This weekend, both of Wash Park's main shopping streets hold their events on Friday and Saturday evenings. South Pearl Street holds its Final Friday Art Walk on October 30, and Historic South Gaylord runs Trick or Treat Street on October 31. Then daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1. Both events end when the light goes, so this weekend wraps up the neighborhood's evening street season for the year.
The timing matters because Halloween fell on a Saturday. The Final Friday series always lands on the last Friday of the month, and this year that put Pearl's art walk the night before Gaylord's trick-or-treating and two nights before the clocks change.
Friday on South Pearl Is the Season's Last Art Walk
South Pearl Street's Final Friday runs on the last Friday of each month, June through October, from 5 p.m. until dark. The 2026 schedule had five dates: June 26, July 31, August 28, September 25 and October 30. That makes this Friday the fifth and final one. After that, the South Pearl Street calendar has no more art walks until June.
The walk covers the 1400 to 1600 blocks of South Pearl. The street association bills it as a family-friendly alternative to First Friday, with artists doing live demonstrations on the sidewalks, vintage vendors, music, shopping and food.
The listed hours matter more than usual this week. "5pm to Dark" is a short evening on October 30, and it's the last time the series closes on daylight saving time. Plan to arrive near 5. Artists working outside lose their light first, and that matters more for a demonstration than for a storefront.
Saturday on South Gaylord Starts Earlier and Ends on the Clock
The Historic South Gaylord event takes a different approach to the same short evening. Trick or Treat Street runs Saturday, October 31, from 3 to 6 p.m. on the 1000 block of South Gaylord Street, with local businesses along the block handing out treats to trick-or-treaters of all ages. The Wash Park East Neighborhood Association lists the same date and hours.
Pearl's art walk ends when it gets dark. Gaylord's event has a fixed close at 6, so a 3 p.m. start gives families most of the afternoon in daylight before the door-to-door part of Halloween starts on the surrounding residential streets.
This year's version has a few additions. According to the Old South Gaylord event page, the 2026 event adds a red carpet, a photographer and a costume contest open to kids and adults. The merchants describe the block strung with overhead lights and lined with jack-o'-lanterns, and the flyer suggests costumes like Dorothy and her friends from Oz.
Neither the merchants' page nor the association's listing names the participating businesses. Expect treats at the doors along the 1000 block, and don't count on any particular shop.
The Weekend, Day by Day
Here's the full 72 hours in one place:
| Day | Where | When | What sets the end time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 30 | South Pearl Street, 1400–1600 blocks | 5 p.m. to dark | Sunset |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | South Gaylord Street, 1000 block | 3 to 6 p.m. | Fixed close |
| Sunday, Nov. 1 | Your own clocks | 2 a.m. becomes 1 a.m. | Standard time begins |
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when Denver clocks fall back to 1 a.m. For anyone out late Saturday, that means one extra hour of sleep. It also means the first weekday after Halloween gets dark an hour earlier than Friday did.
That's why the order of the weekend matters. The two street events had to fit into the last two evenings of daylight saving time. In a year when Halloween falls midweek, the trick-or-treating and the time change usually land on different weekends. This year they fall within about 35 hours of each other.
The Stop Between the Two Streets Is Changing Its Name
East Alameda Avenue runs between the two shopping streets, and one of its newer shops is partway through a change. Goudy's Deli and Market is at 1207 E. Alameda Ave. As Westword reported on October 2, the shop is set to rebrand "in the coming weeks" as Le Cochon Chic, which translates as "the stylish pig."
Ownership changed first. Westword reported that original co-owners Christophe and Celine Goudy sold their stake to partner Yvan Lehuerou, of Boulder's Le Frigo, and manager Loren Medina. The same report says the shop opened about a year ago and is known for a European take on cheese, meats, sandwiches and specialty goods, including a 200-square-foot refrigerated cheese and meat "cave." The cave and the rest of the offerings are expected to stay.
As of mid-October, there's no public word that the new sign is up. If you stop in Saturday afternoon on the way to Gaylord, look for either name over the door at 1207 E. Alameda. The cheese case is the same either way.
Getting In and Out of Both Blocks
Both events pull visitors onto residential streets at night, and the parking rules near Gaylord are the ones most likely to catch out-of-town guests.
- Parking near Gaylord: The Historic South Gaylord visitor page says street parking is available, but some areas are restricted to residents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Visitors should follow posted signs. Saturday is one of those nights, so a block that's open at 3 p.m. may have different rules by the time the event ends.
- Light rail: The South Gaylord visitor page still lists the H Line for transit access. RTD's October 6 bulletin says the D, H and L lines are suspended during downtown rail reconstruction. RTD has temporarily brought back the C Line and added a T Line running between I-25•Broadway and Lincoln, and it advises riders to allow extra time. If guests are coming by train this weekend, check RTD's trip planner, not the neighborhood page.
- Street closures: According to the city's road closure guidance, Denver requires a special event street occupancy permit for any event that closes or occupies the public right-of-way, along with a traffic-control plan. Closures that involve parking meters also need a meter-bagging permit. The organizers haven't posted a closure map for the 1000 block. Assume Gaylord is busy on foot Saturday afternoon and leave extra time if you're driving through.
Sunday Morning, With an Extra Hour and a Yard Full of Leaves
Sunday's extra hour lands in the middle of leaf season, and the city's drop-off calendar doesn't line up with this weekend.
Denver's LeafDrop weekday sites are open October 5 through November 25, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Cherry Creek Transfer Station at 7301 E. Jewell Ave., the Denver Parks and Recreation site at 3685 Havana St., and the Central Platte Campus at 1271 W. Bayaud Ave. Weekend drop sites don't open until November 7–8, then run November 14–15 and 21–22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The weekend site closest to Wash Park is Veterans Park at South Vine Street and East Iowa Avenue.
So apart from the weekday sites on Friday morning, no city drop site is open on Halloween weekend. Leaves raked on Sunday morning can go in a green compost cart, loose or in compostable bags. Otherwise, bag them and hold them for Veterans Park the following Saturday. Every site except Cherry Creek Transfer Station requires paper bags, and the city offers a coupon for a free five-pack of paper leaf bags at participating Ace Hardware stores.
By the time those weekend drop sites open on November 7, the Final Friday series will be done for the year, Trick or Treat Street will be over, and the clocks will have gone back.
Weekends like this one, two streets and two evenings apart, show where Wash Park's activity happens across the year. That kind of block-by-block detail also shapes how we time and present a home here. If you're thinking about when your Wash Park home would show best, Rule Properties can walk you through it. Connect with Ben & Erin for a tailored market valuation.