In 1856, Samuel Curtiss gave up part of his sheep pasture so the settlement had a place to bury its dead. Close to 100 members of the village's early families are buried at what is now Main Street Cemetery, and burials there continued through 1938. On Saturday morning, Oct. 24, actors from the community will stand among those graves and tell the settlers' stories.
The Living Cemetery is only one stop on the October calendar, and it shows how Halloween works in Downers Grove. Nearly every event this month is put on by a civic group. The Rotary Club runs the window painting. The Noon Lions Club runs the parade. The Historical Society brings the cemetery to life. The Park District hosts the Blodgett House on Halloween. Downtown businesses mostly serve as the venue. Most of the month is spread out across town, and then the weekend of Oct. 24–25 brings all of it into a few downtown blocks.
The weeks before: a slow build
October starts small. Since Oct. 1, downtown businesses have had a pumpkin, a ghost or a bat hiding in their windows. Kids who find at least 20 can bring their form to the Downers Grove Public Library for a prize. Adults who email a photo of a completed form to [email protected] are entered in a drawing for $50 in downtown Downers Grove gift cards. The characters stay in the windows until Oct. 23, and adult entries are due by the end of the day on Oct. 25. You can download the form from the Downtown Downers Grove Management Corp.'s Halloween page.
Between now and the big weekend, the calendar is mostly spread around town:
- Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. The Village's annual Silent Parade honors those who have died in fires and closes out Fire Prevention Week. It's not a Halloween event, but it sets the tone for the month.
- Friday, Oct. 9, 7 to 10 p.m. Grave Expectations: Paranormal Investigations, a Park District program for adults 21 and older, meets at Orange & Brew Bottle Shop and Taproom, 1027 Burlington Ave. The fee is $42 for residents and $63 for nonresidents and includes light appetizers and a drink before the group heads out with paranormal-detection equipment.
- Saturdays, Oct. 10 and 17, 7 a.m. The Downtown Downers Grove Market has two Saturdays left, and the season ends Oct. 17.
- Friday, Oct. 16, 6 to 8 p.m. Halloween with the YMCA at the Indian Boundary YMCA, 711 59th St., has carnival-style games, trick-or-treating and a bounce house. The Village's listing now shows it as sold out.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to noon. Trucks & Treats at McCollum Park, 6801 Main St., puts trick-or-treat stations next to a Touch-A-Truck lineup of fire trucks and construction vehicles. It's free for ages 0 to 12, with no registration.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 4:45 to 7 p.m. The library's After Hours: 80s Scary Movie Night for middle schoolers shows Poltergeist, rated PG and recommended for ages 13 and up, with snacks.
- Monday, Oct. 19. The library offers a drop-in Pumpkin Craft from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., while supplies last. Toddler Pumpkin Patch, for ages 24 to 36 months, runs 10 to 10:30 a.m.
- Friday, Oct. 23, 6 to 6:45 p.m. Ben Tatar and the Tater Tots play a Halloween-themed rock show for kids at Lincoln Center. It's for ages 3 and up, and tickets are $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. Everyone needs a ticket except children under 3 who sit on an adult's lap.
Each of these is put on by a different group, in a different part of town, for a different age. They're scattered on purpose. Then the scavenger hunt ends on Oct. 23, and the next morning the activity moves downtown.
Oct. 24–25: four groups, two days, one downtown
On Saturday and Sunday, four organizations run their events within walking distance of one another. Here's the order:
| When | What | Where | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to noon | Halloween Window Painting | Paint pickup at 933A Curtiss St. | Downtown Downers Grove with the Downers Grove Rotary Club |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to noon | Living Cemetery | Main Street Cemetery, 5158 Main St. | Downers Grove Historical Society |
| Sun., Oct. 25, noon to 1 p.m. | Halloween Fest, Costume Contest & Parade | Fishel Park | Downers Grove Noon Lions Club |
| Sun., Oct. 25, 1 to 3 p.m. | Downtown Trick-or-Treating | Participating downtown businesses | Downtown Downers Grove |
Each event has its own rules, and knowing them ahead of time helps.
The window painting is first come, first served. Windows aren't assigned, only windows marked with stripes can be painted, and each child gets one space. Paint is handed out at the downtown office on Curtiss Street, and organizers ask families to bring a canned good for the Downers Grove F.I.S.H. Pantry. The organizers suggest bringing your own brushes, paper towels, a smock, a paper plate for mixing colors, a water bottle for rinsing, and a zip-top bag to carry wet brushes home. The canned-good request ties a kids' art morning to the local food pantry.
The Living Cemetery is free, open to all ages and needs no registration. According to the Historical Society's event listing, adult and young-adult guest actors portray early settlers buried at the cemetery and share stories from the pioneer era. The listing doesn't name this year's characters, so who appears will be a surprise.
The best-known name in local history isn't buried there. Pierce Downer and his wife, Lucy, were meant to rest at Main Street, but spring floodwaters on the creek blocked the way. They were buried on the family farm instead, at what is now the Downer Burial Ground at 4520 Linscott Ave. At the 2023 Living Cemetery, the actors playing the couple explained that absence to visitors. A cast of 16 Paper Moon Players youth and local residents portrayed people buried at the cemetery that year. That's a recap of a past year, not a preview of this one. Even so, the town's founder is buried a short distance from the cemetery his neighbors founded, and you can visit both on the same weekend.
Sunday builds from one event to the next. The Noon Lions run the costume contest and parade at Fishel Park from noon to 1 p.m., and downtown trick-or-treating starts right after, from 1 to 3 p.m. The Downtown Downers Grove Management Corp. posts a printable map of participating businesses. Adults who finished the scavenger hunt have until the end of that day to send in their photo for the gift-card drawing.
Halloween itself, on Maple Avenue
After that weekend, the calendar gets quiet again. The library's costume-friendly storytimes fill the following week: Preschool Halloween Storytime on Monday, Oct. 26, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. for ages 3 to 5; Toddler Halloween Storytime on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 9:30 to 10 a.m.; and Baby Halloween Bop on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 9:30 to 10 a.m. for babies up to 24 months.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. The library is showing Halloweentown at 1 p.m. At the same hour, the Park District opens Blodgett House Boo Fest at the Downers Grove Museum, 831 Maple Ave. It runs from 1 to 4 p.m. and is free for all ages, with trick-or-treating, a decorated Victorian Blodgett House, a themed scavenger hunt, a craft and Halloween games.
Like the cemetery, the museum campus is a fitting place for a Halloween event. It has two houses. Israel and Avis Blodgett built the 1846 Greek Revival house, their second home in Downers Grove, and it was moved to the museum grounds in 2008. It is recognized by the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The 1892 Charles Blodgett house is Victorian, and its permanent exhibits cover local life from the 1890s into the early 20th century. If kids enjoy Boo Fest, you can come back for a self-guided tour. The museum lists hours of noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and admission is by donation.
So the season starts and ends with the village's oldest history, at Curtiss's pasture on Oct. 24 and the Blodgett houses on Oct. 31.
Where to eat between stops this year
Several places have opened since spring, and a few of them line up well with this calendar.
On Ogden Avenue, Candy Cloud opened June 17 at 1101 Ogden Ave. It serves specialty coffee, boba, soft serve, lemonade, sandwiches and desserts, a good fit for a group of kids in costume. A few blocks west, Lao Sze Chuan at 1331 Ogden Ave. reopened this spring after a long closure, according to Patch's May report.
The Lucky Monk at 1461 Butterfield Rd. had a soft opening July 30, and Village liquor commission minutes from Aug. 6 say it was open for business. It's a brewpub with burgers and craft beer. Jersey Mike's opened Oct. 7 at 2015 W. 63rd St. Crab King Cajun Boil & Bar, which replaces Everest Asian Fusion at 1550 75th St., was expected to open in October. As of this week it is taking reservations online, with listed hours of noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Two places that would have suited this downtown weekend won't open in time. The Rec League at 844 Warren Ave. is a planned restaurant and bar with golf simulators, darts and a patio. Its projected opening is late 2026, and an Oct. 1 Village report says its certificate of occupancy depends on finishing the buildout. Ranalli's, the Chicago-style pizzeria planned for 5200 Main St., pushed its opening from fall to January 2027 because of the construction timeline. Next October, there may be a place for pizza on the same stretch of Main Street as the Living Cemetery.
Here at DPG Real Estate Agency, we keep track of what's on the calendar in the towns around our Lisle office, from parade dates to which restaurants are still under construction. If you have a question about Downers Grove, or you're thinking about what's next for your own home here, we'd be glad to talk. Work With Us.
