Halloween in Bay St. Louis this year runs across three straight Saturdays. Each event is smaller and closer to home than the one before. It starts with a parade built for crowds and ends on a single residential block of Tenth Street. Down by the water, the boardwalk and harbor behind Old Town are waiting on paperwork before anyone can call them finished.
Taken together, the season's center of gravity sits inland this fall. Here is what's on the calendar, and what's actually happening along the shoreline.
Three Saturdays, Each One Smaller
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Organizer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | BOO in the Bay Parade | Old Town | 5:30 to 9 p.m. | Old Town Merchants Association |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Witches Walk | Main Street, Old Town | 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Old Town Merchants Association |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween block party | Tenth Street, Ioor to Seube | 4 to 9 p.m. | Not named in city records |
The BOO in the Bay Parade is the seventh annual. Entries register ahead of time, and the chamber listing welcomes Jeeps, golf carts and classic cars. With every entry on wheels, it's the biggest-footprint event of the three. The Old Town Merchants Association is listed as the event contact.
A week later, the Witches Walk narrows things down to Main Street and stretches them across the day, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The listing promises the same costume contests as before "plus even more ways to win this year." It pitches the day as shopping, food and live music in Old Town's boutiques. It also tells readers to "book your hotel" and "make it a weekend," so this one is still aimed partly at visitors.
On Halloween itself, the scale drops to one neighborhood street. The city council minutes from September record a street closure for a Halloween block party on Oct. 31 from 4 to 9 p.m., on Tenth Street between Ioor Street and Seube Street. The minutes don't name an organizer. Unlike the first two Saturdays, it has no registration and no hotel pitch.
So the month moves from a regional parade, to a Main Street day aimed at visitors, to a single block.
The Weeknights in Between
The gaps between those Saturdays belong mostly to 100 Men Hall, with a few daytime events around them. The hall's schedule has:
- Tues., Oct. 13, 7 p.m.: a screening of the film Sabbath Queen
- Fri., Oct. 30, 6:30 p.m.: blues guitarist Mike Zito, the night before the Tenth Street party
- Mon., Nov. 2, 6 p.m.: a Día de Muertos event
- Thurs., Nov. 5, 6:30 p.m.: a zydeco dance party with Jeffrey Broussard & The Creole Cowboys
Mid-week, the Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis hosts Paw Fest and Volunteer/Resource Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's at the Train Depot Grounds, 1928 Depot Way, and supports Friends of the Animal Shelter.
For a Main Street stop on Witches Walk day, Flying Dolly's ice cream and snoball shop is at 111 Main Street, Suite C. The Sea Coast Echo reported that the Perniciaro family opened it "in April."
Below Main Street, a Boardwalk Waiting on Its Sign-Off
While costumes fill Main Street, the boardwalk just below it is close to done but not officially open. The Downtown ADA Boardwalk Project was bid in November 2025. It's an ADA-accessible boardwalk of about 630 feet with access ramps, lighting, benches and trash cans. A city council packet lists a Gulf Coast Restoration Fund grant as the funding source.
The Oct. 6, 2026 council agenda put forward a certificate of substantial completion from David Rush Construction for one section, running from DeMontluzin Avenue to the end of the boardwalk behind Dan B's. The same agenda included a separate $771,182.80 change order for the Ulman Avenue section. David Rush's pay application dated Sept. 22, 2026 put the original contract at 83% complete.
"Substantial completion" is a contract milestone, and no public reopening date has been announced. The DeMontluzin section looks closest to being usable. Ulman Avenue is still active work.
The Harbor's Long Repair List
The harbor's repair list goes back years. In May 2021, WXXV reported Hurricane Zeta damage to the Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor's slips and docks and said repairs were still under way. The full repair job is only now reaching the contract stage.
The project is a FEMA rebid, listed as PW 497. Its original advertised estimate was $3 million to $3.5 million. Three bids were opened on Aug. 18, 2026. In a letter to Mayor Mike Favre dated Sept. 23, the city's engineer rejected one bid as incomplete and recommended Gill's Crane & Dozer Service as the lowest and best bidder, at $4,349,034.65 including two alternates. The bid tabulation covers:
- A damaged wall on the harbor's south side
- The fishing pier's bulkhead and fasteners
- Pier towers
- Slip cleats, ramps and guardrails
The award was on the Oct. 6 agenda as a motion. The agenda alone doesn't confirm a vote or a signed contract, and no completion date has been published.
The harbor is still open in the meantime. The city's harbor page lists the office and fuel dock as open daily from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. It offers diesel, non-ethanol gas, ice and pump-out service, plus 201 leased slips, 13 transient slips and a day dock. The page has no update date, so if you're bringing a boat in, call ahead.
Oysters, Opened and Closed in Four Days
The water's other October milestone came and went fast. The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources opened the 2026–27 public oyster season at legal sunrise on Oct. 1. Listed areas included St. Joe, Waveland/St. Stanislaus for tonging only, Henderson Point, and Biloxi Bay for tonging only. By Oct. 4, DMR's season page reported every harvest area closed because rainfall had exceeded the management plan's limits.
Closer to home, the Oct. 6 agenda included a motion to let DMR run a check station at the Washington Street Pier for the full season, through April 30, 2027. DMR's season order names Bayou Caddy, Pass Christian Harbor and the R/V Conservationist as check stations and allows more with the executive director's approval. Washington Street Pier isn't on that list yet. Like the boardwalk and the harbor, the pier is waiting on approval.
November Shifts Toward the Depot
Once Halloween is over, the calendar keeps moving away from the beach. Most November dates are on the Depot grounds or at the Community Center:
- Sat., Nov. 14: Second Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., across Old Town and the Depot District, with merchant specials, food and live music. The Old Town Merchants Association runs the monthly event, according to the city's Old Town page.
- Sat., Nov. 14: the Krewe of Nereids' Mermaids Arts & Crafts Show at the Historic Train Depot grounds. The listing doesn't give hours.
- Wed., Nov. 18: Taste of Hancock, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Bay St. Louis Community Center on Blaize Avenue.
Christmas in the Bay usually follows, but no 2026 date has been posted. The city's event page still shows 2024 information.
At Prosper Realty, we follow council agendas, boardwalk milestones and harbor contracts because the shoreline behind Old Town shapes daily life here as much as any event does. If you own near Main Street or the harbor and want to know how this fall's waterfront work fits into your home's value, we're glad to talk it through. Ask us for a free home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
