Good morning, lakeshore. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and at 2 AM that night the clocks fall back to 1 AM. Whatever you’re doing at 1 AM, you get to do it twice. Unruly Brewing has a costume contest around 7:45 PM with ZIP City at 8:30, and the SS Milwaukee Clipper is hosting a Halloween party on board at 8. Pace yourself.

In today’s Lowdown:

Hackley Park trunk-or-treats tonight
Seven local teams open the playoffs Friday
The cutter Grand Haven never got back

Let’s get into it.

- Sam Johnson, The Lakeshore Lowdown

TRUNK SHOW

Hackley Park trunk-or-treats tonight 🎃

Downtown Muskegon gets a head start on Halloween tonight. The city’s Shoreline Spooktacular fills Hackley Park from 5 to 7 PM, with decorated trunks handing out candy.

Expect music, spooky games and bounce houses for the little ones. There are costume contests for kids and adults too. If your costume has been sitting in the closet since September, tonight’s the night.

The forecast is dry with a high around 61. Get there close to 5 if your kids want first pick of the trunks.

Saturday is the main event. Official trick-or-treat hours in the City of Muskegon are 6 to 8 PM on Halloween, and Grand Haven’s are the same. If you live in a township, check with your local hall, because hours can vary.

📍 Hackley Park, 350 W Webster Ave, Muskegon
🗓️ Tue, Oct 27, 5 to 7 PM
🎟️ Free | Details

🎉 Weekend Preview

Halloween’s on a Saturday, and Sunday hands you back an hour.

🎈 = family-friendly

All week
🗳️ Early voting – Muskegon City Hall, daily through Sunday. Hours in Shore Things.
🎈🌾 Harvest Hay Bale Trail – Downtown Muskegon. Voting wraps Oct 31.

Tuesday
🎈🎃 Shoreline Spooktacular – Hackley Park, 5 to 7 PM. Details up top.
🥕 Muskegon Farmers Market – 8 AM to 2 PM.
🎶 Xtreme Music Bingo – Unruly Brewing, free to play.

Wednesday
🧠 Trivia – Unruly Brewing, free to play.
🏃 Run Muskegon – The weekly group run, usually out of Pigeon Hill.

Thursday
🎺 Dumpstaphunk – The Frauenthal, 7:30 PM. New Orleans funk with Neville family roots.
🪩 Music Bingo Trivia – The Kirby House, Grand Haven, 6 to 8 PM, free. This is the final night of Decades of Dance.
🎤 Karaoke Night – Unruly Brewing, 7 PM.

Friday
🤠 Gary Allan – The Frauenthal, 7:30 PM. Tickets
🍸 Martini Lounge Showcase – Unruly Brewing, $5.
🏈 Playoff Friday – Five local teams kick off at 7 PM. See Local Sports.

Saturday
🎈🥕 Muskegon Farmers Market – 8 AM to 2 PM.
🧺 Western Market – Downtown Muskegon, 10 AM to 4 PM. Last day of the season.
☘️ Midnight in Ireland – Unruly Brewing. Irish acts from around noon to 7:30 PM, costume contest around 7:45, then ZIP City at 8:30.
🎈🍬 Trick-or-treat – City of Muskegon and Grand Haven, 6 to 8 PM.
🚢 SS Milwaukee Clipper Halloween Party – 2098 Lakeshore Dr, Muskegon, 8 PM. It was listed as almost full, so grab tickets now.

Sunday
⏰ Clocks fall back – 2 AM.
🗳️ Last day of early voting – Muskegon City Hall, 10 AM to 6 PM.

Coming up
🗳️ Election Day – Tue, Nov 3.
🎨 Michigan Contemporary closes – Muskegon Museum of Art, Wed, Nov 4.

🌊 Shore Things

🗳️ Polls Before Polls – Early voting runs every day this week at Muskegon City Hall, 933 Terrace St. The hours are 9 AM to 5 PM Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 AM to 7 PM Thursday, 8 AM to 4 PM Saturday and 10 AM to 6 PM Sunday. The county’s consolidated site at 1903 Marquette Ave keeps the same hours for the communities it serves.

⏰ Fall Back, Lakeshore – Clocks go back an hour at 2 AM Sunday. You get the extra sleep, and the sun sets before 5:30 next week.

⚡ Power Play – The Grand Haven Board of Light & Power is working with the Michigan Public Power Agency on a possible natural gas peaking plant in Grand Haven, according to the Grand Haven Tribune. Residents pressed the city council for more transparency on the idea in September.

🧺 Chalet Closing Time – Saturday is the last Western Market day of 2026, 10 AM to 4 PM in downtown Muskegon. After that, the chalets are empty until spring.

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🏈 Local Sports

Seven teams from our corner of the map open the playoffs Friday. Muskegon got in at 4-5 after a 24-7 loss at Clarkston, and per LSJ, the Big Reds have won 19 straight playoff openers, not counting 2024, when they missed. Spring Lake earned its spot by beating Zeeland West. Grand Haven’s season ended 61-38 at Grandville.

District semifinals, Friday, Oct 30 7 PM:

Traverse City Central (4-5) at Mona Shores (8-1)
Muskegon (4-5) at Byron Center (7-2)
Fruitport (7-2) at Ludington (7-2)
Spring Lake (5-4) vs. Unity Christian (5-4), at Jension per LSJ
Lawton (5-4) at North Muskegon (8-1)
Chippewa Hills (7-2) at Orchard View (7-2)
Cassopolis (8-1) at Ravenna (7-2)

Around the county

⚽ Regional Rumble – Grand Haven (11-6-2) faces Traverse City West (17-2-3) in a Division 1 regional semifinal tonight at 7:30 PM at Forest Hills Northern. Whitehall plays Kent City at 5 PM in Clare, and Western Michigan Christian (17-1-3) takes on Midland Calvary Baptist at 5 PM in Cadillac. All three regional finals are Thursday at 6 PM.

⚽ Warriors Advance – WMC beat North Muskegon in Friday’s all-county Division 4 district final to earn its regional spot.

🏐 Three-Peat – Fruitport swept the OK-Silver tournament Saturday for its third straight conference volleyball title.

🏐 Banner Season – Ravenna beat North Muskegon in the WMC Rivers tournament to earn a share of the league title.

🏒 Return Fire – The Lumberjacks split their two games at Lincoln. After being shut out Friday, they won Saturday behind a 29-save shutout from goalie Samuel Doyon-Cataquiz.

☀️ Weather Report

Tuesday 61 🌡️ 45 | ⛅ | 10% | 💨 SE 5-15 kt
Wednesday 67 🌡️ 51 | 🌤️ | 10% | 💨 S 5-10 kt
Thursday 63 🌡️ 44 | 🌧️ | 70% | 💨 S 10-20 kt, turning W late
Friday 60 🌡️ 42 | ☀️ | 10% | 💨 W 10-15 kt

🌊 Waves 1 to 2 ft early week, 2 to 4 ft Thursday into Friday | 💧 Water around 50

The verdict: Thursday is the washout. Halloween looks dry for the 6 to 8 PM window, with temperatures in the 50s while kids are out. Showers could move in later Saturday night.

🎵 Live Music Picks

The Frauenthal has two big shows back to back, and Unruly is going all day on Halloween.

Thursday, Oct 29
Frauenthal | Dumpstaphunk | 7:30 PM

HOME PORT

🌟Only in Muskegon and Grand Haven

n December 1932, a new Coast Guard cutter named Escanaba arrived in Grand Haven, and her crew became part of the town. When World War II sent her to the North Atlantic, she pulled 133 survivors out of icy water after the troop ship Dorchester was hit in February 1943. Four months later, on June 13, an explosion sank the Escanaba within minutes, and 101 of the 103 men aboard were lost. Grand Haven responded by raising more than $1 million in war bonds in three months to build a replacement. The cutter’s mast still stands in Escanaba Park.