INDIANAPOLIS - Goblins, ghosts and ghouls are back in town as one of Indy’s most popular Halloween traditions is back for another year of fun. The week-long historic Irvington Halloween Festival returns this weekend. Halloween 2024: Trick-or-treat times in central Indiana “It really brings people to the neighborhood,” said Jim Arnoldt, the co-owner of the SNUG. “They are so enthusiastic about it.” “It’s just so exciting to see all of the people come out,” said Carrie Yazell, the co-chair of the Irvington Halloween Festival. “Just the tradition and continuing with that is what makes it so special." A tradition like no other is back in the heart of Irvington, this time for its 78th year. “Every year we do something different, something a little better,” said Kami Nielsen, the co-chair of the Irvington Halloween Festival. “I am excited to see how the experience improves for everyone. Being able to provide even more free opportunities for kids to get engaged. [I am] really excited to see the magic this year.” The festival began in 1946 and since then it’s grown to be one of the biggest Halloween festivals in the midwest, if not the country. “There are a lot of people… People from all over coming to it and seeing what Irvington is all about and Irvington doing their best to show themselves off,” said Mike Doran, co-owner of Smash’d Burger Bar. “Last year, I heard 60,000 - 80,000 people with the street-packed full of people just having a great time.” Throughout the next week, there will be plenty of Halloween-themed activities to check out including the Halloween Ball, the Spooky Organ Concert, the Zombie Bike Ride, the Vampire Run, and more. There will also be family movie nights, scary storytelling, ghost tours, and painting contests. All of this leads up to the street fair on Saturday, Oct. 26. “The street fair, to me, is the biggest and most electrifying thing for the neighborhood,” Yazell said. “It’s just so exciting to see all the people come out for the street fair.” “[The street fair] has everything you can possibly think about. Vendors, beer, music, pumpkin carving, all sorts of things, a costume contest… It’s a ton of fun.” Nielsen said. But the festival would not be what it is today without the participation from local businesses which happens to be one of their biggest highlights of the year. “It is so good for the neighborhood, definitely one of the things we took into consideration when we chose this site [for SNUG] to be in the heart of the neighborhood and in the heart of the festival every year,” said Jim Arnoldt, the co-owner of SNUG. “It’s amazing,” said Siera Hipscher, the owner of Market Vintage. “It’s actually like a dream. I’ve always been fascinated by the weird and the wonderful and that’s exactly what you will find here in Irvington.” “[One of the highlights is] seeing all of the wonderful people coming in, dressed in costumes,” Doran said. “Everyone is lively, having a great time.” Which Halloween candies are most popular in Indiana? And the hope is the festival will continue for many more years to come. “It is just unreal,” Yazell said. “It is really cool to be a part of this, put your name in the history books if you will, that you were part of the 78th annual [Irvington] Halloween Festival and hopefully the 79th, 80th and so on, so forth.” The festival officially kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 19 and the highly-anticipated street fair will be the following Saturday. To learn more about this year’s festival, click here.