Where does a beach town put Halloween when organized events are already booked on its sand every weekend of October? In Hermosa Beach, much of the answer is a former junior high gym on Pier Avenue, a converted space on Cypress Avenue, and the calendar's Friday nights.
The City's October 2026 calendar fills the volleyball courts north of the Pier from the first weekend to the last. AAU High School Boys Beach Volleyball League matches run there on Oct. 3, 11 and 18. Volley4Sound's charity co-ed four-person tournament takes the courts on Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Beach Tennis Cali Club follows on Oct. 25. On Saturday, Oct. 31, the City's only listing is an AAU youth qualifier volleyball tournament on the north side of the Pier, running 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The calendar shows no City-run trick-or-treat on Pier Plaza and no Halloween parade.
So the spooky side of October runs on a different schedule. The biggest event of the month happens inside a City building, and the second-biggest is open only on Fridays.
The gym that has been in a horror film for 50 years
The Hermosa Beach Community Center at 710 Pier Ave. used to be Pier Avenue Junior High. The school closed in the mid-1970s, around the same time Brian De Palma's crew shot parts of Carrie there. The film came out in November 1976. The gym served as the prom, and the scenes shot there are among the film's best known. The building's exterior and the outdoor stairway next to the Hermosa Beach Museum also appear on screen. So does the girls' shower with its pink tile.
According to the Daily Breeze, Hermosa has marked the filming with a screening and related events for the past eight years. For the 50th anniversary, the City has expanded the night considerably.
"We're basically activating the entire Community Center," said Kalyn Kaemerle, lead special events and filming coordinator with the City, speaking to the Daily Breeze.
The City is calling the event "Carrie & The Prom," and it runs Friday, Oct. 9. Doors open at 7 p.m. South Bay Music Connection plays a 1970s-themed prom in the gym where the prom scenes were filmed. Leadership Hermosa Beach runs the food and beverage concessions. At 9 p.m., the film screens in the Hermosa Beach Community Theatre. It is rated R and runs 1 hour 28 minutes. Tickets cost $10 and are limited. The City encourages costumes and suggests "feathered hair, velvet suits, floor length polyester." You can find ticket details on the City's event listing.
Three things are new this year, and each one builds on the building itself:
- A self-guided filming-location tour. Kaemerle told the Daily Breeze that maps will be posted inside the Community Center. The route ends at the Hermosa Beach Museum, where a slideshow of the filming locations plays.
- Two of the film's showers on view. Museum staff recently cleared out the City's old records room, which is where the pink-tile girls' shower from the film is. In past years the tour included one shower. With the room now empty, two will be on display. The museum gained that room after the City Council approved its expansion last November. A preserved section of the same shower is already on view inside the museum.
- A mini maze in the 2nd Story Theatre. The Community Center's black box venue will hold an immersive Carrie walk-through with characters, clips and props from the film. The City lists MHP Haunt as its partner for the evening.
With the expansion, the shower room now belongs to the museum instead of serving as a City records room. For anyone who has walked past the Community Center for years without knowing what was filmed inside, Oct. 9 is the easiest night to see it.
Fridays on Cypress Avenue
Hermosa's other big October event also sticks to Fridays. Not Shockboxx at 636 Cypress Ave. has become The Forgotten Circus, which it calls a haunted art experience with installations, performers and a gallery maze. It is open every Friday in October 2026. Oct. 2 has already passed, so four nights are left:
- Friday, Oct. 9, the same night as Carrie & The Prom
- Friday, Oct. 16
- Friday, Oct. 23
- Friday, Oct. 30, the night before Halloween
Tickets are sold by the hour. Guests can pick an earlier slot with "some sunlight" or a later one in "full darkness," and they can arrive any time within their window. Children are welcome, but anyone 15 or younger must be supervised by a parent or guardian, and the organizers leave it to parents to decide whether the experience suits their kids. After the maze, the evening moves next door to The Studio for games and sideshow diversions. Not Shockboxx and The Studio present it together. Mark "Debo" DiBenedetto is the creative director, and it is produced with Boomz Pharm and Geist Monster Media. Patrick Molloy's logo is among the sponsors on the event page.
The sponsorship matches what Molloy's is doing in its own room. Its "Nightmare at Molloy's" pop-up runs every night from Oct. 1 through 31, 5 p.m. until closing. The pub describes elaborate Halloween décor, limited-time themed cocktails, costume parties and photo opportunities. For a Friday that starts with the Circus and ends somewhere else downtown, Molloy's is one option open all month.
Oct. 9 is the one Friday with both events. The Carrie prom starts at 7 p.m. and the film starts at 9, while the Circus sells timed entry windows. That makes it possible to visit the Circus early and walk back to Pier Avenue in time for the prom, or to see the film and skip the maze. Either plan fits in one evening.
Saturday, Oct. 10, is the daytime version
The morning after the Carrie prom is the most family-oriented stretch of the month. Hermosa Beach Friends of the Parks hosts its annual Pumpkins in the Park on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Edith Rodaway Friendship Park, 350 Prospect Ave. The group's description invites families to come in costume and to choose and decorate a pumpkin to take home. It also lists games, crafts, face painting and a puppet show. A South Bay event guide published in September adds a costume parade, hot dogs, popcorn and free admission. The City's own listing is brief, so check the details at hbfop.org before you go.
Earlier that morning, the Walk to End Alzheimer's 5K uses Pier Plaza and the Strand north of the Pier from 9 a.m. to noon. If you're heading to Prospect Avenue from the beach side of town, expect the downtown waterfront to be busy until midday.
Halloween night stays indoors too
With volleyball on the north side of the Pier during the day, Halloween evening follows the same indoor pattern as the rest of October.
Not Shockboxx and The Studio close out the Forgotten Circus with a Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m. at 636 Cypress Ave. The $60 ticket includes the full haunted-gallery experience, followed by a party with Boomz Pharm, a DJ and dancing. Drinks and snacks cost extra. Oct. 31 is also the last night of Nightmare at Molloy's, which the pub promotes for Halloween-weekend visits and costume events.
The City's listing for Oct. 31 says nothing about trick-or-treating, so there is no official City guidance for 2026. The calendar is a snapshot, though, and the City can add events. It's worth checking again in the last week of the month.
For anyone planning the full month, Hermosa's calendar comes down to a few fixed points. Every Friday has the Circus on Cypress Avenue. Oct. 9 adds the Carrie gym on Pier Avenue. The morning of Oct. 10 has pumpkins on Prospect Avenue. Oct. 31 brings volleyball on the sand during the day and a party on Cypress at night. Once the holiday season starts, the focus moves back downtown for Hermosa for the Holidays on Nov. 21 and 22. If you followed our look at Pier Plaza's summer, downtown is where the City has put its holiday shopping, Ferris wheel and tree lighting.
At Thompson Team, we follow how Hermosa Beach uses its own buildings, from a junior high that became a Community Center to a records room that is now part of the museum. If you own a home a few blocks from Pier Avenue and want to know how the town around it affects its value, start with a free home valuation, and our team will go through the numbers with you.
