Whether you’re planning a party with friends and neighbors at your spacious and pet-friendly Retreat at Mountain Brook apartment home in Birmingham, Alabama, or making the scene in the Magic City, Halloween season offers all kinds of opportunities for fun!
October is also National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to help heighten local awareness, The Retreat at Mountain Brook is once again turning its fountain pink! It’s estimated that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop the disease in her lifetime. You can make a difference by supporting efforts to study and combat it by donating to or getting involved with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation at UAB.
For The Littles
The Birmingham Zoo is putting out the call all to all ghouls and goblins, Travis Kelces and Taylor Swifts, KPop Demon Hunters, Wednesdays, and Capybaras!!
It’s almost time to trick or treat around the Zoo at its annual Hoots & Howls event, on the calendar for the last three weekends of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each of those Saturdays and Sundays (October 11–12, 18–19, and 25–26, 2025).
Your kids can delight in the interactive animal shows at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Gigi’s Porch in Alabama Wilds, take part in the popular costume parade and contest at noon, and the high-energy Monster Mash dance party after that! DJs from Feel the Beat will be spinning spooky tunes all day on Henley Lawn, and there will be games and PLENTY of photo ops, not to mention the bewitchment of The Latham’s Dazzling Magic at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Event admission without the candy trail is included with Zoo entry fee; there are different pricing options.
For The Bigs
The Rocky Horror Picture Show turns 50 this year, and what better way to celebrate than at a Masquerade Ball Friday, October 24, at Avondale Brewing Company?
Come dressed to impress and ready to join in the fun, because audience participation is a MUST!! (Yes, yes, darlings, you may bring your own props, but of course!) The night will start kicking at 6 p.m. with two cash costume contests—Best Rocky Horror Character Look-A-Like and General Category. Then you’ll enjoy music from DJ Flock of Geno (Neon Electric) spinning ghoulish grooves before the main event.
At 8:30 p.m. the contests will lead straight into a screening of everybody’s favorite camp classic, with live shadow cast “Antici…pation” and special guests, The Mystic Society of Rocky Horror
. BWAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
For Everybody!
Vulcan Park & Museum has an evening filled with spooky fun for all ages planned for Friday, October 31, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Vulcan Spooktacular will feature food trucks, trick-or-treating stations throughout the museum and photo ops around the Park, along with music, face painting, complimentary popcorn, and refreshments. Adults will be able to purchase beer, wine, and cocktails. Beloved mascot “V” will make a special appearance in his Halloween costume, adding to the fun and excitement! Also, adults 21 and older can purchase tickets to the second annual Halloween Party (hosted by the VPM Junior Board) which will include a costume contest and pumpkin carving. It’s a night sure to packed with treats—and maybe even a few tricks!
Scary-Good Party Ideas
Brew up some sinister mock- and cocktails, prepare some frightful finger foods, and decorate with seasonal black and orange abandon—it’s time to have your very own howling good Halloween party! Your Retreat at Mountain Brook apartment home is the perfect setting both for feting—and frightening!—friends and family.
We asked * the Idea Specialists™ * for some tips and tricks to be the hosts with most. They pointed us to HGTV, which has some great ideas for decorating. One of their—and our—favorites is to use your fireplace as a focal point. Use a mix of mums and candles (unlit, for safety!) around it, and fill it full of pumpkins and gourds. So fun! As are these battery-powered holiday candles from Walmart, which come complete with their own remote control.
For goodies for gobblin’ (see what we did there? 😎😎), the site comes through again with snack ideas like Hairy Eyeballs (polenta poppers topped with corn silk and a few dribbles of blood marinara sauce), Poisoned Candy Apples (get out the black food coloring!) and more.
The Food Network isn’t any slouch, either, when it comes to yikes and yummies. You can make drawing “legs” with chocolate on the Scary Peanut Butter Spider Cookies a family affair, whip up a No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Brain in next to no time, and—of course—there’s no forgetting that all-time classic, a Dirt Cake topped with gummy worms!
One More—VERY IMPORTANT—Thing!
Did you know you can keep up with a lot of the events in our incredible city by signing up for the FREE BHAM Now newsletter? Here’s the link: https://bhamnow.com/newsletter-signup/
Happy Halloween!
* The Idea Specialists™ *
The Idea Specialists™ is a group of design and inspiration professionals with a focus on communications for the multifamily industry, as well as custom lifestyle planning and more. They do not receive any sort of product or financial incentives for their recommendations in posts such as these.
