Rain or Shine: Your Acadiana Halloween Planner, From Trunk-or-Treats to Blackpot's Big 20th

The forecast for Acadiana this weekend looks wet — forecasters are calling for 2 to 4 inches of rain between Friday and Sunday, with some nuisance street flooding possible in low-lying spots. But nobody puts Halloween in a corner. Between trunk-or-treats built for drizzle, indoor museum spookery, a haunted house in Delcambre, and the 20th anniversary of the Blackpot Festival closing out the month, Acadiana has a full slate of ways to celebrate between now and October 31.

Here is your week-by-week guide to making the most of it, rain or shine.

This Weekend: Trick-or-Treat Between the Showers

Saturday, October 24 is the big pre-Halloween day, and most of it happens with overhead cover or quick dashes between stops. In Broussard, Little Blessings of Broussard hosts its Trunk or Treat Family Fun Day from 11 AM to 2 PM at 901 E. Main Street — decorated trunks, candy, a DJ, and a free lunch for families, all at no cost.

The Autism Society of Acadiana also hosts its Trunk or Treat on Saturday, October 24 in Lafayette, a sensory-friendly option for families who want the candy without the chaos. Downtown Lafayette merchants are getting in on the season too, with trick-or-treat events aimed at the younger crowd — worth checking downtown social channels for exact times before you head out.

Sunday, October 25 belongs to the Lafayette Science Museum, which is hosting Halloween Day at the Museum from 12 PM to 4 PM — an indoor, rain-or-shine afternoon of spooky science fun. (The museum also has a Boo-seum evening planned Saturday with moon and Saturn viewing, though with the wet forecast, the Sunday indoor slate is the safer bet.)

If the rain comes down in sheets, remember the pumpkin patch season is still open — and there's a proper guide to doing patch season safely in the archives.

Halloween Week: Blackpot Turns 20

The South Louisiana Blackpot Festival & Cookoff returns to Vermilionville Historic Village on Friday and Saturday, October 30–31, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Two days of Cajun and roots music, dancing, campfire cooking, camping, and jamming — the closest thing Acadiana has to a Halloween tradition with a fiddle in it. Tickets are available now at blackpotfestival.com, and the weekend typically sells its camping spots early, so if you want the full experience, book sooner rather than later.

Halloween night itself falls on that Saturday, and the celebration stretches across the parishes. In St. Landry, the free Halloween Art & Nature Festival wraps up a month of family programming at the Atelier de la Nature in Arnaudville on October 31, running 10 AM to 4 PM and again from 6 to 10 PM. Registration is free but required — grab a spot at HalloweenFestival26.eventbrite.com.

In Iberia Parish, the New Iberia Halloween Parade rolls Halloween night, and over in Delcambre, the local Project Graduation is running its annual haunted house as a fundraiser — a good scare for a good cause.

A Few Tips Before You Go

First, watch the weather and the low spots. Two to four inches of rain can pond on the usual Acadiana streets, so build a little extra time into any Saturday route and keep the umbrella in the car all weekend.

Second, take the rain as a feature, not a bug. The indoor options — the Science Museum, the haunted house, an evening of campfire music at Blackpot — are some of the best of the season anyway. And if you missed the pumpkin patches earlier in the month, Parc de Oaks is still lit up under the oaks.

Wherever the week takes you, from a trunk full of candy in Broussard to a cast iron pot at Vermilionville — happy Halloween, Acadiana.

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