Trick or Treat vs. Trunk or Treat: Where the Eastside's Candy Is

By Sharon Glatz Scott, Global Real Estate Advisor | October 29, 2026

Halloween is almost here, and Eastside families get to choose their candy strategy: the classic Halloween neighborhood porch crawl or the car-trunk carnival. Why pick one when you can have both? Here's the two-night plan.

The classic Halloween neighborhood crawl

Mercer Island Town Center Trick or Treat

Friday, Oct 30, 4-6 PM · Mercer Island Town Center, 3023 78th Ave SE

The island's own block party, business by business, and a great warm-up night.

Little Monsters on Main Street

Saturday, Oct 31, 1-3 PM · Main Street, Old Bellevue

Boutiques and restaurants up and down Main Street hand out the goods. It's a noon-adjacent sugar rush, perfectly timed for nap recovery.

Halloween Factoria

Saturday, Oct 31, 2-4 PM · The Marketplace at Factoria, 4053 Factoria Blvd SE, Bellevue

Costumed kids 12 and under make the rounds store to store.

Falloween at The Bellevue Collection

Oct 26-31 during mall hours · Bellevue Square

Heads up, no store-to-store trick-or-treating this year. Grab a free coloring tote at Guest Services and hit the Spooky Scary Disco and Candy Graveyard photo sets.

The porch-light neighborhoods, Halloween night

Halloween night, roughly dusk to 8 PM

Mercer Island's North, Mid, and Island Point are the gold-standard trick-or-treat neighborhoods with big displays, real driveways, and full-size candy territory.

A group dressed in zombie costumes at a neighborhood Halloween event — Proof the neighborhood crawl is still the best show in town.

Trunk or treat: candy without the cold walk

For families who want the candy without the long walk, trunk or treat turns a parking lot into a candy carnival.

Spring District Park Trunk or Treat

Thursday, Oct 29, 3-5 PM · 12167 NE 14th Ter, Bellevue

Free and all ages, with decorated trunks, a pumpkin decorating station, costume contest and prizes, spooky treats for the dog, and coffee and chocolate tasting at DOTE.

Many Eastside churches and schools host their own the weekend before, so check the neighborhood boards for one near you.

A couple in French mime Halloween costumes — Every candy hunter has their own style, and this duo clearly found theirs.

However you hunt, whether it's the classic Halloween neighborhood crawl or a car full of candy, I hope your Halloween brings more treat than trick.

Candy corn, the classic Halloween treat — Sweet endings are the best kind.

Sharon Glatz Scott | Realogics Sotheby's International Realty | (206) 795-7082

Serving Mercer Island, Bellevue, and the Greater Eastside.