Discover PB has canceled the all-ages Halloween it planned for Garnet Avenue tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30. The business district's event page added the cancellation on Oct. 16. It still shows the old schedule: trick-or-treating at storefronts from 4 to 8 p.m., then a Zombie Walk at 8 p.m. The page does not give a reason.
That leaves Pacific Beach's family Halloween in three smaller places this weekend, none of them on the commercial strip: a recreation center on Diamond Street, a school blacktop on Pacific Beach Drive, and the surf break at the end of Tourmaline Street. Garnet itself goes back to being an adults' night out. The next large all-ages gathering on that street is the holiday parade in December.
The Garnet Avenue Version Was Only One Year Old
The canceled event was new. Discover PB billed its Oct. 30, 2025 event as the first-ever Zombie Walk and Trick-or-Treat. It listed more than 25 Garnet Avenue businesses handing out candy from 4 to 8 p.m., then a costume contest and a zombie procession led by Tap Fever Studio and SD Thriller. A bar crawl later in the night took in Moonshine Beach, Prince St. Pizza, Bar Ella, Tavern At The Beach, Pacific Beach Shore Club, Maverick Beach Club and others.
In one evening, that format mixed a kids' trick-or-treat route with a 21-and-over crawl on the same blocks. Without it, the two audiences are back on separate schedules in separate parts of the neighborhood.
The cancellation came late. On Oct. 1, the San Diego Union-Tribune's Pacific Beach and Mission Beach Halloween roundup still listed the Garnet trick-or-treat as on. Anyone who saved that article, or added the event to a calendar in early October, may still have it on their plans for Friday. Discover PB's event page is the current word.
Friday Evening Moves to Diamond Street and the Crown Point Blacktop
Two free or open events from that same Union-Tribune roundup cover most of the hours the Garnet route would have filled, and they overlap. Both start at 5 p.m. on Friday, one on Diamond Street and the other on Pacific Beach Drive.
| Friday, Oct. 30 | Where | Who it's for | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4 p.m. | Pacific Beach Recreation Center, 1405 Diamond St. | Adults 55 and older | Potluck, games, costume contest; register by calling 858-581-9927 |
| 5 to 6:30 p.m. | Pacific Beach Recreation Center, 1405 Diamond St. | Kids ages 3 to 12 | Drop-in scavenger hunt; turn in a finished list for a goodie bag |
| 5 to 7 p.m. | Crown Point Junior Music Academy, 1625 Pacific Beach Drive | All are welcome | Trunk or Treat on the blacktop, carnival games, food and treats for sale |
The Diamond Street rec center has the more structured afternoon. Its 55-plus party gives prizes for most creative, funniest and spookiest costume. It runs as a potluck, so guests are asked to bring something to share, and the center wants an RSVP by phone for planning. The kids' scavenger hunt that follows is drop-in, so families can arrive any time between 5 and 6:30 p.m. Children search the rec center for the items on a list, then hand it in for a goodie bag.
The closest thing to door-to-door trick-or-treating is at Crown Point. Families at Crown Point Junior Music Academy design themed car trunks, kids go from trunk to trunk, and visitors vote for their favorite. The Union-Tribune describes it as the school's annual event and says it is open to everyone, with costumes encouraged.
With the hunt ending at 6:30 p.m. and the trunks open until 7 p.m., a family could fit in both if they start at Diamond Street right at 5 and drive or ride over to Pacific Beach Drive afterward.
Several other events from the same roundup are already over by this week. They include the Pacific Beach/Taylor Library's Halloween Craftacular and its outdoor "Thriller" performance at 4275 Cass St., the children's party at Santa Clara Recreation Center in Mission Beach, and Belmont Park's Sunday-evening trick-or-treating, which last ran on Oct. 25.
Saturday Morning Belongs to Tourmaline
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the main all-ages event that day is in the water. The 10th annual Tourmoween takes place at Tourmaline Surfing Park, at the end of Tourmaline Street.
The Union-Tribune lists this schedule:
- 8 a.m.: surfing in costume begins.
- 10 a.m.: prizes for best wave and best costume.
- 11 a.m.: beach cleanup.
Coffee and treats are free for everyone while supplies last. The organizers post updates on Instagram at @tourmoween.
Tourmoween is in its tenth year, while the Garnet event made it through only one before this year's cancellation. With the beach cleanup on the schedule, it also leaves the shore cleaner than the crowd found it. For anyone watching rather than surfing, the 10 a.m. awards are the time to arrive.
After Dark, Garnet and Mission Are 21 and Over
The bars along Garnet Avenue and Mission Boulevard are still running Halloween events. Several ticketed crawls are on this weekend, and none of them is the canceled Discover PB event.
One name may confuse people. A 21-and-over bar crawl called the "Pacific Beach Zombie Crawl" is still on for Friday, Oct. 30. Nasstive Entertainment runs it, separately from Discover PB. DoSD's listing puts check-in and the pre-party at The Beverly Beach Garden, 4190 Mission Blvd., at 7 p.m. It has nothing to do with the free all-ages procession that was planned for Garnet.
Two more crawls are on Saturday:
- Pacific Beach Halloween Bar Fest, noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 31, 21 and over, costumes encouraged. The Bucket Listers listing names Firehouse American Eatery & Lounge at 722 Grand Ave., The Local Pacific Beach at 809 Thomas Ave., 710 Beach Club at 710 Garnet Ave., 3oz Dive Club at 1060 Garnet Ave., Break Point at 945 Garnet Ave., Society at 1051 Garnet Ave., Sandbox at 1466 Garnet Ave., and Hideaway at 4474 Mission Blvd.
- Pacific Beach Halloween Bar Crawl, 3 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 31. PubCrawls.com lists 710 Beach Club, Pueblo at 877 Hornblend St., and The Duck Dive at 4650 Mission Blvd. on its route, and notes that venues and specials may change.
Taken together, the crawls run on Garnet and Mission from Friday evening through Saturday night. Families planning to drive to the Crown Point trunk-or-treat or park near Tourmaline should expect costumed crowds near the bars at the same times.
Garnet's Next All-Ages Dates Come in November and December
For families, Garnet's calendar picks up again soon after Halloween.
The first date is a store opening. Wild Fork, the frozen meat and seafood retailer, opened Sept. 24 at 1701 Garnet Ave. in the 4,000-square-foot former V-Outlet space. Times of San Diego reported that it is the chain's first store in metro San Diego, though some shoppers already know the brand from its Encinitas location. The free grand opening is Saturday, Nov. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m., with pitmasters grilling samples, plus raffles, prizes and a DJ.
Then come the two December dates on Discover PB's own calendar:
- Christmas on Crystal Pier, Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2 p.m. to sunset at 4500 Ocean Blvd., with photos with Santa and a tree lighting.
- The 46th Pacific Beach Holiday Parade, "Holiday Magic," Saturday, Dec. 12, starting at 1 p.m. It runs along Garnet Avenue from Haines Street to Bayard Street.
Of these dates, the parade is the one that runs along Garnet itself, from Haines Street to Bayard Street. It is in its 46th year, while the canceled Halloween event lasted one, so it is a more settled part of the street's calendar. Discover PB lists it for Dec. 12. Its event page is the place to check, as this month showed, because the listing there was updated after news roundups had already gone out.
Pacific Beach's calendar shifts from year to year, and the Bragg Team keeps track of those changes along with the market. If a weekend like this one has you thinking about how life near Diamond Street, Crown Point or Tourmaline fits your plans, or what your own Pacific Beach home is worth today, Dennis Bragg and the team are glad to give you a local read. Get Your Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
