The City of Coral Gables' Halloween season runs from Saturday, Oct. 17, through Saturday, Oct. 31, and it starts and finishes at the same address. Ponce Circle Park, at 2810 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, hosts the Pumpkin Patch on the first afternoon. On the last night it hosts the Consulate of Mexico's Día de Muertos celebration. Everything else on the city's calendar falls between those two Saturdays, from a costumed bike ride through Pinewood Cemetery to jack-o'-lanterns floating in the Coral Gables Country Club pool.
On Oct. 31 the day moves up the map. Miracle Mile has the afternoon and Ponce Circle Park has the evening, and the Coral Gables Trolley runs until 10 p.m. to link them. This year the park also has a new neighbor across the boulevard. Zuccaly, the Italian food hall from Zucca founder Erasmo Da Silva, announced a soft opening for Oct. 8 at The Plaza Coral Gables.
Two Saturdays at the Same Park
The season opens with the Pumpkin Patch at Ponce Circle Park on Oct. 17, from 2 to 6 p.m. The city promises hundreds of pumpkins along with decorating, face painting, live music, a harvest market, food and photo spots. The resident presale is $15, which covers one pumpkin and entry for up to four people. A limited number of tickets will be sold at the gate on a first-come, first-served basis. For a family of four, the presale works out to less than $4 a head, pumpkin included.
Two weeks later the same lawn hosts "Mictlán: Día de Muertos 2026." The Consulate of Mexico describes it as a night of ofrendas, music, dance, art and food that will turn Ponce Circle Park into a space for remembering loved ones. The celebration has a history here. In 2024, the Consulate called its Oct. 26 celebration the fifth edition. This year it falls on Halloween itself, so it shares the date with every other event on the city's Oct. 31 schedule.
The Fortnight In Between
The dates between the two park Saturdays are spread across the city. Each one draws a different crowd.
- Sunday, Oct. 18: Bike Walk Coral Gables leads a morning ride through Pinewood Cemetery, which the city calls the oldest cemetery south of the Miami River and the burial place of many of Dade County's earliest pioneer settlers. Costumes are encouraged.
- Friday, Oct. 23: The Adult Activity Center at 2 Andalusia Ave. hosts a Halloween Spooktacular from 1 to 4 p.m. with refreshments and music.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: The Coral Gables Museum holds its first Kiddo-Ween Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 285 Aragon Ave., with trick-or-treating, character appearances, a pumpkin patch, exhibitor booths, live entertainment and a children's fun zone with an art station. From 1 to 3 p.m., Ruth Bryan Owen Waterway Park at 3940 Granada Blvd. hosts a Gentle Trick-or-Treat with a storybook walk for children with sensory needs. From 6 to 8 p.m., the Coral Gables Country Club at 990 Alhambra Circle floats carved pumpkins in its pool and gives prizes for the scariest, most creative and cutest carvings.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: Gables Cinema at 260 Aragon Ave. screens Wicked at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 30: The War Memorial Youth Center gym at 405 University Drive becomes the Nightmare on 405 haunted house from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., Granada Golf Course hosts Glow in the Dark Zombie Golf to benefit the Coral Gables Woman's Club.
Downtown has its own seasonal backdrop all month. "Giralda in Bloom: A Floral Canopy," a floral umbrella installation by Impact Plan, is scheduled to stay up over Giralda Plaza through October.
Oct. 31, Hour by Hour
On Halloween itself the city stacks its events close together, and the schedule moves from Miracle Mile and Aragon Avenue toward Ponce Circle Park as the day goes on.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 2 p.m. | The Wizard of Oz | Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile |
| 2 p.m. | Halloween dog costume contest | Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave. |
| 3 to 6 p.m. | Trick-or-Treat on the Mile | Designated Miracle Mile businesses |
| 3:30 p.m. | Face painting and balloon art | Miracle Mile |
| 3:45 p.m. | Spooktacular performance by Musical Miracles | Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile |
| 4:30 p.m. | Kiddie Costume Parade | Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile |
| 5 p.m. | Magic show | Miracle Mile |
| 4 or 5 p.m. start | Mictlán: Día de Muertos 2026 | Ponce Circle Park, 2810 Ponce de Leon Blvd. |
| 6 p.m. | Drink-or-Treat, 21 and older | Participating businesses |
| 6 p.m. | Y2K Halloween party | Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave. |
| 10 p.m. | Last trolley | Citywide route |
Every afternoon event sits on Miracle Mile or Aragon Avenue. Ponce Circle Park is the only evening venue that isn't a bar or a bookstore.
Drink-or-Treat Picks Up Where Trick-or-Treat Leaves Off
Trick-or-Treat on the Mile ends at 6 p.m. and the adult crawl starts at the same hour, so the street changes crowds without a break. The city's page for Drink-or-Treat currently lists these participants:
- 450Gradi, 130 Miracle Mile
- Ami Ami, 318 Miracle Mile
- Armstrong Jazz House, 271 Miracle Mile
- El Ñaño, 339 Miracle Mile
- Eating House, 128 Giralda Ave.
- Five Iron Golf Coral Gables, 3009 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
- Francesco, 278 Miracle Mile
- Fuku, 135 Miracle Mile
- Hotel Colonnade Lobby Bar, 180 Aragon Ave.
- La Birra Bar, 219 Miracle Mile
- Salumeria 104, 117 Miracle Mile
- Sushi Maki, 2334 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
Most of the list sits on Miracle Mile, but two stops are on Ponce de Leon Boulevard, the same boulevard as the park. The city notes that participants and offers may change and that more locations will be added as they are confirmed. The city's Trick-or-Treat page doesn't name the businesses handing out candy, so families should look for the designated storefronts on the day.
The Park After Dark
The two official sources give different hours for the Día de Muertos celebration. The city's event page lists 5 to 10 p.m. The Consulate of Mexico's announcement lists 4 to 9 p.m. Both pages were updated in the same late-September window. Under either schedule, the park is running by the time the magic show wraps up on Miracle Mile. Anyone planning to arrive late should check closer to the date which closing time holds.
The Consulate says it will announce the full program soon. The 2024 edition offers a sense of the scale. That year's program included singers Raquel Bigorra, Dalia Key and Jazmín Sabyna with Mariachi Sol de Oro, along with dance groups Ameyal, Tloke Nahuake and Ayala Ballet. That was the 2024 lineup, and the 2026 performers have not been named.
Dinner Across Ponce de Leon
The Plaza Coral Gables is at 2811 Ponce de Leon Blvd., across the boulevard from the park. Its restaurants already included MIKA, Cantina Leon, CVI.CHE 105 and Mottai. Zuccaly joins them with six stations under one roof:
- Portavia Gastro Market, for prepared foods, pantry staples and Italian imports
- The Pasta & Risotto Hall
- La Biga Pizza Hall, where the dough takes six days to make
- The Grill & Fish Hall, a live-fire grill with chicken, prime cuts and fish alla brace
- Il Giardino, for salads, antipasti, salumeria and Italian street food
- Dolci & Gelato
The Burn Miami pointed out a Bucatini Cacio e Pepe, a 15-ounce Costata di Manzo prime ribeye and a Matilda Cioccolato Cake layered with dark chocolate ganache. Da Silva opened Zucca in the Gables in 2017.
Hours are still settling. The soft-opening schedule The Burn Miami published on Oct. 1 ran only through Oct. 11, and it was shorter than the regular hours listed online. Zuccaly's own site lists noon to 10 p.m. daily. The Plaza's tenant listing gives noon to 11 p.m. on weekends. The Plaza's directory still labels the food hall "coming soon." Halloween is a Saturday, and if either regular schedule is in place by then, the hall will still be serving when the celebration across the street winds down.
Getting Between the Two Ends
The trolley runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 31, and Freebee will also be available. That means the 2 p.m. matinee at the Miracle Theatre, the 6 p.m. crawl and a late arrival at Ponce Circle Park can all be reached without moving a car. For anyone who does drive, the city posts parking details on its Parking and Mobility Services page.
On Halloween, the walk from Miracle Mile to Ponce Circle Park passes some of the streets in the City Beautiful with the most going on. If those blocks have you wondering what it would be like to live within reach of both ends, Nancy Jimenez can walk you through them one street at a time. Let's Connect.
