Scenes from the Fab West Hollywood Halloween Carnival 2025

BY MARK CHESNUT

The streets of West Hollywood were teeming with life this past weekend, as the annual Halloween Carnaval delivered full-on energy. Every year, Santa Monica Boulevard is the setting for an imaginative celebration, complete with costumes that range from whimsical to borderline scandalous. 

I love public events like this. They provide a memorable way to experience a destination — and also a way to capture brilliant visuals of locals and visitors at their creative best. 

I've created a West Hollywood Halloween Carnival video to showcase some of the evening's interesting visuals. 

It didn’t take long before the LGBTQ+ bars along the boulevard were so packed that revelers were lining up outside to pay cover charges and enter some the venues.. We're not into lines, so we pivoted to the landmark Troubadour nightclub for some breathing room — and what a pivot it was. The Troubadour featured excellent DJs spinning beats in both English and Spanish. 

If you're thinking of attending the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival next year, here are a few quick take-aways: the event is free and open to the public, but expect crowds, expect full blocks and get ready for lines if you aim to visit any of the gay bars. Overall, expect a unique combination of street-spectacle plus after-hours clubbing, against a backdrop of the inclusive LGBTQ+ vibe that WeHo champions.