cherry Street. According to the Lions Club's parade page, the parade has five divisions sponsored by local businesses and organizations. It includes high school and community bands, floats, baton groups and fire departments, plus up to $2,000 in cash prizes for the best floats, walking groups and individual entries.
Two details are worth knowing before you go. Candy can't be thrown from floats or vehicles. Walkers along the curb hand it out instead, which matters if small children will be up front. And the last unit is always a steam calliope, so the parade isn't over until you hear it.
This year's theme is "Celebrating our Roots: Columbia 300th and America 250th Year Anniversaries." Columbia is marking its 300th year in 2026. LNP's guide to the anniversary describes a series of free public events, put together by a borough anniversary committee, that ran from February through October. The last two talks on that schedule, on October 4 and October 6, have already happened. That leaves the parade as one of the more visible ways the tricentennial will show up this fall.
The same Thursday starts a busy outdoor weekend in Columbia
The parade isn't the only thing in Columbia that week. The Keystone Trails Association's Keystone Hiking & Outdoor Weekend runs October 22 through 25 across the Susquehanna Riverlands. KTA staff will be outside Columbia Crossing River Center at 41 Walnut St. on Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and Sunday morning.
A few pieces stay close to home for anyone in West Hempfield or Mountville:
- Friday, October 23, 9 to 11:30 a.m.: a beginner-friendly bike ride from Columbia Crossing along the Northwest River Trail to a meadow restoration site at Riverfront Park, 551 Vinegar Ferry Road, Marietta. Riders aim for about 10 mph. People who don't want to bike can meet the group at Riverfront Park at 10 a.m. for a half-mile accessible walk.
- Friday, October 23, 1 to 2:30 p.m.: the Quest for Freedom Tour, a 0.75-mile walk through historic Columbia led by The Underground Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
- Saturday, October 24, 5:30 to 9 p.m.: an evening meetup for attendees at Columbia Kettle Works, 40 N. 3rd St. The brewery is pouring a specialty beer brewed to benefit KTA.
These are registered activities, not drop-in events. KTA expects the weekend to sell out and notes that the agenda may change, so check which activities still have openings before you plan around one. One more timing note: Friday's bike ride is offered as a thank-you to people who join Thursday's Floodplain Cleanup, and the two are sold together as one package.
October 23 and 24: Marietta takes the weekend
Marietta's turn comes Friday and Saturday. Haunted Marietta takes over the Marietta Community House "Crypt" at 264 W. Market St. on Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24. The Community House event page lists local artisans and merchants, food, and a haunted house run by Willis Boyles and Friends. Discover Marietta names the event's partners as the Haunted House of Marietta, the Marietta Community House, the Marietta Area Business Association and Marietta Restoration Associates.
Saturday also brings the Marietta Halloween Costume Parade, from Marietta Square at 1 S. Gay St. along West Market Street to the Community House. LNP says the haunted house is kid-friendly and not-so-spooky until 7 p.m., with food trucks on site. For families with younger kids, that makes the late afternoon the easiest time to go.
The start time is the one detail that isn't settled. LNP and the parade flyer say 4:15 p.m. Discover Marietta lists a 4 p.m. start. The Community House page shows both 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Plan to be at the square a little before 4 p.m., and check the Community House listing that week for the final time.
From Thursday night through Saturday, Columbia and Marietta have a parade, a two-day haunted house and a regional hiking weekend between them. The Hempfield municipal calendars we checked list a pumpkin festival and trick-or-treat night for the whole month.
October 31: everyone comes home on the same night
Halloween night brings the season back to Hempfield's own streets. October 31 falls on a Saturday this year, and most of Lancaster County is trick-or-treating that evening. Some towns in Cumberland and Dauphin counties picked Thursday, October 29 instead. Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, New Cumberland, Middletown and Steelton are all on Thursday.
| Municipality | 2026 trick-or-treat | Where it's posted |
|---|---|---|
| East Hempfield Township | Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | Township calendar |
| East Petersburg Borough | Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | Borough event page |
| Mountville Borough | Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | ABC27 list |
| West Hempfield Township | Not posted as of Oct. 7 | Township calendar |
| Lancaster City, Manheim Township | Saturday, Oct. 31, 6 to 8 p.m. | ABC27 list |
West Hempfield is the gap. As of October 7, its October calendar and news page show municipal meetings but no trick-or-treat date or hours. Its neighbors are all using the same 6-to-8 window, but that isn't an official time for West Hempfield streets, so watch the township's site for the announcement. East Hempfield's calendar also shows a Budget Workshop on October 20 and a Board of Supervisors meeting on October 21, the two days before Columbia's parade.
We put this calendar together for our Hempfield neighbors. If you hear West Hempfield's official time before we update this, or you know of a Hempfield-area Halloween event we missed, tell us and we'll add it. You can reach James and Cindy at the James Dunn Team. Just hit Contact Us.
