If the Nevada Day Parade starts at 10 a.m. in Carson City and the kids' costume contest at Reno City Plaza opens at 11, which one is your family's Saturday?
The question comes up because of this year's calendar. Nevada Day lands on Friday, October 30, and Halloween is the next day. City of Reno offices close on Friday for the state holiday, and so does every branch of the Washoe County Library System. Halloween then falls on a Saturday, the same morning Carson City holds its parade. Most of the weekend's events fit together easily. The overlap that forces a choice is Saturday morning, and the way around it starts the night before.
Friday Is the Day Off That Fills Up Early
Plenty of households get Friday off, but Reno doesn't go quiet. RTC treats Nevada Day as a "Normal Service Holiday," so RIDE and RAPID buses run their usual weekday service. That helps if you're heading downtown in the evening without a car.
The family events start late in the afternoon. Trick or Treat at the Sticks starts at Mari Chuy's, 764 S. Virginia St., and runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. It's free, open to all ages, and set up as a scavenger hunt through local shops.
The two Friday events overlap from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Both are on Virginia Street, and since City Plaza stays open until 10, a family can finish the shop hunt first and head to the plaza afterward. At 6 p.m., the first session of Reno's Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos opens at Reno City Plaza, 30 N. Virginia St., and runs from 6 to 10 p.m. General admission is free for all ages. Friday's program includes:
- A Catrina contest for anyone in Catrina-inspired dress
- Live music, DJs, dancing and cultural entertainment
- A special memorial moment and a community digital ofrenda
- Food, artists and local vendors
The ofrenda shows approved photographs and short remembrances of loved ones who have passed. Families can submit them for free through the event's online portal. Submissions are reviewed before they go on display. High Sierra Entertainment, the team behind Dancing on the River and Sabor Latino, is producing the celebration. There's also an optional VIP Weekend Experience for $100 per person. It covers a heated tent on both days, a catered dinner Friday night, food during Saturday's session and two drink tickets.
The organizers call the two days "two separate event sessions." The plaza closes at 10 p.m. Friday and reopens at 11 a.m. Saturday. Families who know they'll be in Carson City on Saturday morning can still see the celebration in full on Friday night, just with the Catrina contest instead of the kids' contest.
Saturday Morning, Side by Side
On Saturday morning you're picking a city. The Nevada Day Parade has been held since 1938, and this year's theme is "Pumpkins, Pioneers and Tall Tales." It steps off at 10 a.m. Back in Reno, the City Plaza kids' costume contest happens during the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. session, and organizers ask families who want to enter to arrive when the event opens.
| Carson City: Nevada Day | Reno: City Plaza | |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest start | Coffee & Balloons, 6 a.m., near Carson Mall | Doors at 11 a.m. |
| Main event | Parade at 10 a.m. from Carson and William streets, heading south to about 10th Street | Kids' Costume Contest, Saturday morning session |
| Also on the schedule | Weather-permitting balloon launch at 8 a.m.; Nevada Day Classic 8K and 2-mile run/walk at 8 a.m. | Live music, DJs, cultural entertainment, food and vendors |
| Cost | Balloon launch viewing is free | General admission is free |
| Ends | Some downtown streets stay closed until 10 p.m. | Session closes at 3 p.m. |
If you're driving down, plan around the road closures. Carson Now reports that Carson Street will be closed from Winnie Lane to Fairview Drive starting at 5 a.m. until the parade is over, with no vehicle crossings during that time. North Curry Street closes earlier, from Thursday at 3 p.m. until Monday at 1 p.m. The parking lot behind McFadden Plaza is closed from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the Nevada Day Kids Market and Adventure Zone. The same report says parking fills fast, so come early and plan to walk. Watch from Carson Street, not the lineup streets. Cars left on closed streets may be towed at the owner's expense. Visit Carson City lists its 2026 schedule as tentative and subject to change, so check the morning events again on Friday. If you have Carson City connections, our Carson City neighborhood page has more on the capital.
The parade starts at 10 a.m., and parking downtown takes time. A family that watches it and then drives back to Reno will likely miss the kids' costume contest, which opens at 11. That's why Friday night matters. Go to City Plaza on Friday and the Carson City morning costs you very little.
Saturday Afternoon Comes Back to Reno
After noon, the Reno and Carson City plans meet up again. Here's a Reno schedule for families coming back from the parade and for those who stayed home:
- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St., is open its regular Saturday hours. General admission is $15. Docent tours are free with admission and run from 11 a.m. to noon and 2 to 3 p.m. The 2 p.m. tour is the one you can still make if you went to the parade.
- Noon. Doors open at the Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort for the matinee of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert. Friday's show has doors at 6 p.m.
- Until 3 p.m. The City Plaza Día de los Muertos session continues with music, vendors and the ofrenda.
- 4 to 7 p.m. Reno Public Market, 299 E. Plumb Lane, holds free trick-or-treating inside the food hall. Kids go from vendor stall to vendor stall the way they would on a neighborhood block. Costumes with weapons of any kind aren't allowed.
The Public Market event runs until 7 p.m., which is late enough that families back from Carson City can still go out in costume on Halloween itself.
Across town, the Reno Rumble Wheelchair Rugby Tournament plays at Plumas Gym, 575 Monroe St., all three days. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
After Dark, the Weekend Turns Adult
With two evenings in a row, Reno's Halloween nightlife runs both nights, and several of the same events repeat.
Both nights: Cargo Concert Hall, 255 N. Virginia St., screens The Rocky Horror Picture Show for "Rockyween" on October 30 and 31. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8. It's 18 and over. The ticket details list $20 general admission and $50 VIP. On South Virginia, the Peppermill's Terrace Lounge hosts its Glitter Bomb Rocky Horror Party from 8 p.m. to midnight both nights, with DJ Shaun Cameron on Saturday.
Friday: Hydra Halloween takes over Dead Ringer Analog Bar, 432 E. 4th St., from 9 p.m. until late. It's 21 and over.
Saturday: Dead Ringer's Halloween Night, The Cursed Forest, runs from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday. Cover is $20, and witches and warlocks in costume get in free. The Desert Beats Collective afterparty at The Alpine runs from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. and is billed as a Día de los Muertos celebration.
What Isn't on This Weekend's Calendar
Several regular October events are already over. The Reno Zombie Crawl took place downtown on October 17, and The Discovery held its 15th Annual Halloween Trick or Treat on October 24. The Wolf Pack won't fill Mackay Stadium on Saturday either, because Nevada plays at UCLA on October 31, with kickoff still listed as TBA. With no home game, there's no stadium crowd, and the weekend's big draws are the Carson City parade, the City Plaza celebration, and a full evening of Halloween events.
For one family to do it all, the order is City Plaza on Friday night, the parade in Carson City Saturday morning, and Reno Public Market before it closes at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Our team lives and works on both ends of the Reno to Carson City drive, and we enjoy weekends like this one as much as anyone. If this weekend has you thinking about where your own Saturday mornings should start, Kristin Zuckerman would welcome the conversation. Request a Private Consultation.
