Melbourne Beach Halloween Events 2026: Your Ocean Avenue Guide

"To help lessen the usual crowds and long wait times." That was how the Melbourne Beach Volunteer Firefighters Association explained moving its Haunted House to two back-to-back nights in 2024, with food trucks on site both nights. The two-night format is back for 2026. The town's other Halloween events have moved since the September commission meeting, though, and the new schedule lands them all on Saturday, October 17, in the same few hours, on the same block of Ocean Avenue as the haunted house.

Saturday, October 17, by the Clock

The current Town Calendar lists three items at Ryckman Park for Saturday: the Fall Festival, the Golf Cart Trunk or Treat and Movie in the Park with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The Haunted House runs that same night right next door. Put in order, the evening looks like this:

1. 4:00 p.m. The Fall Festival opens at Ryckman Park, 509 Ocean Avenue. Entry is free, and the Melbourne Beach Parks Board lists hayrides, games, food trucks, a Lil' Ninjas obstacle course and Trunk or Treat.
2. 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. The Golf Cart Trunk or Treat runs during the festival at the same park.
3. 6:00 p.m. The festival ends, and the MBVFA Haunted House opens at Fire Station 58, 507 Ocean Avenue. It stays open until 9:00 p.m.
4. 7:30 p.m. The Melbourne Beach Police Department's Movie in the Park starts on the Ryckman Park lawn. The town describes it as a free, family-friendly movie with popcorn.

The festival closes the same minute the haunted house opens next door, and the movie starts halfway through the haunted house's hours. A family can stay on the block from late afternoon until well after dark without moving the car.

One caution on the movie time. The 7:30 p.m. start comes from the September 16 commission packet. The current town calendar confirms the film and the date, but the listing we reviewed doesn't show a start time. In 2024 the movie started at 7 p.m., so check the calendar again that week.

What Moved Since September

At the September 16, 2026 Town Commission meeting, the published lineup spread the events over two days. The town's current event pages now show a tighter version.

Under the September plan, the festival ended three hours before the haunted house opened, and Trunk or Treat had Friday evening to itself. The town hasn't published a reason for the change, and the event pages simply show the new times. The packet calls this the fourth annual Fall Festival and the second annual Golf Cart Trunk or Treat.

This also isn't the 2024 layout. That year the festival ran from 3 to 6 p.m. and was hosted by Town Hall staff, with the movie at 7 p.m. The 2026 festival is shorter, starts an hour later and is run by the Parks Board.

Two Addresses, One Block

The whole weekend happens on two neighboring lots. Fire Station 58 is at 507 Ocean Avenue and Ryckman Park is at 509, so walking from the hayrides to the haunted house line takes a few steps.

Saturday has one more stop. The town calendar lists the Old Town Hall History Center as open on October 17, the same day as the festival.

Ryckman Park itself is getting some work. The adopted FY2027 budget says the fence project along the park's parking-lot side is underway. It also sets aside $25,000 to replace playground equipment and $30,000 to repair the bathroom roof. The festival listing doesn't say whether any of that work will affect the event layout.

The Trunk or Treat still needs decorated vehicles. The Parks Board is looking for 20 to 30 golf carts or cars, gives prizes to the top three, and takes sign-ups through SignUpGenius from the town's event page. In the September packet, the town said registration is limited and the prizes go to the best-decorated golf carts.

Friday Belongs to the Firefighters

Once Trunk or Treat moved to Saturday, Friday, October 16 was left with one event. The MBVFA Haunted House runs that night from 7 to 10 p.m. at Fire Station 58. That's an hour longer than Saturday, and nothing else is scheduled next door.

The firefighters added the second night to spread out the crowds. Under the current schedule, though, Saturday's haunted house opens just as the festival lets out next door, while Friday has no festival before it. For anyone who mostly wants to go through the haunted house, Friday is the night with the block to itself.

The MBVFA is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and the town packet says this event is "the best haunted house on beachside." A few details aren't confirmed for 2026:

• Admission. The 2024 and 2025 town pages called the haunted house free. The 2026 packet doesn't list a price or a beneficiary.
• Age. The 2025 listing promised "big scares" and suggested keeping small children away. For younger children, the hayrides and Trunk or Treat in the afternoon are the better fit.
• Food. Food trucks were on site both nights in 2024. The 2026 festival listing includes food trucks for Saturday afternoon.

The hours have stayed the same for three years. The 2025 haunted house ran October 17 from 7 to 10 p.m. and October 18 from 6 to 9 p.m., which is the same pattern as 2026.

Bring a Chair, and Plan the Drive Home

For the movie, the 2024 instructions asked guests to bring their own chairs or blankets. The 2026 listings we reviewed don't include parking instructions, street closures or golf-cart rules for the weekend.

The drive home is where this year differs. FDOT's resurfacing and safety project on A1A runs from Oak Street to U.S. 192. It includes rebuilding the traffic signal at Ocean Avenue and Oak Street, plus lighting, sidewalk and ADA curb-ramp work, and is expected to finish in spring 2027. The town's September packet warned that traffic would be limited to one lane at times between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. while the work is underway. The haunted house closes at 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 p.m. on Friday, which is when those nighttime lane restrictions can start. The town's September 28 notice also covers the project's October start.

Drivers coming from the south should know about a second change. The town's October 6 update says A1A traffic at the Sebastian Inlet bridge will shift onto temporary pavement starting around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, weather permitting. It will stay on that alignment through late 2028.

If you're heading to the water that weekend, the 6th Avenue boat ramp is closed on weekdays during seawall repairs but open on weekends. The town hasn't given an end date for the repairs.

Ryckman Park's next event comes five days later. My Musical Tree moved from October 15 to Thursday, October 22, from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. The November 19 and December 17 sessions are scheduled for the same time.

Our family has watched these Ocean Avenue traditions grow over three generations in Melbourne Beach. If you live near the block or own a home there and want to know what this part of town is worth this fall, Jamie Dandridge can give you a clear, local read. Request a Home Valuation.