West Hollywood's Halloween Carnaval Will Party On Tonight as Rain Moves In

The free street party fills a mile of Santa Monica Boulevard from 6 to 11 p.m., just as forecasters expect the weekend storm to pick up, with a quarter-inch to an inch of rain likely through Sunday.

By Herald Staff · Oct. 31, 2026, 11:30 AM ET

A rain-slicked boulevard at dusk lined with palm trees, glowing storefronts and strings of orange lights, with a rainbow stripe painted down the wet pavement, carved jack-o'-lanterns on the curb and festival stage lights glowing in the misty distance. — West Hollywood's Halloween Carnaval runs from 6 to 11 p.m. tonight on Santa Monica Boulevard between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard, rain or shine.

West Hollywood's Halloween Carnaval goes on tonight, rain or not. The free street party takes over a one-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard between North Doheny Drive and North La Cienega Boulevard from 6 to 11 p.m., according to the City of West Hollywood, and the storm that has been creeping toward Southern California all week is expected to start picking up at about the same time the crowds arrive.

The event has long been a "rain or shine" affair, NBC Los Angeles noted, and the people who work along the boulevard don't expect the weather to thin the crowd. "I know West Hollywood, and rain's not gonna stop anything. People are gonna come out," Kelson Owings, who works at the bar 33 Taps, told CBS News Los Angeles as crews rolled out the event's orange carpet on Friday.

What the Forecast Says

The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office called it "a somewhat low confidence forecast even as the system is basically at our doorstep" in its Saturday morning forecast discussion. Forecasters wrote that the storm's biggest impact may be on trick-or-treaters on Saturday evening, "which is likely when rain intensities start increasing," though some higher-resolution models hold off the heavier rain until after 9 p.m., especially in Los Angeles County. Their advice: be ready for at least light rain in the late afternoon and evening.

The weather service's Friday planning forecast put the chance of at least a tenth of an inch of rain at 50% during the day Saturday and 90% Saturday night for a zone that includes Hollywood and Beverly Hills, with lows of 58 to 62 degrees and light winds. Most of Los Angeles and Orange counties are expected to get a quarter-inch to an inch of rain through Sunday, with up to 2 inches possible on some mountain slopes, NBC Los Angeles reported.

That is a nuisance rather than a hazard. Rain rates are expected to stay under half an inch an hour, and the weather service said the storm isn't expected to cause flooding, CBS News Los Angeles reported. "If this wasn't Halloween, this would just be a regular storm moving through," NBC4 meteorologist Belen De Leon said, adding that there were no watches or warnings in effect. Her tip for families: "The earlier you can do it, the better." The rain is expected to taper off Sunday morning for most areas and be gone by Sunday afternoon, with warmer, drier weather next week.

What to Expect on the Boulevard

The Carnaval's main stage sits at Santa Monica and North San Vicente boulevards, with a live DJ set and food trucks, and bars, restaurants, clubs and hotels across the city are throwing their own Halloween parties. The street event officially ends at 11 p.m., but Visit West Hollywood notes that the celebrations keep going inside nearby venues. At The Abbey, the best costume contest winner could take home $1,000, CBS reported.

First launched in 1987, the Carnaval now draws hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators, according to Visit West Hollywood. It isn't a parade with floats: the boulevard closes to traffic and people walk it. The city's rules for attendees are strict:

No alcohol or drinking in public along the route.
No backpacks, camera cases or tote bags; clear plastic bags are allowed.
No weapons, fireworks or drones.
Young children and pets are strongly discouraged because of the dense crowds.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and unarmed security ambassadors will be out in force, CBS reported.

Getting There

With many parking areas closed and a long list of street closures, the city is urging people to use rideshare or transit. The city's PickUp and Cityline shuttles are suspending regular service tonight and running a free WeHo Halloween Ride along Santa Monica Boulevard between North La Brea Avenue and North Kings Road from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., with select vehicles connecting to the Hollywood/Highland Metro B Line station from 6 p.m. to midnight. The city has also suspended permit parking restrictions from 11 a.m. today until noon Sunday, according to a city announcement.

Drivers should take it slow, too: the roads "will be a little slippery," De Leon said, and the heaviest rain may not arrive until after the music stops.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on the City of West Hollywood, Visit West Hollywood, the National Weather Service, CBS News Los Angeles and NBC Los Angeles, as linked above.